Tag: two-factor

  • Our UPDATED Guide to MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)

    Our UPDATED Guide to MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)

    Last year we had an article on our top picks for 2-factor authentication and we’ve touched on what makes a good password before. We thought it would be a good idea to refresh our advice on this topic and combine our tips into one easy to revisit guide.

    One thing that we surprising haven’t recommended often before but would like to now is implementing Microsoft 365 2-factor authentication on your account. We utilize Microsoft products heavily in our business and we find many of our clients are the same, Microsoft software solutions are deeply woven into their day-to-day business activities. You can find our quick guide to implementing it in last week’s article here.

    We’ve also touched on how implementing 2-factor on your Google account could decrease your odds of your account being hacked by half. In many cases it really is as easy as implementing the built in 2-factor settings in the accounts you utilize and you may not even need to install a 2-factor authentication software, you can simply have the codes texted to your mobile device.

    Since this is a guide though we still want to give you a recommendation on that though, for us we’ve utilized Microsoft’s authenticator program for the most part. We also found that Google’s Authenticator and Authy’s Authenticator mobile apps are very easy to use as well.

    It can be a little more convenient to have the 2-factor codes in one place, so you don’t have to request a code be texted every time you login (especially if you have a lot of different login’s you use throughout your workday).

    You may be asking yourself at this point, what’s wrong with just my plain old password? You may have typing it in down to muscle memory and you don’t have to retrieve a code from anywhere. Well, this chart on how long it can take a crack a password based on specific criteria will tell you why:

    How long would it take to break your password?

    Of course, the more complex your password is the greater the difficulty in cracking it, that brings us to our next bit of advice – utilize a password manager and have stronger (and varied) passwords.

    Across the board for Valley Techlogic our employees are using LastPass, we like that it’s cross device and cross platform and enjoy the warnings and alerts it gives us if a password has been possibly compromised or if we’re trying to reuse a password we’ve used before.

    However, any reputable password manager is going to be a big improvement over reusing simple passwords or trying to remember complicated ones.

    Even with a password manager, your passwords being compromised online is the main reason you should consider enabling 2-factor or multi-factor on your accounts. You can have strong varied passwords and your passwords may be leaked due a breach that’s outside your control. Webpages are hacked all the time, and if your banking password is part of a data breach it can then become available to bad actors on the dark web.

    With 2-factor enabled however, it won’t matter if they have your password as they would still need your authenticator program or your mobile device to login to the account. We think it’s worth the (very slight) inconvenience of a few seconds to have that level of security.

    If you’re security conscious and want to go even further, you can also use a security token to lock your device (highly recommended for sensitive work devices). That means the device is useless without the security token to be able to unlock it.

    Enabling multi-factor authentication across your business uniformly can be an uphill battle, but it is one we have experience with here at Valley Techlogic. As security regulations increase, this simple change will make a huge difference in your cybersecurity compliance level. Learn more today with a quick consultation.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Summer is Here and with it Comes Vacations – Our Top 10 Travel Tech Tips

    Summer is Here and with it Comes Vacations – Our Top 10 Travel Tech Tips

    As we approach Fourth of July weekend, reduced COVID era restrictions have made travel feasible (and desirable) for many across the US for the first time since spring 2020. We all might be a little rusty when it comes to internet safety on the go or maybe you’re looking for tech tips that will make traveling easier? Well, we have you covered.

    Traveling and using your devices away from your home or office network carries some risks. Here are 5 things you should do before you travel to protect your devices.

    1. While traveling sometimes you can’t avoid using a public network, but one good way to protect your device is to make sure it’s been fully updated. That way it will be slightly safer when using less secure networks (although it’s still a good idea to avoid it if you can).
    2. Another good bit of advice is to make sure you have strong passwords, and to have a password manager setup and ready to go on the device you’ll be traveling with.
    3. One tool for traveling and using risky public networks is to enable a VPN, a VPN will help shield your data.
    4. You should also avoid logging into websites that contain important data, like your email or banking website on a public network.
    5. Finally, another good tip if you haven’t done so already is to set up “Find My Phone” on your mobile device. This will allow you to remotely wipe your mobile phone if you were to lose it while traveling (or possibly even find it if it’s still nearby).

    If you’re already on the road or away from home, we also have these 5 tips for making your travel easier with technology:

    1. Power banks are a must have while on the go, having a fully charged power bank on you will make sure you can charge your phone if the battery is low while you’re out and about.
    2. RFID blocking bags can help protect your personal information from intrusive scanning, especially for things like your credit card.
    3. Save pictures you take with your mobile phone automatically to the cloud with a service like Google Photos or Amazon Photos (the pricing for these products is very reasonable as well).
    4. A tip specifically for iPhone users, you can update friends and family on your airline travels just by texting them the airline and flight information. Texting “American Airlines 425” will allow them to tap and automatically see a flight tracker with the flight information. Handy!
    5. Looking for more legroom in your return flight home? Search SeatGuru to find the best seat on a particular flight.

    Company travel is a different can of worms, especially when it comes to securing your office devices while on the road. At a minimum, we recommend enabling 2-factor or multi-factor authentication for company devices – especially those that are used on the go. For Microsoft 365 users, it’s easy to setup multi-factor authentication. Here are the steps:

    Enabling MFA on Microsoft 365

    If your office needs help setting up multi-factor authentication for remote and traveling employees, Valley Techlogic would be happy to assist. Tell us more in a quick consultation.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.