Dear Internet - Authentication is out of control

[willcxxx]

So I have reached the end of authentication. Sites have my fingerprints and still ask for more authentication. Sites have canceled my password because I have traveled and logged in and it is a site that has two or three kinds of authentication for me including fingerprints. And that reCaptcha is universally despised. I have decided to boycott any site that uses that crap! So if you sell on the Internet you will no longer sell me stuff when you require multiple types of authentication!!! I have had to respond to multiple text msgs and provide multiple codes to a single site. Are you guys complete idiots? I am done with this, it use to be convenient to buy things online now it is endless authentication. Never mind, life is too short to be aggravated constantly by endless authentications - get it right once or I will just forgo the pleasure of buying online. I can do without a lot of what I buy and I can delay purchases until I make one trip to a real store, maybe once every two weeks. It is over - goodbye buying online for most sites!! And if your site uses reCaptcha I refuse to use it ever!

 

[COLGeek]

Will you feel that way when someone hijacks your account and makes a purchase on your behalf?

 

[Co BIY]

Three posts total and you are about to quit the internet over improved security ?

I doubt it will miss you ...

Internet security features are annoying but I like quite a few locks, gates and doors between me and the entire world's neer-do-wells.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Most places only really require a password. It's on you to setup multi-factor authentication. Some places will nag you to set up some multi-factor authentication system, but you can skip it.

So... it's really you're fault for making things less convenient.

 

[punkncat]

I have actually noted that several of the site I use for paying bills and such have suddenly gone to great lengths on this 2 factor mess, and in particular since installing W11. I have zero idea if there is a correlation or not.
The one that surprises me the most is my cell provider. They REFUSE to accept that I am on the same computer, from the same location and it's recently come down to having issues paying my bill the last two months. Considering the well-publicized issues they have had over the past couple of weeks, it seems no surprise.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Since I experienced this recently, I will give OP some credit, but not really enough to discredit the whole MFA thing entirely or my previous post.

I needed to access my Verizon account not from my phone through the "My Verizon" app. After logging in, they sent me a text message to approve the attempt to log in. After logging in, I got another text sent to me to approve of the log in. Standard 2FA stuff. But the site asked me to verify myself via text or email, so basically yet another step despite verifying who I am two times already. So in total: this was 4FA, and one of them was redundant.

Oh and they ignored the "remember this device" checkbox I clicked on.

 

[Co BIY]

Since I experienced this recently, I will give OP some credit, but not really enough to discredit the whole MFA thing entirely or my previous post.

I needed to access my Verizon account not from my phone through the "My Verizon" app. After logging in, they sent me a text message to approve the attempt to log in. After logging in, I got another text sent to me to approve of the log in. Standard 2FA stuff. But the site asked me to verify myself via text or email, so basically yet another step despite verifying who I am two times already. So in total: this was 4FA, and one of them was redundant.

Oh and they ignored the "remember this device" checkbox I clicked on.

At least your cell is functional. My guess is many people trying to contact Verizon are doing so because of a problem with their cell.

My work two-factor system often has me enter my password three-four times because of the interface between the app and phone getting their permissions right.

 

[Oasis Curator]

I have two Google accounts.

One - let's call it Primary Gmail - is "on my phone" the other - Secondary Gmail - I do not have as an account on my phone.

When I sign into Secondary Gmail from a work PC, it asks me to tap on the number on my phone. Lo and behold, my phone doesn't show a number like it does when I sign in with Primary Gmail.

If I say I can't access the phone, it suggests emailling a code to my alternate address, which is Primary Gmail.
I input the code, then it asks for me to tap on the number on my phone again.

A bit overkill.
Wish we could turn this off.
If someone hacks Gmail secondary, meh. It's not important.