Google authenticator is one of the additional applications to protect account security other than by giving it a password. This multifactor authentication ensures there are additional checks after you type the correct username and password. In addition to using Google authenticator third-party verification system can be via SMS or email. In addition, additional authentication for account security can also perform hardware such as USB tokens.
The importance of activating multifactor authentication on an account
By performing multifactor authentication you can do and provide an additional layer of security that can greatly reduce your account to hacking or compromise. Get to know by enabling Google authenticator you can provide more security for your personal account. Until now some commands have been very difficult to break into Google authenticator multifactor authentication.
Google authenticator To provide a one-time password
OTP is one of the multi-factor authentication methods that allows you to be sent an SMS or email that contains a secret passcode. The existence is also done by Google authenticator who can produce a single-use code also changes every minute associated with certain tokens provided by your web service.
However, there’s something Google Authenticator doesn’t allow you to do, compared to other similar apps: back up your tokens in the cloud so you can securely restore them if you lose your phone or it breaks down. What to do if you want to use Google Authenticator but also don’t want to risk losing access to your account if your phone is lost, stolen, damaged, and you can’t recover your tokens? This article will give you some advice so that you know how to pick up Google Authenticator tokens if you can’t use your phone anymore.
Save the backup code you have
Perhaps this is one of the most obvious suggestions because it’s still important to print and store in a secure place the emergency backup code provided by your web when enabling two-factor authentication. These codes are essentially alternative disposable passwords that you can use instead of those generated today through the app or sent via SMS or email. Most online services generally give you the ability to print 10 backup codes and eventually unplug them and create another one if you’ve used some backup code before and want to restore it.
Provides a multifactor authentication alternative
By providing an alternative application for Google authenticator security this will be useful when you lose your smartphone or when your phone is being damaged and repaired. For example, as in your Facebook account, on your Facebook when you will enable two-factor authentication you will be given the option to enable also authentication alternatives that you can choose. You can tie up apps and mobile numbers to code or receive them via SMS as a secondary option (if you lose your phone, you just need to get a SIM card replacement to receive SMS on other devices), otherwise, you can use USB tokens and apps so that, if you lose your phone, you still have a token.
Back up Google authenticator in Google Drive
While the previous two steps don’t explain exactly how to get your Google Authenticator token back if your phone is lost, stolen, or you can’t use it anymore (they still provide tips on how not to lose access to your protected account. With Authentication), this last step allows you to effectively back up your Google Authenticator data and recover it in the future. Note that this is an unofficial trick that is not recommended by Google, as there is currently no official way to store your tokens (probably because they think it is safer not to store your tokens in the cloud).
To store your tokens in this unofficial way, you can use Google Drive, so that everything stays in your Google account (note that, if your Google account is one that is protected by multi-factor authentication, you’ll need another device already connected to Google to retrieve your backup, otherwise it’s better to save it in another account.
The procedure is to use Google Authenticator’s export function: it allows you to store your only token (or some or all of the tokens you own)) as a QR code that can then be read by the same app on another device.
Thus, the export function is intended to transfer tokens to other devices, not to store them in the cloud. By storing all the tokens in a QR code and storing them in a cloud account, you automatically use the unofficial export function to have a backup copy that you can always retrieve in the future, in fact this is the only way to store your Google Authenticator in the cloud and recover it in the future, through unofficial yet functional procedures. Keep in mind that tokens are always reasonable information, as they can be used to generate OTP for your account, so you should store them in a highly secure cloud service or offline backup if you decide to follow this path.
