As we all know, a complex and unique password for each of your web accounts goes only so far towards protecting you against hackers.
Data breaches compromise people’s login credentials all the time, exposure which leaves users at the mercy of bad actors who traffic in stolen combinations on the dark web. These individuals have no qualms about buying a database of stolen usernames and passwords, authenticating a user for themselves, stealing personal and/or financial information contained on their account, and either monetizing that data or abusing it to commit fraud or secondary attacks.
Web services see these password attacks target their users every day.
That’s why many let their users activate two-step verification (2SV), a additional security feature which adds another step in a login process. For instance, Facebook allows its users to enable what it calls “Login Approvals”, while WhatsApp rolled out 2SV to its 1.2 billion users.in February 2017.
One of the newest services to join the 2SV bandwagon is Instagram, yet another company owned by Facebook. How do you set it up, you ask? It couldn’t be easier! Let’s take a look.
- Go to your Instagram profile.
- At the top right of the app’s display window, you’ll see three dots arranged in a horizontal line. Click that icon to access your Instagram account settings.
- Under the sub-heading labeled “Account,” click on the option “Two-Factor Authentication.”
- Turn on the button that reads “Require Security Code.” (Before you can activate that code, you may need to first add a phone number to your account.)
- Enter the SMS confirmation code Instagram sends you.
You’re all set! Now whenever you ever want to log in to your account, such as from another device, Instagram will send your verified phone number a 6-digit SMS security code.
That’s some extra security worth celebrating!
Want to better protect your other web accounts with 2SV? Check out our resources below for instructions.
Update: Since this article was first published, Instagram has introduced support for third-party authentication apps – which is considered a safer way of protecting your accounts with 2FA. Read more here.
Read more:
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) versus two-step verification (2SV)
- How to better protect your Facebook account from hackers
- How to better protect your Twitter account from hackers
- How to enable two-step verification (2SV) on your WhatsApp Account
- How to protect your Amazon account with two-step verification (2SV)
- How to better protect your Google account with two-step Verification (2SV)
- How to protect your Dropbox account with two-step verification (2SV)
- How to protect your Office 365 users with multi-factor authentication
- How to protect your Microsoft account with two-step verification (2SV)
- How to better protect your Tumblr account from hackers with 2SV
- How to protect your LinkedIn account from hackers with two-step verification (2SV)
- How to protect your PayPal account with two-step verification (2SV)
- How to protect your Yahoo account with two-step verification (2SV)
- How to protect your Apple ID account against hackers
- How to better protect your Google account with two-step verification and Google Authenticator
- How to protect your Hootsuite account from hackers
- How to better protect your Instagram account with two-step verification (2SV)
- Instagram finally supports third-party 2FA apps for greater account security
- How to protect your Nintendo account from hackers with two-step verification (2SV)
- How to better protect your Roblox account from hackers with two-step verification (2SV)