Some time ago my father, who is almost 70 years old and doesn't get along well with technology, asked me for help because he could no longer access internet banking. It turned out that the procedure for accessing the service has been implemented and made more cumbersome.

Later this implementation, which I discovered was called "two-factor authentication", has been introduced on many websites that process sensitive data and provide electronic payments. This is a way to make these websites increasingly safe and let us sleep soundly, even if at first it may seem like yet another nuisance created by the web to torment its poor users.

The web is a world of great contradictions. On the one hand it tries to make our lives easier, providing us with ever faster solutions to the big and small issues of everyday life. On the other hand, it is full of distractions what they do to us waste time and sometimes it gets lost in cumbersome passages and apparently useless questions, which often really are useless.

We all remember the relatively recent provision that requires that on all sites, under penalty of a hefty fine for non-compliant owners, there must be a clearly visible banner that informs us of the use of cookies. It is impossible to forget this provision that warns us of something obvious because every time we surf the web we find ourselves having to deal with these annoying banners.

But if in the digital world things are often done that could be avoided for the common good, what seems cumbersome on the web is not always useless. This is the case oftwo-factor authentication. If you haven't already, you should seriously consider including it on your website. We at Pizero Design we can help you with this.

If you haven't come across this system yet, I'll quickly explain what it consists of. The current system of accessing websites requires the insertion of a secret password, which only you should know. That password is the only element that guarantees your security.

But a single password is not at all secure.. It can end up too easily in the hands of some malicious person because it can be stolen or obtained through hacking techniques. What do you want a password of a few characters to be for a seasoned hacker. And then, let's face it, the password can end up in bad hands even without bothering hackers. Usually we use passwords that are easy to remember, linked to important elements of our life, which, with a little intuition, they can be easily guessed.

Two-factor identification tries to offer a solution to all these shortcomings, which allows access to a site after a double check: first you enter the password you chose, then you enter a one-time code that is sent to the cell phone number you entered during registration. A system that is not too complicated once you get used to it.

In the future, all sites and apps that include sensitive data or that require electronic payments will have to integrate this system because the security of their users is a priority on the web.

Have you decided to make your site more secure for your users? Contact us to implement this feature. We at Pizero Design we can add this authentication method to iOS and Android apps and websites, using an SMS service or even via Whatsapp.