Authy review for Nosillacast

Hello Nosillacast listeners, this is Joe lagreca from San Diego, California

Problem to be solved:

Two-factor Authentication is great from a security standpoint. However from an ease of use standpoint it can be a little frustrating. It can get annoying pulling your phone out to get a security token. Or worse yet you can lose your security tokens if you have to replace your iPhone. So I never liked having my tokens in only one place or device.  

Solution:

The solution is a program AND cloud service called Authy (authy.com/app/).  It is a Google authenticator replacement that gives you access to your security tokens across multiple devices. People might say having your tokens in the cloud is less secure, and while that is partially true, I feel the benefits outweigh the detriments.

The first step is to install Authy on your various devices. They support IOS and Android and also have Chrome plugins. The next step is to create an Authy account. Creating an Authy account requires a  phone number and Email address.  Verification for account setup can be sent either via phone call or SMS.

Once your account is setup, its use is very similar to that of Google Authenticator. When you enable two-factor Authentication for your various services they will show you a QR code to scan. You simply open Authy on your  device ( preferably a phone  or iPad so you can use its camera) and click add account.  That will bring up a screen to scan a QR code (or you can key it in manually if you choose to). Once you scan the QR code, it will then provide you with your 2FA token.  

This is where things are different from Google Authenticator. Instead of your tokens only being on one device, they are now synced and shared in the Authy cloud across all your devices. Authy secures your tokens with a master password.   In iOS,  touch ID can be used when  accessing the Authy app.   

Now when I need a token I can either access it from a Chrome extension on my computer, my phone, my iPad, or any other device I have Authy installed.   While surfing the web on my computer I no longer have to pull my phone out of my pocket to get my security tokens. This is also very useful when I have to get my phone replaced. I no longer have to disable and re-enable two-factor authentication across all my services.  I simply download the Authy app, authenticate, and all my tokens are available!

Side note:

While I do use 1password and know it can handle two-factor authentication I don’t like the idea of “having all my eggs in one basket”. The whole point of 2 Factor Authentication is to keep two  separate pieces of information. I feel that keeping those two separate pieces of information in the same place is not as secure.