Yahoo! has come up with an optional login process to combat your password dreads. By introducing ‘on-demand’ password to log into your mail account, Yahoo! has tried to ensure tighter security and ease of monitoring accounts.
Your Yahoo! account will now ask for your password as well as the SMS code that will be sent to you on your phone. This way before breaking into your account, the hacker should have your password and your phone, making the best of two-factor authentication. If you tell your device to trust the devices, you won’t need to enter the SMS code when you log in from your computer.
If remembering password has always been a task for you, Yahoo! gives you alternate solution to skip the password part and instead opt for the SMS code to log in. To activate this, you need to sign into your Yahoo! account and choose ‘On-demand passwords’ from the Security option. You will be asked to enter your phone number, where Yahoo1 will send you a verification code. Once you enter the code, your on-demand password will become active. Going forward, when you login to your account, all you need is to click on the ‘Send my Password’ box and you will receive single use four character code on your phone as SMS to login. Right now, this feature is only available for US.
With the ever increasing account hacks, online threats and security breaches, many online companies prefer two-factor authentications. Yahoo! gives a dual protection to those who makes the use of two-factor authentication while handling their account. According to Yahoo’s vice president of product management for consumer platforms, Dylan Casey, “This is the first step to eliminating passwords”.
This step sounds great for someone who has a hard time remembering passwords or is not aware of best practices for securing their online accounts, but it also risks your account to new and easier ways of hacking into account. One with the SMS only option, all one need is your device and username, and they can hack into your account with an SMS code. Two, by opting out from password login, you choose to make your account prone to easier ways of hacking.
It’s you, who has to think of the best strategy to give your account the required safety measure by implying combination of tighter security guidelines and expediency.
