How does two-factor authentication work?
In: 3
Imagine a door with a single lock. Whoever has the key to that lock can open the door. That’s single factor authentication.
Multi-Factor Authentication would be if you add different locks and carry all the keys on different keychains. So when you do lose one key, your door still stays locked. The important thing is carrying two separate keychains.
In an online example:
If you have single factor authentication on your reddit account (= only 1 lock – the username password combination), anyone who knows your username and password combination can log into your account.
But if you add another layer, another factor, it gets harder.
A common second factor is the phone. It looks like this: you log into reddit with your username password combination, the reddit server checks if that’s alright and if it is, it STILL wants you to prove that you are who you claim. For example by sending you a text message to your phone, the phone that only you could have and prompting you to enter it’s contents.
So in the scenario you do lose your password or you get hacked or your login data gets exposed elsewhere, even if you lose your first keychain, your door will stay locked, your account will stay secured.
First time trying to explain something, let me know if something is still unclear!
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