👍 #856 – The Easy-to-Avoid Two-Factor Loss Risk

This week's articles & videos

As you might know by now, I strongly recommend using two-factor authentication for any account you consider to be even marginally important. It's one of the best ways to secure your account from being compromised.

The push back I get frequently is this: "What if I lose my second factor?"

That is so easily dealt with, it's not funny. But many people don't realize it's even possible. The trick? It requires preparation. Nothing complex, nothing horrible, just some preparation so that when you do lose your second factor, you'll be ready.

This week's featured article -- The Easy-to-Avoid Two-Factor Loss Risk -- tells you what you need to do.

Also this week:

• Oh, look ... a file! I wonder if it's safe to delete?
• Windows 10 + Privacy feels like an oxymoron. You do have some options.
• So many options, which is the best for backing up? Here's what I think you should use first.
• That darned fan! Why is it always running so fast?

TEH Podcast

This week Gary and I went deep into phishing. There are reports that the majority of the major hacks and breaches you hear about all the time all start with a simple successfull phishing attack. Someone acted on a malicious email in a way that opened the door to remote hackers. TEH 131: Spammers are Phishing for you!

An important article elsewhere...

I don't often link to articles in other publications, and I don't think I've ever done it here in the newsletter.

Please read this article from the AARP (published in the AARP Bulletin this week). Inside an International Tech-Support Scam. It's a great peice of investigative journalism that should serve as a warning, and an education, on just how these incredibly successful tech-support scams work.

In particular, share this with someone you know might be vulnerable. It's scary, and important.

I have a question for you...

I would like to offer an option to allow you to chat in nearly real-time with me, and with other Ask Leo! readers. So far the experiments I've run have all had problems, so it's time to do what I should have done in the first place: ask you what you think!

Please fill out this quick three-question survey: Ask Leo! Community Options.

Thank you! I'll see if I can't present some results next week.

Have a great week!

This Week's Featured Article

The Easy-to-Avoid Two-Factor Loss Risk
No need to worry about losing your second factor if you do this first.

Two-factor authentication is an important tool to keep accounts secure, but prepare for losing the second factor so you don't lose your account.

https://askleo.com/17345

Also This Week on Ask Leo!

Is it Safe to Delete This File? The one thing you need to do before you hit delete.
When running out of disk space, considering what you can delete makes sense. I'll look at the steps to determine whether a file, such as a .dat file, may be important. https://askleo.com/2841

Setting up Windows 10 for Privacy Important choices to be made.
Windows 10 privacy seems to be somewhat of an oxymoron, at least based on reputation. I'll review the choices you can make at setup to retain some control. https://askleo.com/20075

External Hard Disk for Backups - 8 Reasons They Are Your Best Option They don't even have to be expensive.
An external drive is by far the best piece of additional equipment you can get for your computer to keep your data safe. https://askleo.com/131457

Why Is My Fan Running at High Speed? Someone's probably working hard.
A fan running at high speed means one thing: heat! The question is how you determine the cause and cool down your machine. It might be easier than you think. https://askleo.com/6613

Ask Leo! on YouTube

Subscribe to Ask Leo! on YouTube to get the latest on YouTube.com. Your subscription (and "Likes") help others find Ask Leo!, and the the answers they're looking for.

How Pixels, DPI, Resolution, Picture Size, and File Size All Relate Photographic image size can be complicated. I'll review how a digital picture is constructed, file size, and what you need to keep in mind when sharing or publishing. https://youtu.be/6P03CGoo5UU

Why Is My Fan Running at High Speed? If your fan is running at high speed it means one thing: heat! The question is how you determine the cause and cool down your machine. It might be easier than you think. https://youtu.be/pm_BzvTjaE0

External Hard Disk for Backups ' 8 Reasons They Are Your Best Option An external disk is by far the best piece of additional equipment you can get for a backup to keep your computer to keep your data safe. https://youtu.be/MFUcGME-A4A

The Easy-to-Avoid Two-Factor Loss Risk Two-factor authentication is an important tool to keep accounts secure, but prepare for losing the second factor so you don't lose your account. https://youtu.be/7D0eMmaRRHg

Is it Safe to Delete This File? When running out of disk space, considering if it is safe to delete a file makes sense. I'll look at the steps to determine whether a file, such as a .dat file, may be important. https://youtu.be/eTthdMKC7oo

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