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What Is Two-Factor Authentication, and Which Type Should You Use?

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The three categories of authentication factor Three columns showing something you know (a password or PIN), something you have (a phone, hardware key, or passkey), and something you are (a fingerprint or face). Two of the three are required to unlock the account. Text below explains that "two-factor" means two different categories, not two of the same. any two unlocks 1 Something you know • A password • A PIN • A recovery phrase • An answer to a security question Can be stolen, guessed, or reused 2 Something you have • Your phone (SMS, app, push) • A hardware security key • A passkey on your device • A code from an authenticator Requires possessing the device 3 Something you are • A fingerprint • Face recognitio...
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Should You Repair Your Laptop or Buy a New One?

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Quadrant chart showing when to repair a laptop and when to replace it A quadrant diagram. The horizontal axis shows repair cost as a fraction of a new laptop's price. The vertical axis shows expected remaining useful life. The bottom-left quadrant, low cost and short remaining life, is labelled repair if cheap. The top-left quadrant, low cost and long remaining life, is labelled repair. The top-right quadrant, high cost and long remaining life, is labelled judgement call. The bottom-right quadrant, high cost and short remaining life, is labelled replace. Repair low cost, years of life left the clear case for repair Judgement call high cost, but life left depends on what you can afford Repair if cheap low cost, short life left worth it only if it is under a small fraction of replacement Replace high cost, little life left the money is better spent on something new...
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What Is a Password Manager? And How Do You Actually Start Using One

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How a password manager vault works, from master password to encrypted cloud sync A flow from left to right. The master password enters a key derivation function, which produces an encryption key. That key unlocks the encrypted vault stored on the device. Individual entries in the vault — such as a password for a specific site — are shown being decrypted on demand. The vault, still in its encrypted form, syncs to the cloud provider, which cannot read it because it never has the master password. Master password •••••••••• the one you remember Key derivation turns it into a long encryption key (PBKDF2, Argon2) done on your device Encrypted vault on your device gmail.com •••••• bank.com •••••• github.com •••••• …and 200 more every entry is unique and random ...
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