POINT: Two-Factor Authentication Is the Only Thing Between Me and Hackers Trying to Ruin My Life
As I sit at my desk typing this, I can’t help but feel like a vulnerable rodent being stalked by malicious vultures waiting for me to slip up so they can tear me open and pick apart my precious data. The internet is an unforgiving desolate wasteland, and it’s no longer the strongest or smartest or fastest that survives — it’s the most secure. Thanks to two-factor authentication, I’m able to keep these feathered devils at bay. Without it, I can’t say I’d be alive right now.
Hackers are no longer just some kid in a basement. It’s entire organizations with people on payroll trying to ruin your life, and every day they are developing new ways to breach even the most robust security systems. But just as their methods have evolved, so have the safeguards us common folk use to fight back. So it’s up to you: will you leave yourself compromised, or will you suit yourself up with the bulletproof vest that is two-factor authentication?
I’ve seen countless people think a mere underscore in their password was secure enough, only to fall prey to the rabid cybercriminals lurking in every shadow. Two-factor authentication is the guardian angel that watches over you. It serves as your holy water, your garlic necklace, your silver bullet separating your life from a painful death in the jaws of these sick, ruthless monsters.
I refuse to die at the hands of these animals.
COUNTERPOINT: It’s Annoying to Do
And what if my phone is in the other room? What am I to do then? Get up from my chair, locate my phone, and enter the code? You seriously can’t expect me to jump through those countless superfluous hoops just to keep my data safe from people who are probably just genuinely curious about what my social security number looks like. Grow up.
I’ve got nothing to hide on my computer anyway, so if a hacker wants in, they can get in. The most they’ll find is a few embarrassing photos, some pirated movies, and my enormous compendium of horrifyingly incriminating files that I pray will never see the light of day, lest I spend the rest of my life behind bars.
Sure, maybe two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security, but I also leave my computer entirely vulnerable when I have to go find my phone, so is it really worth it? I’ll just add an underscore to my password and call it a day.
