Want to protect your online accounts from hackers? Try two-step verification.
Under such a system, you first log onto your accounts with a traditional password. But that’s just the first step. You must also enter a passcode or other form of identification to complete the log-on process.
And the good news? Microsoft has introduced two-step verification for its accounts. And, as writer Ed Rhee writes in a recent column for CNET, computer users who wish to protect themselves from hackers should sign up for it.
Why two-step matters
As Rhee writes, Microsoft announced its own two-step verification process in mid-April. If you enable it, you’ll first need to enter a password to log onto your Microsoft accounts. Once you do that, you’ll need to take one more step: entering a personal security code to complete the log-in process.
Security code
The security code is the key. It makes it far more challenging for hackers to sneak into your online accounts. In Microsoft’s system, the company will send you a security code through either e-mail or through an automated message sent to your mobile device. Rhee writes that you can also download and use a Microsoft app to access your security code.
Secure
You might not like the idea of complicating the log-in process. But two-step verification is effective at slowing hackers. As Rhee writes, anyone who logs into Microsoft accounts really should take advantage of Microsoft’s new security measure.
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