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How to Enable Two-Step Authentication on Your Apple ID

Do you have an Apple ID and access iCloud, App Store or iTunes?  It is no secret that hackers exploited a vulnerability and Apple has confirmed that brute forced passwords and security questions were to blame for the breach.

How to Protect Your Apple ID?

You need to have a really good strong password.  Use numbers, letters, uppercase, lowercase and symbols all missed up together. Change “S” to “$”, make a sentence, instead of “four” or “for”, use “4”. Be creative.

Next you need to enable two-step verification (2FA) on your Apple ID.  This second layer of protection will use two-factor verification.  Two-step verification (2FA) will not protect you from are installing complete phone backups, accessing Find My iPhone, or accessing your Photo Stream.

Enabling Two-Step Verification

With two-step verification, you will need to enter your email and password plus you will also be sent a four-digit passcode to a trusted device to verify your identity.

  1. Go to My Apple ID.
  2. Select Manage your Apple ID and sign in.
  3. Select Password and Security.
  4. Answer any security questions (if required).
  5. Select Get Started under Two-Step Verification and follow the instructions.
  6. You’ll be asked to wait three days in order to enable Two-Step Verification, as a precaution.

Once enabled, there will be no more security questions.  If you need to recover, you will receive a 14-character “Recovery Key” for you to print out which you can then use to access your account if you lose your trusted device(s) or forget your password.

Turning Off Two-Step Verification

If you want to turn two-step verification, follow the steps below.

  1. Go to My Apple ID.
  2. Select Manage your Apple ID and then sign in.
  3. Select Password and Security.
  4. Click on Turn off two-step verification.
  5. Choose new security questions and verify your birthday.
  6. Click Save.

Remember your new security questions and answers as you will need them to verify your account.

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