Facebook's new feature for secure Login

Hacking Password of a facebook account is now not easy, but its IMPOSSIBLE.

 We have always been advising users to enable two-step authentication feature to secure your online accounts, a process that requires users to manually enter, typically a six-digit secret code (OTP - One Time Password) generated by an authenticator app or received via SMS or email. So even if somehow hackers steal your login credentials, they would not be able to access your account without one-time password sent to you.

But, Are SMS-based one-time passwords Secure?

US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is also no longer recommending SMS-based two-factor authentication systems, and it’s not a reliable solution mainly because of two reasons:

• Users outside the network coverage can face issues
• Users might have changed their mobile number due to some reason
• What if the phone (along with your sim installed) is stolen!
• Growing number of sophisticated attacks against OTP schemes

So, to upgrade the security of your account, Facebook now support Fido-compliant Universal 2nd Factor Authentication (U2F), allows users to log into their Facebook account using a physical security key, such as the YubiKey, instead of relying on a one-time passcode sent via text message or email.

Compared with the traditional authentication protocols, Universal 2nd Factor Authentication (U2F) is a hardware-based authentication aims to simplify, fasten and secure two-factor authentication process.U2F standard as a security feature has already been implemented by major companies including Google, Dropbox, GitHub, and supported by Chrome and Opera web browsers. 

The best thing about this standard is that one tiny little device can be used to authenticate with any number of online services and no mobile connection or batteries are required.

These hardware-based security keys are easy to use and deploy. You just need to simply plug-in the USB device (which starts at about $10) into your computer's USB port to get into your Facebook account from any computer anywhere.

Ready to activate your security key for your Facebook account?

• Go to Security settings of your Facebook account.
• Open Login Approval and Click "Add Key" shown in front of 'Security Key.'
• 'Add Key ' and Facebook will ask you to "Insert your security key into a USB port."

Note: Hardware-based Security Key will only work if you're using the Chrome or Opera browser.

For more detailed instructions on setting up a security key, you can head on to this page.