Multi Factor Authentication, Pain or Protection?

I am sure you are wondering what the heck is Multifactor Authentication?! How am I supposed to know if it is a pain or protection? Multifactor Authentication is a tool you would use to validate your identity when accessing cloud-based resources. Examples of a cloud-based resource would be your online banking, or even your Amazon account. Use of Multifactor Authentication creates difficulty for attackers with little disruption to you, the legitimate user.

There are several ways to use a Multifactor Authentication tool. You may even be using one without knowing the term for it. Some banks send a text message to your cell phone with a code before you can access online banking, this is a Multifactor Authentication tool. 

What is the pain of using Multifactor Authentication? As described in the definition there is a little disruption to you in logging into your cloud-based resources. My first experience using Multifactor Authentication felt like an inconvenience because I already logged in using my password. Now I have to turn around and either click another button, or enter a code before I can get into the software. At the time it felt more inconvenience than anything else. That was before understanding the protection gained from Multifactor Authentication.

The client portal that D.K. Arndt offers also has a Multifactor Authentication tool, and offers 3 options to use their Multifactor Authentication. The first is an app for your smart phone called Authenticator. To install this app, you would search in your Google Play or Apple App Store for Thomson Reuters Authenticator. The application is free to download, and easy to link to your portal. The second option is using other Multifactor Authentication apps from your Google or Apple Store. The third is to purchase a Multifactor Authentication card, which is the size of a credit card, and costs about $30.

Unfortunately, bad things can happen. The question to ask is did I do as much as I can to prevent this? Multifactor Authentication is another level of protection that is worth the little inconvenience of using it.