The best authenticator apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS

The best authenticator apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS
January 7, 2022
https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/best-authenticator-apps-2022/43261/

A nice and useful list of authenticator apps by Kaspersky for various operating systems (mostly mobile) with their cons and pros.

 

thanks, rp. very informative read.

 

I don't understand. What good are these? The institution issues the Authentication Code not the individual.

 

I like Microsoft Authenticator, because it is also a password manager and autofill.

 

Authy has been my go to in this space.

 

I haven't read the article yet, but can anyone explain why authenticators are more safe than 2FA codes via SMS? What if hackers have access to your Google account, isn't it then game over?

 

2FA via an App is safer than via SMS because of SIM swapping.

I don’t understand why you throw a Google account into the mix though.

 

I use Authy and for work I use MS app (unfortunately).

 

why is that?

 

Cos not a fan of MS.

 

oh, i see.

 

For 2FA with LastPass I use the LastPass authenticator. The authenticator is PIN protected IOW the PIN has to be entered before the app will approve the login request. I guess you could also protect your SMS app with a PIN or password, but for me that would be a nuisance since I get so many messages that don't need that level of protection. There are other issues with sms; see here:

Top 5 reasons not to use SMS for multi-factor authentication

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/top-5-reasons-not-to-use-sms-for-multi-factor-authentication/#:~:text=Using SMS as an additional,not the most reliable approach.&text=SMS is the most frequently,it's also the least secure.

 

Yes, I knew about the risk involved with SMS but I assumed that you also needed an account to make use of authenticators, but apparently this is not the case. So in other words, hackers can't hack your authenticator by getting access to your Google or MS account.