free email client two factor authentication

The workflow on this is straightforward, and can be used offline – tokens are algorithm-generated, and do not require a live internet connection on the user’s device. There are others, but that should cover most users pretty well. For FireFox: GAuth Authenticator Plugin.For Windows 8: Google Authenticator on Windows App Store.For Windows Phone: Authenticator on Windows Phone App Store.For Android: Google Authenticator on Google Play.For iOS: Google Authenticator on iTunes App Store.Sending true text/SMS messages costs money, through services like Twilioįortunately, this problem is easily solved by apps, and Google Authenticator and its similar alternatives are my pick.Text costs can still be prohibitive (when traveling internationally, for example).Not everyone is within cell carrier service all the time.

However, text tokens have a few drawbacks: Some forms of two-factor authentication will text you a one-time unique token when needed. These have been around forever, but have normally been a pain to implement and support. You may have seen these RSA keys floating around in Enterprise IT departments.

Two-factor authentication, as the name implies, requires users to supply normal credentials (a username and password, for example), but adds a second, real-time token to the login to verify the user’s identity. I was surprised there were no really good libraries to use this method of two-factor authentication in an implementation. Google offers a completely free solution via the Google Authenticator app for iOS and Android, with an equivalent app just called ‘Authenticator’ for Windows Phone. There are a few sites (like Authy) that will operate this as a cloud service for you at a monthly or usage cost, but there’s no need. We are in the middle of adding two-factor auth to a few of our own systems.

By using two-factor authentication, you dramatically reduce the attack footprint – no longer would a nefarious individual have to just guess your password, but they would have to guess your password AND a PIN number that changes every couple of minutes. Likewise, if you develop systems that require users to log in with a username and password, you should be offering it. If you have an account with a system that supports it, you should be using it. Username/password combinations don’t cut it anymore, and Two-Factor authentication is a great way to help secure user accounts.

Free email client two factor authentication