Be Careful Two Factor Authentication - Apple!

[PipeIT]

Today, I almost lost my Apple account, with everything Pipe related and some other personal things, gone forever!

Everything, completely and utterly gone forever, and I was devastated!

I’ve only been using an iPad 5 years, I’ve always been more the Unix Linux Geek, computers are my world.

Well as I call it, no offense guys/gals, I’ve never been one to want to be a part of the iSheep crowd... LOL?

I don’t know when this started, but when I started using my iPad 5 years ago, you didn’t need a phone number on your Apple account. Maybe some people are getting away with not needing it, but one day, the iPad forced me into putting a phone number on my account, then it automatically enabled Two Factor Authentication without my knowledge.

Well, today I reset and erased my iPad, I wanted to give it a good cleaning out. After the reset/erase was over and I was setting it back up, it was asking me to put in the number it forced me into giving it before. The problem being, I no longer had or knew this number, and it wasn’t until that moment I realized Two Factor Authentication was enabled, which I never knew till then.

I was locked out, from what I could tell, I was never getting back in. I contacted Apple chat support, they told me there was nothing they could do.

I called Apple and spent almost an hour on the phone, they said there was nothing they could do. I hung up devastated, I lost it all.

Well, for whatever I was thinking at moment, I went back to the iPad screen, where it gave me a choice to call my number, and I pressed it, and to my surprise my phone rang, a different number.

Then it started to walk me through the setup, but then, it asked for the number again, which I thought was really strange, since this was not the number listed for the Two Factor Authentication. So I gave it my number again, and my phone range once again from Apple with my verification code.

I was blown away, I got back into my iPad, but how I was wondering, because when I looked at the iPad phone listed, it only showed the old one I couldn’t remember.

So, if you are asking what I think here, it looks like when I gave Apple support my number, they added it to my account later, which allowed me back in!

Can I just flip out now? LOL I mean HOLY CRAP!

Moral of the story, if you are using any Apple device make sure you look if there is a telephone number and the Two Factor Authentication is enabled and that number is working and you know it.

Because as Apple told me today, if you loose that number, you will never get back into your account, it is gone forever!

I wouldn’t trust your luck, that they will be kind and do what they did for me, because technically speaking of, they are not suppose to.

Oooh what a sigh of relief, what a day this has been, but I am so bloody happy now!

Oh, and one last thing, if you have a lot of data, pictures, music, documents, etc., make sure you back everything up on several portable USB hard drives, in case one fails, you have a backup for the backup. As they say, don’t keep all your eggs in one basket, so don’t backup everything only in one place!

Don’t just trust having your data backed up in the Cloud from any service provider out there, keep backups also on several portable USB hard drives!

Be well, stay safe, and be careful of all of your accounts with usernames, passwords and phone numbers!

Aloha ?

 

[sablebrush52]

Anything important has three back ups, these days thumb drives In the past I burned everything to CD or DVD.

 

[STP]

Good info. We’re an iFamily w/all their devices, including iMacs, iPads, iPhones, iPods… and have never had any significant issues in 15+ yrs. Maintaining updates and performing back-ups are certainly important.

 

[PipeIT]

Oh, I said before you neded a working number, Apple told me if you no longer have the number, you only have to remember it is all.

I would personally just make sure to have good working numbers listed, you can actually add several. I now have two numbers listed in both of our iPads.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Two Factor Authentication is a scam, the only reason they use it now is for advertisement tracking.

Not that it's impossible for the system to be a benefit in "some scenarios" but it can also be a security risk if people know enough about you, it all depends on what information leaks.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Cloud, cloud, cloud... I set up a family acct on a cloud thing that Apple offered. $0.99 a month.
The problem is that when I take a picture, my whole family gets them in their pics, ha ha. Which has them thinking I am crazy for taking pics of my pipes for the WAYS thread. And, at the beach, when I couldn't believe this girl who was laying on the beach totally naked, I snapped a pic, ha ha. I instantly remembered when my daughters started texting me about that pic, ha ha.

 

[scout19d3]

Two Factor Authentication is a scam

I'd like to expand on this a bit as I respectfully disagree with the statement, as written.
Simply put - with 2FA, a bad-actor in possession of your username and password must provide a second factor before accessing that account. This is a very good thing!

I'm intuiting that your scam-reference may be more specific to employing an SMS telephone # as the means to negotiate that 2nd factor. I suggest avoiding any 2FA system implementation that requires SMS, as there are inherent risks and documented penetrations. Physical 2FA fobs, apps, biometric tokens, etc - are better options

With either of the 1st 2x options (keyfob or app) a 60-second rotating # is the token.

2FA or MFA is about the most effective method of securing logons available to us and has protected more than one of my accounts many times over.

 

[PipeIT]

@frozenchurchwarden sorry what are you talking about in regards to; ‘impossible for the system to benefit’?

@scout19d3 Apple is forcing 2FA, I had to put a number on my iPad, but I’m pissed about this and calling Apple over it.

I just read that Apple was also sued in 2019 forcing 2FA.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

@frozenchurchwarden sorry what are you talking about in regards to; ‘impossible for the system to benefit’?

@scout19d3 Apple is forcing 2FA, I had to put a number on my iPad, but I’m pissed about this and calling Apple over it.

I just read that Apple was also sued in 2019 forcing 2FA.

Scout made my point much better than I did.

 

[PipeIT]

Scout made my point much better than I did.

Ok, I read this, I understand these things.

I just spoke to Apple today, the problem is, with Apple ID Accounts they are now forcing 2FA on users, instead of making it a choice.

Any option like this, is suppose to be about giving consumers/users choices for them to decide if they want it, not be forced into it.

Businesses in the USA that have offered 2FA to consumers, have always offered it as an optional Layer of Security, not something you are forced into using.

If you Google this, you will see search results on Apple forcing 2FA, and supposedly they were sued over it.

Naked Security – Sophos News

nakedsecurity.sophos.com

 

[captainsousie]

Meddle thee not in the affairs of Apple, for they are fraught with peril and fanatic followers.

 

[captainsousie]

Ok, I read this, I understand these things.

I just spoke to Apple today, the problem is, with Apple ID Accounts they are now forcing 2FA on users, instead of making it a choice.

Any option like this, is suppose to be about giving consumers/users choices for them to decide if they want it, not be forced into it.

Businesses in the USA that have offered 2FA to consumers, have always offered it as an optional Layer of Security, not something you are forced into using.

It used to be that Android gave you choices in things like that too. However, their biggest champion Samsung has done the same. I guess the 11th commandment is that "Thou shalt use two factor identification or else..."

 

[PipeIT]

I just read that Google supposedly started forcing 2FA on Google accounts. Hmm

Apple should follow Google's lead and force 2-factor authentication for all accounts

Google has announced on World Password Day that it is enabling two-factor authentication on all Google accounts. Apple should do the same with Apple IDs.

www.macworld.com

 

[pappymac]

I’ve been an Apple/Macintosh user since 1987. I’ve never had any of the problems you mentioned.

 

[PipeIT]

I’ve been an Apple/Macintosh user since 1987. I’ve never had any of the problems you mentioned.

If you have an Apple ID Account it will force you into adding a telephone and enabling 2FA, this is Apple’s new policy.

Use two-factor authentication for your Apple Account on iPhone

On iPhone, prevent others from accessing your Apple Account by using two-factor authentication.

support.apple.com

If you use on older version of iOS and iPadOS you don’t have this, it states the versions it’s needed on now.

As I mentioned I called Apple today, and different from this article, they told me if you create a new Apple account, you will have to use 2FA.