Recent Posts From All Categories
How to Transfer Google Authenticator to New iPhone
If you’re reading this, you have probably bought a new iPhone....
Remote Work: How to Transition Team to Working From Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In this article, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about...
HOTP Algorithm Explained
HOTP algorithm, or HMAC based one-time password algorithm, was first...
Popular Posts All Time
How to Backup Google Authenticator or Transfer It to a New Phone
Our regular readers know that we strongly recommend applying two-step verification wherever it’s possible. In the contemporary world, where database leaks are a standing affair, two-step authentication is not an option, it is, in fact, a must. If you use two-factor verification, an intruder would need to get both the unique password you came up with, and the gadget, which produces the verification codes, to break into your account. Thus, two-factor authentication protects from brute force, keyloggers, most cases of phishing and social engineering. It also complicates man-in-the-middle and man-in-the-browser attacks. So why two-factor verification is still unpopular? Sure, it creates an extra step to take to log in, but most users omit it not because of this extra time and effort, but because they are afraid of losing access to their credentials if something goes wrong with their authentication devices. “As the world is increasingly interconnected, everyone shares the responsibility of securing cyberspace.” – Newton Lee, Counterterrorism and Cybersecurity: Total Information Awareness From all available options of one-time passwords generation or delivery (SMS, emails, hardware and software tokens) most people choose Google Authenticator or other similar applications like Authy, Protectimus Smart etc. Operating principle is pretty much the...
Mobile Authentication Pros and Cons
The popularity of mobile devices increases every day. Smartphones, tablet computers, smart watches – today these lightweight portable ‘mini-computers’ are sold better than traditional desktops and laptops. This trend is set by the rhythm of modern life, full of flights and journeys – often on the other end of the world. Today, a lot of people don’t work in the traditional offices. They can work remotely in comfortable conditions – either at home or during the journey. A small, lightweight mobile device is convenient to be kept within reach of the hand. In this situation, there is an urgent need in reliable authentication methods to access personal and especially work-related accounts. Thus, the significance of mobile authentication cannot be overestimated. It is worth noting that the mobile authentication can denote two different things: User authentication as the owner of the smartphone or tablet. User authentication in any service that supports two-factor authentication (2FA), using the smartphone as a token – mobile authenticator. Let us consider the second option in more detail as the more versatile and interesting one. Two-factor authentication process generally consists of two stages. At first, you enter a common reusable password assigned to you on a...
Which messaging apps are trustworthy?
Last time we analyzed the question of what makes for secure messaging apps. Now we’ll take a look at the level of security provided by several of today’s popular message exchange programs. Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts These apps are built into their respective social networks. For this reason alone, they’re certainly not in the running to win “most secure messaging apps of 2016”. The lion’s share of these companies’ profits comes from targeted advertisements. As such, these companies are always trying to gather more data about their customers. It would be naive to think that they don’t use the same methods with their own messaging apps. In short: it’s inadvisable to discuss business or confidential information through Google Hangouts or Facebook Messenger. Viber Viber is rich in functionality – besides the usual options, it even allows users to send money through Western Union. In the past, Viber has had weak security, but recently its developers have been working hard to turn it into a real, secure messaging app by, for example, adding hidden chats and end-to-end encryption. However, this is not yet available in all countries. Another issue is that messages are stored on company servers (which means...
Recent Reviews From All Categories
Our Top Authors
Try Protectimus
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from Protectimus blog.
You have successfully subscribed!