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Authy User: Security In Paradise

Even in paradise, you need a little extra security. This is @StefanyBaez’s story:

Authy: Tell us a little about yourself.

Stefany: My name is Stefany Baez, I was born and I’m still living in the Dominican Republic. I might move in the future, but for now, this is my little piece of paradise.

Are you in the tourism industry?

No, I’m an IT Engineer. I have been working as a Systems Analyst for the past 6 years. Where I work, it’s only me and my boss in the IT department so we handle pretty much everything. While my title is Systems Analyst, I’m also tech support, programmer, server admin… We deal with all the networking as well (or pay someone to deal with it when we can’t) and just about anything that comes up.

You sound like you’re deep into the tech life.

I pretty much love everything that involves technology. I have also been a blogger for over 5 years and ever since I started blogging I am constantly checking out news and testing out new apps and gadgets whenever I can.

So do you spend any time online when you’re not working?

When I’m online, you will probably find me reading news, blogging or catching up on a series. I’ll also spend a lot of time on Twitter, which is the social network I use the most, but it’s usually checking out news articles.

So you’re online a lot at work and at play.

It might sound cliché for an IT Engineer to say this, but technology really is my passion. I started college in med school for a year. I realized what I really wanted to operate on was computers, so I switched careers and I couldn’t be happier having made that decision.

As a tech-lover, and being online so much, you must’ve had to deal with online security at some point.

I have been very lucky I think. I have only had issues with my account being hacked once, someone was using my Spotify account in Brazil. But I am a bit paranoid about being hacked, or losing access to any of my accounts for whatever reason. I have read many stories about it happening to others and every time I read about it, I feel like it could happen to me. That’s why I use two-step verification whenever I can. But with that, comes the issue of looking for a solution that will be sort of an all-in-one, easy and secure.

So, what did you settle on?

I tried Google Authenticator first. It wasn’t bad, but I hated the fact that if I lost my device, or had to perform a factory reset without being able to backup anything first, I would lose access to the app, too, and the accounts already configured on it. Google is a good solution, but is certainly not the best.

Why do say that?

I love messing around with my phones. I use Android, so I am constantly installing new ROMs and playing with it. The one thing I hate about it is having to reconfigure most apps, like Google Authenticator. One day, my sister was locked out of her Gmail account due to having to reset her phone. It was quite the hassle trying to access her Gmail account again. That’s when I decided I wanted to try something other than Google Authenticator. I did some research and found two popular alternatives: Authy and Authenticator Plus. But Authy was free, so it was the obvious choice.  

Besides it being free, are there any Authy features you particularly enjoy?

I love how easy it is to use, how you can backup and sync accounts so easily and worry free. If I get a new device, I can just download the app  and sync my accounts. No need to configure one by one. I can install new ROMs without worrying.

How long have you been using Authy now?

I think it’s been about a year and a half, maybe two, since I switched to Authy. I currently have my Google, Dropbox, WordPress, Buffer, Microsoft and Facebook accounts on Authy. And I’m constantly adding new accounts that have two-step verification.

Lots of people are just now starting to take notice of 2FA, primarily due to the recent high profile hacks of services like Twitter and LinkedIn and others. Being so entrenched in tech, do friends or family come to you for advice?

Absolutely, yes! I have gotten a few friends to switch to Authy, and they seem to be as happy as I am with it. I know there are other really good options out there, but why change when Authy is so perfect? And why would I recommend something other than what I consider the best? So, yes, and I recommend Authy to everyone.

Any suggestions on how we could enhance your Authy experience?

This is a tough one. So far, I haven’t come across anything that I haven’t been able to do with Authy. Except maybe use custom icons for the accounts, though that doesn’t affect the service.

Thanks, Stefany. We appreciate your appreciation!

Keep rocking. There’s a lot of competition out there, but you guys are among the best and I hope you stay there, or higher!

About the author Authy

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