As time goes by and technology advances, we rely more and more on our devices, whether they are mobile or desktop. That is why we store confidential data of all kinds in them, sure that they are safe, such as passwords. And if we focus on the use of these important security elements, there are programs that help us protect them, as is the case with Authy.
Surely most of you, in the disk drives of your computers, store all kinds of personal documents, more or less protected. Theirs is that, at least, we have a password to access the operating system as such and so that others cannot access it. This is the most basic way to protect data on a Windows PC.
For all this, we have different ways of doing it, as Microsoft itself proposes. Here we can use a PIN or a password, which are the most common methods. In fact, and despite the latest advances that we are encountering regarding the methods of protecting programs and platforms, passwords are still the most used. It is true that in certain equipment such as mobile phones, for example, biometric technology is advancing by leaps and bounds. But to access desktop operating systems, programs, or online platforms, the password of a lifetime is still the most used.
Some basic rules for using passwords correctly
Of course, what we must bear in mind is that the obligation to use these access passwords does not mean that anything is worth it. And it is that at this point there are still users who create passwords more because they are forced to do so, than as a security measure. Hence, there are still millions of users who opt for the usual simple and easy to remember keys.
That is a serious mistake, since a password that boasts of being one, more in current times, must be long, complex, and as secure as possible. Otherwise, we are putting in serious danger elements of the importance of our personal files, bank details, medical, and any other file or platform with which we work on the PC. Likewise, another step we can take to go a little further is to make use of a 2FA protection system, something for which the aforementioned Authy application will be very helpful.
Advantages and functions of Authy
In the event that we have and use a large number of different and complex passwords, something increasingly common, the best we can use is a manager. This makes it much easier for us to use them without having to remember them one by one, something practically impossible. On the other hand, we find platforms, in increasing numbers, that one way or another use two-factor authentication or 2FA. This considerably increases the security of access to that program or website, which we recommend using whenever possible.
To give us a more approximate idea of all this, we will tell you that with Authy we find a useful application for both Windows and mobile devices. This will be of great help to us when managing and working with our own accounts to which we have added 2FA protection. Thus, from this program, we have the possibility of authenticating said protection and thus accessing these platforms with total security.
To all this, we must add the fact that Authy is currently compatible with the main online services and programs that support this protection method. Here we talk about elements such as Firefox, Facebook, Twitch, Evernote, Dropbox, Google, etc.
How to use Authy to protect our accounts
Therefore, at this point, we could say that here we will have a software solution whose main objective is to simplify two-step verification for users. Also with this program, we will have the possibility to manage our accounts in this sense, from Windows itself. It is evident, as expected, that it also has a mobile application that synchronizes perfectly with the desktop.
In addition, its configuration and use are very simple and here we store and authenticate the access codes that require 2FA protection. It is true that each online service has a different method to activate two-step security, so Authy allows us to combine all of them in a single user interface. As we have told you before, as we add new accounts to our Authy user, either directly from the source platform, or by scanning a QR from the mobile app, they are automatically synchronized.
With this, what we want to tell you is that we can use this verification or authentication both from Windows and from the mobile phone for all registered accounts.
Authy interface for Windows
In addition, the client for Windows or macOS that we are talking about here will be very easy to use. To do this, we just have to go to the Tokens section to see the accounts added and active here. On the other hand, if we need to verify any of these using 2FA, we just have to click the button next to the search box to obtain the corresponding unlock code.
Of course, in the case that it is the first time that we use the program for this, we will be asked for the Authy master key to decrypt the rest of the codes. We establish this when we install and create a new account in Authy, a key that we must also keep in a safe place.
Alternatives to Authy
Microsoft Authenticator
This is Microsoft's own application for two-factor or 2AF authentication that we can find in the official Windows store. This allows us to add a secure form of access of this type to our accounts that support it.
1Password
On the other hand, we find this other proposal, more than known by many, which is a password manager and we can also configure two-factor authentication. It is a multiplatform solution that, like the one discussed in these same lines, also has a client for Windows that we can download from this link.
How to download Authy for free
As we told you, this is an application to manage our accounts registered in the two-factor security system. Say that we can use it for free both on mobile devices based on Android and iOS or from our Windows computer. To achieve all this that we tell you, we only have to download the client from its official website.
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