Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Apple won't force two-factor authentication, but you should use it anyway

Jon Martindale
By

Enable two-factor authentication for added security.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Although language in an email Apple sent out to MacOS users seemed to suggest that two-factor authentication would become the default security setting for the new version of the operating system, the company has now denied that that’s the case. While it still recommends users make use of the additional security offered by such a system, it will only enable it automatically for those who already used it on the previous version of the OS.

Following an email from Apple that did the rounds earlier this week, which stated that if users met certain “basic requirements,” that they would be “automatically updated to use two-factor authentication,” many publications reported that Apple was forcing the standard on people. However, Apple has now clarified that those “requirements” included already having opted in for two-factor authentication.

Recommended Videos

While it’s still a smart choice to add a second layer of digital defense to your Apple ID, and it’s something that Apple would recommend using, it won’t force it down customers’ throats. Mashable corrected its original story after discussing it with Apple, though the fruity firm has made it clear that users already running two-factor authentication can expect to receive an update and improved version as and when they upgrade to MacOS High Sierra or iOS 11 betas.

Related

If you’re not running two-factor authentication on your various accounts and services now, it’s a good idea to consider it. While it can mean jumping through another hoop to access your digital accounts, it’s a very powerful feature in protecting your identity, finances, and personal information. It means that instead of only requiring a password to login to something, you’ll need that and a secondary authentication system — something else to prove you’re you.

Think of it like a bank card and pin code, though more commonly now with online services, it can mean a text to your chosen mobile number, an email to your personal account or a notification on an application you can run separately.

For more tips on how to improve your own digital security, have a look through our guide that we put together following some of the breaches to online services in 2016. It could go a long way toward protecting you and yours online.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale
Computing Coordinator
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
How to use Sign In With Apple

Back in the day, signing in to new apps meant revealing your email address and creating a new password for each account. When that became too confusing and time-consuming, many of us caved into the temptation of using a Facebook account as a universal login, despite justified reservations about privacy.

With iOS 13, iPadOS 13, WatchOS 6, tvOS 13, and MacOS Catalina, Apple introduced Sign In. This feature gives you a private way to sign in to and manage third-party apps and websites using your Apple ID instead of giving out your email to any app that asks. A Sign In With Apple button on an app or website means you can set up an account and sign in with your Apple ID. To use Sign In, you must have an Apple ID with two-factor authentication enabled, and you must be signed in to iCloud. You can use Sign In with various web browsers, including Apple's Safari, or on your Mac.

Read more
Apple’s M1 chip has a flaw, but you shouldn’t worry
Coding on a MacBook

Apple’s M1 chip has revitalized its Mac lineup, but a developer has discovered a flaw they say is “baked into Apple Silicon chips, and cannot be fixed without a new silicon revision.” There is probably no need to worry, though, as the same researcher says the impact of this flaw is negligible.

The exploit allows two apps to pass data between them without the use of files, memory, or any of the other regular ways data is exchanged in an operating system, says Hector Martin, the developer who found the flaw. It can even pass things between users and across privilege levels.

Read more
You won’t need 17 speakers to appreciate Dolby Atmos in Apple Music
Vizio Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Shortly after Apple’s announcement yesterday that it will be adding lossless music streaming to Apple Music, Twitter was awash with hot takes, mainly in the form of jeers. “Does anyone care about lossless audio files except for the guy I dated in 2008 who made me a CD of FLAC files,” asked Wired senior writer Lauren Goode.

Goode makes a, ahem, good point: Just how big of a deal is lossless audio anyway? The answer is -- for the vast majority of folks, who happily listen to Spotify or Apple Music on an inexpensive set of wired or wireless earbuds -- not a very big deal at all. In fact, these people probably wouldn’t hear much of a difference even if their headphones could let them hear lossless audio, and the fact is, most wireless headphones simply can’t.

Read more