How to secure your account with Two-Step Authentication (2SA) – NumberBarn

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NumberBarn and NumberGarage customers have been asking for an added layer of security on their accounts for some time now -- and for good reason. Protecting your account with just a username and password often is not good enough these days to keep your important accounts secure. All it takes is for your email address to get hacked and then a hacker can easily complete a password recovery on any number of websites that you subscribe to.

That's why we're pleased to announce the addition of Two-Step Authentication (2SA) for NumberBarn and NumberGarage customers. Similar to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), our 2SA functionality requires a second step before you (or anyone else) can sign in to your account.

In this article, we'll discuss the various verification steps that you can add, share detail on how to add these steps, demonstrate the login process and answer the key questions that are bound to arise.

What is Two-Step Authentication and what methods do you support

In short, by enabling 2SA on your account you will be required to complete a secondary step before logging in to your NumberBarn or NumberGarage account both via a web browser and mobile application. For the most part, it's a small bit of additional effort that amounts to significantly more security for your account. Here are the various steps that we currently support.

Email - We will send a verification code to a secondary email address. This email address must be different than the email address you use to log in to your account.
SMS (Telephone number) - We will send a verification code via text message to an SMS-enabled telephone number that you provide. This cannot be a telephone number that is listed on your account. Typically you will want to use your mobile/wireless telephone number.
Authenticator app (Time-based one-time password or TOTP) - Upon logging in to your account you will need to provide a verification code obtained from an authenticator app like Google Authenticator.

If you add more than one of these methods of authentication, you can select the one you prefer to use upon logging in to your account. It's also important to note that adding multiple methods ensures that you can still sign in even if you lose access to one of the methods.

How to enable Two-Step Authentication

Enabling 2SA is simple. To get started:

Sign in to your NumberBarn account
Go to Account and then Profile
Locate the section that says Two-Step Authentication and toggle the Enabled switch to "On". Note that toggling this option to "Off" disables 2SA.
Click the Add a new method button.
Select the method you want to add. The methods are Email, SMS and Authenticator App.

Now let's talk about the process for adding each method.

Email

To add a secondary email for 2SA:

Select the Email radio button.
Enter a secondary email address. This must be a different email address than the one you use to log in to your account. If you have an email address like myemail@gmail.com, we encourage you NOT use myemail+secondary@gmail.com as those are considered the same email address.
You will receive an email titled "Your NumberBarn Two-Step Authentication Code".
Enter the 6-digit verification code on the Add a new method screen.
Now, the next time you sign in to your account, you can request that the code be sent to this email address.

SMS

To add an SMS-enabled telephone number, like your mobile phone, for 2SA:

Select the SMS radio button.
Enter a telephone number capable of receiving text messages that is NOT a number tied to your NumberBarn or NumberGarage account.
You will receive a text message containing a verification code.
Enter the 6-digit verification code on the Add a new method screen.
The next time you sign in to your account, you can request that the code be sent via text to this telephone number to sign in to your account.

Authenticator App

You can use an Authenticator app such as Google Authenticator to produce a Time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) to log in to your account. Other password manager apps like 1Password and NordPass offer this functionality as well. Here's the process for adding an Authenticator App using Google Authenticator:

Select the Authenticator app radio button. You'll see a QR code which we'll discuss in a moment.
Open the Google Authenticator app on your mobile device.
Click the + symbol in Google Authenticator and select Scan a QR code.
Scan the QR code that appears on your computer screen.
Enter the 6-digit code that appears in the Google Authenticator app and submit.

When you sign in to your NumberBarn account, if you select the "Authenticator app" you will need to open the Google Authenticator app to obtain the code to sign in to your account.

You're all set! The next time you sign in to your NumberBarn or NumberGarage account through a web browser or through the mobile application, you will be asked to select one of your authentication methods to sign in to your account.

How to sign in with the Two-Step Authentication

Now that you have 2SA enabled, it's time to sign in to your account. Here's the process for signing in:

Enter your username and password as normal.
On the next screen you will be prompted to select a 2SA method. Select the one you desire to use and hit Continue.
Check that method for your verification code. For example, if sent via text, check your text messages for that telephone number.
Enter your verification code and click Log In

You should now be logged in to your account.

Frequent Questions

What if I don't have access to any of my 2SA methods?

If you lose access to all of your 2SA methods and are effectively locked out of your account, please contact customer support and we're happy to help. Our team will take appropriate security precautions and work to authenticate you through alternative means. Once the review is complete we will disable your 2SA and allow you to sign in to your account.

Once you sign in to your account, you will want to go into your account profile, reenable 2SA and click the delete icon next to each method you no longer have access to. Then you can add new methods.

What if I don't enable 2SA?

Enabling 2SA on your account is a choice and not a requirement. It's highly recommended for the security and safety of your account but we will not force you to do so.

How many 2SA methods should I add?

You are welcome to add as many 2SA methods as you would like. At minimum, adding 2-3 methods means that if you lose access to one, you can use the others as a back up and are never locked out of your account.

I'm locked out of my account after too many failed attempts

As an added security measure, you may be locked out of your account temporarily for too many logins in a short amount of time or too many failed login attempts. In general, you can typically wait and try again later but you can also contact customer support and we can assist further. If you find that you log in multiple times a day via a web browser, be sure to select the "Keep me logged in" check box when signing in to minimize the number of times you log in and out.