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That '2-factor everything' advice nearly cost me a client's dog
Everyone says turn on 2FA for every single account, so I did. Last Tuesday I needed to pull up a client's emergency contact info from my booking app. I was in the middle of a bath and my phone was dead, so I tried logging in on the shop tablet. The 2FA code went to my dead phone. I spent 8 minutes hunting down backup codes while a nervous golden retriever sat dripping on the table. Has anyone else had a situation where extra security actually slowed you down at the worst possible moment?
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craig.john7d ago
Happens ALL the time with this security stuff. They push it as this magic fix but forget real life gets in the way. I had a similar thing with my bank's app - locked me out at the grocery store because my phone was in the car and they wanted a fingerprint scan. Makes you wonder how often people just give up and never get back into things they actually need. Feels like we're trading convenience for a false sense of safety that only works when everything is perfectly lined up.
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grant.felix7d ago
Actually the fingerprint thing is a pretty common misunderstanding. Most banking apps don't actually store your fingerprint, they just use the phone's built-in scanner to confirm you're you and then send a token that expires in like 30 seconds. So it's not really less secure than a password, it's just a different way to prove you're you in that moment. But yeah I get the frustration, I've been locked out of my own email before because I changed phones and forgot my backup codes.
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