Twitter authenticator: How to secure your account for free

Twitter has ended free two-factor authentication via text message, a crucial tool for users to keep themselves safe from hackers.

Twitter has ended free two-factor authentication via text message, a crucial tool for users to keep themselves safe from hackers. But there’s an alternative that offers even better security and doesn’t cost a thing.

Two-factor authentication is a way to let a user prove they are who they say they are by generating a temporary code on their phone. It’s like an additional one-time-use password. Hackers sometimes have access to people’s passwords, especially if they reuse the same ones across multiple sites, so enabling two-factor authentication makes it much harder for a hacker to gain control over someone’s account.

Last month, Twitter announced its users would no longer be able to use text message two-factor authentication, or SMS 2FA, where a user gets their one-time code as a text message, for free. People who pay for the company’s subscription service could still use the method.

But it’s still free for anyone to use an even better form of two-factor authentication: the kind that comes from an authenticator app on their phone. Several trustworthy tech and security companies, including Twilio’s Authy and Google, make free versions. Anyone who downloads one of those and syncs it to their account will see it continuously generate temporary 2FA codes.

Cybersecurity experts argue that an authenticator app is superior to text message authentication because some dedicated hackers can intercept a victim’s incoming text messages through a practice called SIM swapping. Hackers can only access a user’s authenticator app codes if they have physical access to a victim’s phone.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/twitter-authenticator-secure-account-free-rcna74850

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