In a pretty naked attempt to generate revenue, Twitter announced that if you want to use two factor authentication or 2FA via text message, you’re going to have to hand over $8 a month to Elon Musk. To be frank, Elon forcing users to pay to secure their Twitter account is shameful, and is one more reason for you to dump Twitter. But if you must be on Twitter, here’s how you can secure your account without giving Elon any of your money. Specifically, you should use an authentication app or security key. Here’s a quick explainer as to what they are:
- A security key is a small, portable device that you plug into your computer authenticate an online account. It can also take the form of a fob that generates seemingly random numbers to do the same thing.
- An authentication app uses a similar approach of a fob that generates seemingly random numbers, but instead of a separate physical device, the app is on your phone.
I would recommend the latter as there are many apps out there that do this sort of thing such as Microsoft Authenticator, Duo Mobile, or Google Authenticator. They’re free in the App Store of your choosing. From there you can use one of these resources below to set up 2FA:
- Duo has instructions on how to set up 2FA with its app here.
- Cloud Insights has a really good how to guide on setting up 2FA with Microsoft Authenticator here.
- Beebom has a really good how to guide on setting up 2FA with Google Authenticator here.
- Twitter itself has general instructions here to set up 2FA on Twitter.
One bonus of not using text message based 2FA is that text message 2FA is vulnerable to SIM swap attacks where an attacker takes over the SIM card in your phone to get access to your online accounts. In general it is a good idea to move away from text message based 2FA to protect all your online accounts. Which makes me wonder why Elon is wanting to charge for something that is generally believed to be less secure than other 2FA methods. I guess it’s his desperation to make money that is at work here as like other moves that he’s made with Twitter, he clearly hasn’t thought this through. And it makes me wonder if he’ll find a way to do the same thing with other methods of 2FA once enough people point out to him that this won’t make him any money by doing this. But until that happens, I’d suggest changing your method of 2FA to something more secure and free while you can.
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This entry was posted on February 20, 2023 at 9:04 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Here’s How To Keep Your Twitter Account Secure Without Paying Elon Musk $8 A Month
In a pretty naked attempt to generate revenue, Twitter announced that if you want to use two factor authentication or 2FA via text message, you’re going to have to hand over $8 a month to Elon Musk. To be frank, Elon forcing users to pay to secure their Twitter account is shameful, and is one more reason for you to dump Twitter. But if you must be on Twitter, here’s how you can secure your account without giving Elon any of your money. Specifically, you should use an authentication app or security key. Here’s a quick explainer as to what they are:
I would recommend the latter as there are many apps out there that do this sort of thing such as Microsoft Authenticator, Duo Mobile, or Google Authenticator. They’re free in the App Store of your choosing. From there you can use one of these resources below to set up 2FA:
One bonus of not using text message based 2FA is that text message 2FA is vulnerable to SIM swap attacks where an attacker takes over the SIM card in your phone to get access to your online accounts. In general it is a good idea to move away from text message based 2FA to protect all your online accounts. Which makes me wonder why Elon is wanting to charge for something that is generally believed to be less secure than other 2FA methods. I guess it’s his desperation to make money that is at work here as like other moves that he’s made with Twitter, he clearly hasn’t thought this through. And it makes me wonder if he’ll find a way to do the same thing with other methods of 2FA once enough people point out to him that this won’t make him any money by doing this. But until that happens, I’d suggest changing your method of 2FA to something more secure and free while you can.
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This entry was posted on February 20, 2023 at 9:04 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.