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Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

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Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#161

Post by doodlebugging »

TheBrokenRail wrote: post #150

This is the issue with companies forcing 2FA on people. I don't see why it's so controversial that people should be able to make their own security decisions on their own accounts. Yes, I know 2FA is more secure, but sometimes, I just don't care that much.

I agree. For my own Google accounts they have been trying for months to get me to give a phone number. Neither account is under my real name though so there is no way that I will be giving them a phone number.

I get around their phone number prompts by hitting the back button and trying the login again. Sometimes I get an option to add it later so I click that. So far, I have had no problems accessing my google accounts with nothing more than a fake.name_@_gmail.com identity. The names really are pretty close to that. LOL I always login in a new window with no other tabs open and delete cookies as I close the window (Firefox). It's like a brand new world every time.

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#162

Post by sockaddr »

thehappypm wrote: post #142
jrmg wrote: post #50

I have long wondered if two factor authentication actually causes more economic harm than it solves - it just doesn’t cause that harm to be noticeably all in one place (the harm is spread to millions of users who will lose access at some point during their lives rather than concentrated on the company that implements TFA dealing with fraud). It feels like it might. This isn’t counting the productivity that’s lost to…

Hard disagree. MFA is the best mechanism to stop hackers from constantly hacking everyone. Without it everyone would be getting brute forced 24/7.

Why wouldn’t exponential API rate limiting not solve this brute force issue?

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#163

Post by djha-skin »

I wanted to point out a very serious problem related to this post: Google will no longer simply accept totp as a verification but insists on sending you a notification to one of your devices.

Now I can't just use KeepassXC to get into Google anymore, I have to use my phone. The problem that the OP points out provides very real and poignant evidence that this is not only annoying but dangerous.

What is it that companies have against totp? It's starting to get obnoxious. I want to use it everywhere but some companies have stopped honoring it.

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#164

Post by bakugo »

jsnell wrote: post #141

> Google says it will send me a link in 72 hours. Right, so why don't you believe that? A lot of people have lost their only second factor in the past. That's what the recovery flow is there for. Why not at least wait that amount of time first before escalating to using HN as a support forum? > Google is convinced I'm trying to break into my own accounts That's like saying that the front door is convinced you're tryi…

> That's like saying that the front door is convinced you're trying to break into your house, if you try the wrong key.

How is that in any way comparable, your house is not a digital "thing" that exists on some megacorporation's servers and is completely inaccessible to anyone by any means except via being allowed in by the corporation in question.

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#165

Post by djha-skin »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #4

This is my nightmare. This is why I refuse to use 2FA. (Except on services that require it, and I wish they didn't require it.) Am I worried about getting hacked? Absolutely! But when I weigh the likelihood of (1) someone else getting into my account without 2FA and (2) locking myself out of my own account with 2FA, the latter seems much more likely! I understand how backup codes work. I promise you I will loose them…

Use a password manager and your problems will all disappear.

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#166

Post by katbyte »

gibolt wrote: post #147
katbyte wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need to use a phone number for google. I don't have a phone number attached to my google account at all due to the risk of sim swapping despite asking my carrier to lock it, instead i have multiple hardware keys and devices + backup codes in a safe deposit box.

You do for lots of other things (and many people have it for Google as well). Most banking or payment, a random selection of apps that decide you now need verification, new apps in the new country...

yes but this is a post about google.

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#167

Post by neurostimulant »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #23
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #4

This is my nightmare. This is why I refuse to use 2FA. (Except on services that require it, and I wish they didn't require it.) Am I worried about getting hacked? Absolutely! But when I weigh the likelihood of (1) someone else getting into my account without 2FA and (2) locking myself out of my own account with 2FA, the latter seems much more likely! I understand how backup codes work. I promise you I will loose them…

I use authy (free) for 2FA TOTP and have it set up on my work laptop, my home laptop, and my phone. As long as least one of those is still good, I should still be able to get in. I honestly don't know what's going on behind the scenes to know if this is not as secure as it "should" be. But this was my reaction specifically to the non-SMS TOTP 2fa: Wait, if I lose my phone there's literally no way possible to get in?…

Most password managers has 2FA TOTP support these days so your OTP will be available on all devices that has your password manager installed.

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#168

Post by gnicholas »

crooked-v wrote: post #6

There was a post a while back around poor and homeless people encountering exactly this problem on a regular basis. Lots of people in the comments were incredibly dismissive and sometimes actively malign about it. Edit: One suggestion from me would be to try and start the dead phone connected to power but with the battery physically removed (assuming it's removable). That might bypass whatever issue it's having and l…

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33120534

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#169

Post by nathan_f77 »

crooked-v wrote: post #6

There was a post a while back around poor and homeless people encountering exactly this problem on a regular basis. Lots of people in the comments were incredibly dismissive and sometimes actively malign about it. Edit: One suggestion from me would be to try and start the dead phone connected to power but with the battery physically removed (assuming it's removable). That might bypass whatever issue it's having and l…

Is there anything I can do to help poor and homeless people with technology? I'm in New Zealand and I would like to find some more ways to help people.

Re: Ask HN: If I get locked out of everything, please try to help me

#170

Post by gibolt »

katbyte wrote: post #166
gibolt wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do for lots of other things (and many people have it for Google as well). Most banking or payment, a random selection of apps that decide you now need verification, new apps in the new country...

yes but this is a post about google.

Google was included in my response. The vast majority will have phone number as their 2fa
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