What is two-factor authentication and how it protects SMM panels on our platform

What is two-factor authentication and how it protects SMM panels on our platform
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Elena R.
Nov 23, 2022

Having a strong password is definitely one of the key cyber safety measures that no one should overlook when creating accounts on any website online. However, even now a lot of people, including SMM panel users and owners, don’t pay enough attention to the complexity of their passwords and reuse the same passwords from website to website. Hackers also keep doing what they’re doing — disclosing billions of usernames and passwords, among other things. It means that while coming up with a strong password is definitely a must, it is good to have one more verification step for extra security. This is what two-factor authentication is for. It would help make sure that everyone’s accounts are well-protected, even if some people still have weak and predictable passwords. 

What is two-factor authentication and how does it work?

Two-factor authentication, also known as 2-step verification or simply 2FA, is an additional layer of protection that is used to make online accounts even more secure.
So, how does two-factor authentication actually work? Various 2FA methods involve different processes, however, what they all have in common is the same underlying workflow.

Here’s how a two-factor authentication transaction usually happens:

1. Someone signs in to the website or service with their username and password.
2. An authentication server validates that password. If it’s correct, then the user can proceed with the second factor.
3. The authentication server sends a unique code to the user’s email address / app / etc.
4. The user approves the next authentication step to confirm their identity.

Reasons why we use two-factor authentication on our platform

On our platform, we use email-based two-factor authentication. It is mandatory for panel owners due to security reasons. We also offer optional two-factor authentication for panel users so that they could protect their accounts better and prevent someone else from gaining access to them even if that someone finds out their username and password. Let us explain why two-factor authentication is important, especially for services that involve various financial operations or store private information.

Passwords shouldn't be too obvious no matter what

Are you really sure your password is strong? According to general research, passwords of some people who have accounts online aren’t complex enough, even if those are business accounts that have private information. Moreover, some people use the same password on different websites, which makes them easier to expose. Weak passwords can be cracked by hackers without much effort since one of the usual things that they do is try out a list of the most commonly used passwords to gain access to people’s accounts. This is why it’s important to avoid creating passwords with words that can be found in dictionaries and obvious word combinations. 

Sometimes just having a strong password is not enough

Unfortunately, even if your password is strong enough, there still are ways for skilled hackers to figure it out:

Data breaches. When a data breach happens anywhere online, millions of username and password combos (as well as other personal information) can be put for sale by hackers. All this data can be bought and used with the aim to access other people’s accounts.

Spyware. This is a type of malicious software that can spy on everything you do on your device. For example, there is keylogging software that can record everything you type without you being aware of it and send that information back to hackers who installed that malware on your computer, phone, etc.

Phishing. Hackers often disguise themselves as trusted businesses or credible contacts to make people reveal their personal information, this type of scam is called phishing. For example, when it comes to the world of SMM services reselling, scammers often create panels using third-party scripts. They add very cheap or even free services there to make more people sign up. As a result, many username-password pairs are being collected and sold. And it’s not rare that users have the same usernames and passwords on different panels. So if a user creates an account on a fake panel and reuses their usual username-password pair, they can get their account on a real panel hacked very easily.

Due to all these facts, we have made the decision to protect panels on our platform with two-factor authentication. While we understand that it might take some time for our clients to get used to it, it was an important step to take. A lot of financial operations are processed on SMM panel accounts daily, that’s why they automatically become targets for hackers. But even if your password is exposed and someone gets access to it, they won’t be able to sign in to your account because of two-factor authentication on our platform. This is what makes two-factor authentication a powerful security measure that is definitely worth implementing. 

Further reading