A stranger at a coffee shop in Des Moines changed how I handle 2FA

Honestly, I used to think SMS codes were fine for security. Then a guy sitting next to me at a coffee shop in Des Moines watched me type one in and said, "You know that's the easiest way to get hacked, right?" He showed me a quick demo on his phone about SIM swapping and I was stunned. After that, I switched my bank and email to an authenticator app in about 20 minutes. Has anyone else had a random encounter that made them tighten up their login methods?

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spencer_hayes7117d ago

Gotta point out one small thing though. SMS codes are definitely weak, but they're not the easiest way to get hacked. Like, clicking a phishing link or reusing a password is way easier for most people. That guy wasn't wrong about SIM swapping being a real threat, but he was overselling it a bit. Still, switching to an authenticator app is a solid move, took me longer than 20 minutes cause I had to dig through every account settings page lol. Also, make sure you save your backup codes somewhere offline, cause losing your phone with just an authenticator app is a whole other nightmare.