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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

#181

Post by velox_neb »

donmcronald wrote: post #32
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…

> 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. Even worse than that, they're often connecting from public IPs that are "suspicious" which causes automated systems to treat them more harshly. In Canada it's gotten to the point where you need an interne…

> they're often connecting from public IPs that are "suspicious" which causes automated systems to treat them more harshly.

What's worse is that the the error messages never explain the problem. It's just an endless sequence of "Oops! Something went wrong" "We could not fulfill your request" "Please try again later".

Could drive someone crazy if they're not savvy enough to realize what's going on.

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

#182

Post by pabs3 »

I can't help with the phone/lockout issue, but I can help (through ArchiveTeam https://archiveteam.org/) with saving the content of your sites to archive.org. I started with doreenmichele.blogspot.com (mentioned elsewhere in the thread), if there are any other sites that need saving, you can reply here or join the ArchiveTeam chat and I/we will get them uploaded.

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

#183

Post by djha-skin »

opan wrote: post #171
djha-skin wrote: post #163

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 compani…

Unless something changed, you can enable SMS MFA, add TOTP as a secondary MFA option, then remove SMS to only have TOTP. I did this a couple years ago after someone explained it to me. It is stupid, tedious, and still requires giving up your phone number to Google, but it may help you as it did me. I also use KeePassXC and have had phone issues in the past, so I hate relying on my phone for anything important (it's a…

That's just my point: it has changed.

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

#184

Post by hansvm »

My phone is still bricked from the onboarding process at Google years ago, and I had to show up in person to get my W2 after I left. Hopefully somebody here can help, but short of a road trip or fixing the device (can often be <$40 to some kid in your hometown, not necessarily a deal breaker), I'd personally start executing Plan B.

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

#185

Post by prawn »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #124
DoreenMichele wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in a small town. I have no car. I no longer drive. I don't see well enough. I work from home due to my medical situation. I have no friends locally who can drive me someplace. Etc etc etc. This is a non-starter for me. I need Google to fix this. I can't do anything about the busted phone at this point.

On the off chance it helps, because I don't see anyone else mentioning it: could it be that your charging port is stuffed with lint? If you have a thin needle, try to poke inside and see how much material can you get out of the port. Despite this being a common problem, it's not well recognized, and it's easy to forget about it too. I went through several charging cables and almost replaced my phone half a year ago,…

This has happened to me at least twice and it’s taken too long to realise each time. Further, even if you think you’ve cleaned it, it can need more. I’ve had to scrape away at it before it will charge, and even then sometimes only at an angle or with a book resting on the cable/connection. Given it’s not OP’s issue, hopefully these posts help someone else.

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

#186

Post by jjnoakes »

rurp wrote: post #89
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…

Not to mention the chances that your 2FA method will be used as another tracking and marketing vector. These days I'm deeply suspicious of companies that require 2FA.

Sorry, do you mean just sms 2fa or totp too? If you meant totp too, how so?

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

#187

Post by DoreenMichele »

pabs3 wrote: post #182

I can't help with the phone/lockout issue, but I can help (through ArchiveTeam https://archiveteam.org/ ) with saving the content of your sites to archive.org. I started with doreenmichele.blogspot.com (mentioned elsewhere in the thread), if there are any other sites that need saving, you can reply here or join the ArchiveTeam chat and I/we will get them uploaded.

Thank you but: The published content that you can currently access will still be publicly available if I get locked out. Saving the already published content is not hugely important.

Saving access to my ability to keep putting out info via the URLs in question is the thing that concerns me (with regards to my blogs per se -- a much bigger concern is keeping my phone number and email address). Migrating the content elsewhere is a huge pain. I've done it before and it sucks and I have so little traction in terms of traffic and income, I'm not sure it is worth it to me though I think it's important information and would be a shame to just abandon my projects.

Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me to stop tilting at windmills and stop believing that someday my work will be recognized as valuable. I don't know where to go from here if it all melts down, but given my inability to get taken seriously or monetize my work, perhaps letting it all die is the better answer. It's gotten me nothing but grief so far.

I'm sorry this isn't a more grateful answer. I wish things were not like this and I'm pretty stressed out.

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

#188

Post by quickthrower2 »

derekp7 wrote: post #132
password4321 wrote: post #21

I have to use wireless charging because the connector on my old phone is toast. It was a lifesaver for ~$15.

I've needed to scrape the USB connector in the phone with a needle (digging around the outside and scraping the tab in the middle) in order to get the cord to stay in place. It gets filled up with pocket lint gunk, and needs cleaning every once in a while. Also since the phone is water proof I've taken to letting water run into the USB connector to really clean it.

For Apple phones: genius bar told me they’ll clean it for free no appointment. ymmv.

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

#189

Post by quickthrower2 »

havo wrote: post #111
discardedrefuse wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trick isn't to disable 2FA. It's to add a bunch of 2FA methods that don't rely on your cell phone: authenticator app, yubi keys, backup codes.

This is terrible advice. Please don't ever rely on authenticator apps. Try changing your phone, resetting your phone or losing your phone and watch yourself get locked out of your accounts with absolutely no recourse.

I chuck all my totps on my wifes phone as a backup. Google Authenticator lets you export the lot as a single QR

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

#190

Post by Biganon »

mattrighetti wrote: post #12
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 carefully store backup codes on my Bitwarden vault so I know where to find them. Also, I use Yubikeys for 2FA, those are reliable enough and you don’t need to rely on phones that could break.

If you store the backup codes in your Bitwarden account, why not simply store the secret itself there, and use Bitwarden as your TOTP app?
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