Not once was I asked if I wanted 2FA (two-factor authentication) for my Apple or Amazon accounts.
I don’t want 2FA, because, being homeless/poor, you frequently lose access to phones and the like. That’s why a lot of homeless people will have like a dozen abandoned FB accounts (I have 3), because we just haphazardly use the suggested “secure password” to log in, and then someone steals our phone, or we lose it, or drop it in the toilet.
So no, Apple, I don’t have that device anymore. I don’t have that phone number either. Or access to that email address. The last four digits of a debit card I’ve used? b0i.
The one thing I do have?
MY FUCKING PASSWORD
I’m getting locked out of accounts I have the fucking password for! What the FUCK?
You should probably use a password manager like Bitwarden. Just remember the one password and you can get into anything.
2FA is also really important, otherwise everyone’s getting hacked 24/7.
Admin is going to add 2FA to individual posts and you’ll change your mind.
A password manager doesn’t really solve OP’s problem, though.
By contrast, the authenticator app Authy allows you to save your 2FA codes securely in cloud storage, which means that upon installing it on a new phone, all the 2FA codes are available. (It’s basically the same as Google Authenticator or similar apps, but with free, password-protected cloud storage included. Notably, this type of 2FA is much more secure than SMS-based 2FA anyway, so it’s better all around.) Not every site/app offers this type of 2FA, but most do.
That said, a password manager is also a good idea for anyone who cares about securing their accounts (which should be everyone).
Bitwarden (or Vaultwarden) does let you save 2fa codes. Passkeys too.
Requires either paying for premium or self hosting though, neither of which is presumably an option for OP.
i agree with this completely. without 2fa your accounts are gonna get taken, its just a matter of time and/or will.
I think it’s a mistake to treat security as uniquely important. Accessibility matters too. Not being able to access your accounts is just as bad as someone else being able to access your accounts.
You will be hard pressed if you want to add an accessibility feature to a service which undermines security. For banking and government services, people should be able to physically present to a bank or government building with an ID if they cannot access a service online, but allowing non-2FA online access to banking, tax or healthcare is a massive security risk which needs mitigated somehow. Fraud is not an acceptable risk for accessibility requirements. 2FA codes are the only real way to authenticate against online services in a way which prevents malicious actors for most cases. Passwords leaks, brute force and botnet attacks are the reality of modern security considerations.
Good thing that we don’t have a record level of fraud. Making everything worse was definitely worth it.
that depends very much on the account and what it controls access to
Who and why though?
lot of things you can do with a hijacked account, including trying to phishing attacks on accounts on your friends list or contacts. Having poor security practice, even if there’s a good reason for compromise, puts everyone you know at greater risk.
ah so my accounts are safe because I dont have any.
sure, you’ll just get the random bots offering art commissions or mr. beast bucks.
I mean if some person needs to create new accounts because they keep loosing access to their old accounts their contacts are just as vulnerable to impersonating accounts as to someone hijacking the account.