Melanie
Welcome to the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast for all decision makers and action takers. Take it away, Esther.
Esther
And welcome back to another episode of the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast. Today we're talking about sweet 2FA. So that's two factor authentication, something that we all love to hit, but it's very, very necessary. So let's get into it. Two Factor Authentication is basically a security device system security measure. It's key, keeps you secure. But we, we love it because it keeps us secure and safe and you know, all our information's happily stored away but we hit having to go and do it. So let's get into it. Thoughts? Feelings? I mean, this episode will be full of me ranting about the difficulties of some systems.
Melanie
Okay, I'm going to be talking on the side of I like 2FA. I like the security it offers. I like the fact that it's not actually that hard to do it. It's obviously considerably more fiddlier than just putting in your email and your password. But we've all lost access to something at some stage at least once. It's, it's happened to us all. So I think it's really important that we have in place something that's going to actually help us actively protect our, our brand, our, the back end of everything. The website, the back end of our accounts, the back end of our CRMs. Now, typically of all the platforms that I've ever had access to and God, I hope this is still accurate in a couple of years time is it has been a meta issue, largely has been the one that people have really struggled to keep access to. But there are things in place that you should be using which is Two Factor Authentication along with many other things you can do.
Esther
Yeah.
Melanie
And although this isn't part of Two Factor Authentication, I, because we're talking about security here, I think it's also important that you don't use the business email address for your business logins because most people just assume that it's going to be the business email address, then all they need to work out is the password. So create or use an old or obscure email address that you still obviously have access to.
Esther
Yeah, I was going to say you obviously need to still have access to it, but there are some things that don't allow you. For example, MailerLite doesn't allow you to use a Gmail or a Hotmail or Yahoo account in order to set it up. So first of all, yeah, first and foremost you need to have access and I would even say access on all your devices to be able to use this Two Factor Authentication because for example, we have an email address here at IPA Group that is only on my laptop. So if I'm out and about and one of my team needs the two factor authentication because it's, you know, they can be sent to email, they can be sent to text message, they can be sent to, you know, the list is endless and we'll get into that list in a minute. But if they need that code and I am not sat at my laptop, too bad they will have to ask for it again once I'm back because they expire. And yeah, it, it can be difficult. Like some of my team are eight hours behind me in time zones. So it's not always possible for us all to be sat at the computer at the same time.
But it is very necessary because recently I have talked to a client who had their Stripe account. Now Stripe is where money is held. And they were getting text messages saying, here's your login, here's your 2FA login.
Melanie
Wow.
Esther
And they were not logging in. They were talking to me in the street. They were not trying to log in. So obviously somebody had tried to log in. They were receiving the password in real time, which then they were able to go, no, this is not me. Because there's an option on some of them to say if this is not you, do not click. Definitely do not share this with other people. So 2FAs can be called OTPs one time passwords. They can be sent, like I said, text message, email. They can be your fingerprint. If you have a laptop like, like mine that has a, a fingerprint login or your phone can have a fingerprint or it can be your face that's scanned. There are lots and lots of things and ways to do it. Like my husband even uses 2fa to get into his WhatsApp. It annoys me because I then have to put in the physical passwords if I'm using his phone. But he can just. His face will open his WhatsApp.
Melanie
Right, that makes sense.
Esther
So, but it's these additional measures that are put in place. Oh, and there is another place that I forgot to mention that you can get your one time password or your authentication and they are authentication apps. Now this might be my one personal bugbear because there are so many different apps and I never remember which login is in which app. So that's when I start to go, can you just put it all in the one place? But that's. Yeah, that's my rant for now.
Melanie
Well, on the positive side, you really are doom and gloom in this episode.
Esther
Well, you see. Okay so-.
Melanie
I need to talk as well at some stage. Esther.
Esther
I know, I know. Go ahead, go ahead.
Melanie
Thank you. See what she's like. Anyway. Yes, I love using Google Authenticator. It is free. It is. Or you can have all the apps in Google Authenticator and they will have their own separate number that updates every minute or so, 30 seconds, I think it is actually. And you just literally open up the app. Whatever it is doesn't have to be Google Authenticator. And you use a QR code that's made available to you. You upload it through your phone, obviously it's available on your phone or your tablet and it then somehow connects to the back end of the login and when you go in. So I use it for my CRM. I use it for, I use it for X. I use it for quite a few things actually. And you know, between that and email and I get regular reports about where my logins are being made available. You know, they always say, is it you? So I get one of those on a regular basis. And like, especially with X. It's interesting, isn't it, because you can go in and it will say your, your account has been accessed on a different device. Because I have it available on my phone and on my laptop. So there are things in place where natively they're trying to protect you.
Esther
Yeah.
Melanie
And you know, although again, it's not to do with necessarily with two factor authentication itself, but it's still to do with security is please update your apps, please update your apps, go into your Google Play Store, go into your Apple App Store and update your apps and do it as often as possible because they want these updates to go out not just to fix bugs, but to prevent hacks and scams and give you the latest updates. And if you're not making sure that your phone or your digital media is. Is kept up to date. It's the same with websites and plugins. This must be a massive issue for some of the websites you come across. Esther.
Esther
Yeah.
Melanie
Is if you don't update these things, you don't have the protections in place to protect your. Your livelihood.
Esther
Yeah.
Melanie
So please, it's. Although we are mostly talking about 2FA, they all play a role with each other. And so whatever you're doing right now, whether you're walking the dog or whether. Well, don't do it right now, if you're driving, please don't take your hands off the steering wheel and pick up your phone. Okay, no, but once you stop, please update your. Your apps on your phone because there's a good chance, if you're anything like my husband, he had 48 apps to up update. Was furious with him and some of them were like months old as well.
Esther
Is that all mine tells me daily, because I go in every day and have it as automatic and they tell me daily that I have. Sometimes there's 67.
Melanie
Daily.
Esther
Yeah, daily.
Melanie
How many apps do you have on your phone?
Esther
Oh, too many. But that brings me to another point if. Because at the time of the recording, it's coming up to gifting season. So if you're lucky enough to be gifted a new phone over this period, then please make sure that all of your apps work and all the information has been transferred over before you delete off your phone. Your old phone. Just. This is coming from personal experience. There is an app here in the UK for HMRC, which is His Majesty's Customs and Revenue. Revenue and Customs. So that's the taxman. And when I last updated my phone, I didn't know that they needed information from my old phone and I have not been able to access the app for about two years. So do not do what I did and just go, well, all the apps have been moved over. I can now, you know, factory reset the old phone, make sure that things like that actually get fully moved over, because come tax season, it is not fun to be on the phone with them trying to get it all figured out when you could have just had an app to make life simple. So that. That's my little customer service announcement for you.
Melanie
Well, they're not to do a rant.
Esther
Oh, I was ranting on the inside. But there are so many things and we hear horror stories every day. Like I said, you know the one about stripe, that's where your money is. PayPal's another one that, you know, put it. Set up your 2FA. Set it up. Even if you share accounts and logins and passwords with other people, it. Yes, it's annoying when they go, oh, can you send me that code? But it's helpful. It is there for a reason. Because whether you think your password is unhackable, it's a lie. Your password is definitely hackable, even with extra symbols and numbers and, you know, capital letters and lowercase and all of that's great, but there will be people who can still work it out. So use that 2FAs.
Melanie
And, you know, if you can use. What's the pass keys that you use? Esther? 1 1, 1Password
Esther
oh yes, 1Password. LastPass things like that to see of your password information in one password. It also saves the, the. It's where it stores the one time passwords for things like WhatsApp and for. Sorry, not WhatsApp, for PayPal. So on PayPal, I've set it up that it needs to give me and only me that extra information so that I know that you know, especially when it comes to money, you really want your bank to be secure and safe. So if somebody's transferring, my bank even asks, you know, if you're transferring money, go into the app. You know, if you're paying for something online, especially again at this time of year, that gifting season and you're going online to make a payment, the bank will usually say go to your app and approve this.
Melanie
Approve it? Yeah.
Esther
So do it. Have it all set up. It is worth the hassle and you heard it from me. Yeah, I hate it. But it is a necessary evil. Very necessary because without it we'd be up the creek without a paddle and just screaming at the banks, give me back my money. When they won't be able to do anything if you haven't at all set up.
Melanie
And you just made a very valid point about the gifting season. But it could also be when you're upgrading your phones as well throughout the year is making sure that you update to if you are using two factor authentic like say an authenticator app or obviously if you're using your fingerprint or your face as a method of getting access. You need to make sure you update that on your new phone.
Esther
Yes.
Melanie
Because it's not always guaranteed to work when you transfer it over. So you need to make sure that the new settings of the phone has the access to the Google or whoever the authenticator you're using. I love Google Authenticate, it's so simple.
Esther
But there are others. There are CFAs, a few of them. But just when you mention that, it reminds me that anytime I wear makeup, my phone does not recognize my face. So make sure that your number or your, you know, squiggly phone to log into your phone is not easily hacked either, you know, so whether it's, you know, don't use your birthday.
Melanie
Oh God, no. Your kid's birthday. Because that's obvious as well.
Esther
Yeah. People can, you know, can steal your phone and get all your information. So make sure that from the very, very start, you have your face saved in it, you have your fingerprint saved in it, you have your passcode to get into it has something that you cannot easily hack or remember or, you know, just be sensible, be, be sensible about these things. Don't write them down on a piece of paper and stick it in the back of your phone. Don't read out codes over, over the phone. If you're in a public place. You know, there's so many things that people do that they don't realize that they're doing it, but it's, it just ticks. 30 seconds for someone to be able to hack into all your information and take away your business, take away your livelihood, take away your money, and it's those 30 seconds that you could have been using to go in and find your 2FA.
Melanie
And honestly, the harder you make it for them, the less interested that they'll be staying there, trying to find their way around it. They'll just dump the phone. So the harder you make it for these people, the better, frankly. But we've, we've seen, I've seen something in TickTok, where they followed where their phone had been. You've seen it as well.
Esther
It's hilarious.
Melanie
Over in Croatia or somewhere like that. And from America.
Esther
Yeah, yeah. The person was from America, had gone on holiday.
Melanie
Yeah, it's hilarious.
Esther
It was. And yeah, they kept asking her, kept asking the person who owned the phone to unlock, send the unlock code. She's got not a chance because unless they can unlock it to then sell it on, it's worthless to them. So she's good. Why would I give you this access? But she, she had fined my phone and was able to find it on another device and follow it on its holidays, as she put it. It was very, very fun.
Melanie
She did get it back in the end.
Esther
Oh, did she? I didn't see it.
Melanie
She, she personally didn't go and get it, but she, because she was doing her journey online, showing how it was going on, she got followers globally and some of them actually followed it up and told their local police.
Esther
Wow.
Melanie
So. And she did get her phone back and they got arrested. But it took a while. It did, took a good, good few months for them to get that done.
Esther
Still, at least they didn't get any other information from her. That's, that's the thing about having all these security measures in place. They are necessary. Trust us, trust us on this.
Melanie
So wherever you are during this gifting season, please do set some time aside whilst you're recovering from your latest food coma and to look at different and new and creative ways to protect your own identity, your children's identity and your online presence in general, there are lots and lots of free tools available to you and pretty much everything we've mentioned is free. So there's no excuse for you not to be able to do them. It's just a case of finding out which one's going to suit you best. So enjoy whatever time of day or year this is when you listen to this. And we will be back again next week with another podcast.
Esther
Bye.
Melanie
Bye.
See, people is going. Will she say something or won't she say something? I've left that a long time this time and I'm wondering how many people have actually clicked off and missed this. Now, if you hear this, I would love for you to send a message to where. Which one should you we shall we use which social platform?
Esther
Oh, Instagram.
Melanie
Instagram. Okay, so find us on Instagram and send us a message that you've heard this and we would. And we'll actually find a way of sharing you. Hey, we may even invite you on the podcast. How about that? There's a bit of incentivization. Yeah, I like that.
