Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) allows users to secure their accounts in more than one way. The most common form of security is either a password or a pin sent to your email address or mobile device. It is much harder to get into your account if the hacker does not have access to your phone number or your email. The second layer of security makes it much harder for a hacker to access your account.
Benefits of Using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Protects private information: social media is used to communicate and express yourself with family and close friends. You would not want prying eyes to look into your life without your consent or knowledge. Enabling MFA allows you to keep your account safe and secure.
- Enhances security: When adding an extra layer of security, it helps to prevent brute forcing, keylogging, and credential stuffing. MFA helps to make it much harder for an attacker to get into your account.
Turning On MFA for Common Applications
The majority of people have some form of social media. Students and faculty alike use social media such as Instagram, TikTok or Discord. Most use the applications as a means to communicate or share information which can be sensitive depending on the situation. Here are some links to help enable MFA for popular social media applications.
Your Gmail can hold a lot of sensitive information such as subscriptions, bills, and financial information Turning on multi-factor authentication is a quick and easy way to secure your account.
Instagram is a social media platform that allows you to post pictures for family and close friends to see. It is one of the most popular platforms around today and can be devastating to lose your account to a hacker. People like to constantly post and have hundreds of memories that could be deleted or exposed. Enabling MFA helps to provide another layer of security to protect your account.
Discord is an instant messaging app where users can upload video, voice and text messages. Overall, it carries data that could be personal between two people or a group of friends in what is called a "Channel". Messages that may not be expected to see daylight could be seen due to the wrong person getting access to the account. MFA helps to limit the chances of being phished and possible chats from being leaked.
X, formerly known as Twitter, is a microblogging platform where users can share their ideas and thoughts to their followers in shapes of tweets. A person can easily hop in a chain of tweets and follow a trend with the use of a hashtag. A hacker could easily distribute a phishing link to followers with access to your account. MFA helps to prevent access being gained and if you were phished, it helps to prevent that anything will come of it.
TikTok is a video sharing platform where users can record themselves following trends and doing different activities for their followers to see. Many people have prerecorded videos called "drafts" that have not been published and may hold personal value. MFA makes sure that the likelihood of losing an account due to password guessing is minimized. It also helps to protect financial information with the TikTok marketplace becoming more popular.
Report Phishing
- Forward suspicious emails to phishing@laccd.edu.
Report an Incident
- Email @email or call (213) 891-2248.
Questions
- Email @email.