Our iCloud accounts with Apple are a big help.
Reminders, calendars, Safari bookmarks, notes, and even our entire photo library can now be synced seamlessly to all our devices, if we choose to use the service.
Not losing all your treasured photos when you lose your phone is truly a great thing. For that reason alone, it can be worth turning iCloud on. However, there are risksthat go along with using iCloud as well, and I want you to know more about how to protect your sensitive and important data.
Your iCloud account comes with a handy Find my iPhone/iPad/Mac feature. This is a really handy thing to have if you misplace or lose your device, because you can remotely lock it or even completely wipe its contents.
However, what if someone with malicious intensions gains access to your iCloud account? They could use the ‘Find My’ feature to lock you out of your own computer or phone! There is a story online of a lady being asked to pay money to a hacker in exchange for a way to regain access to her locked Mac. I don’t want this to happen to you.
Making Your Account More Secure
Securing your account against hacks like the one mentioned above can be done by turning on two-factor authentication on your iCloud account.
This adds an additional layer of protection by ensuring that access to your iCloud account is restricted only to someone in possession of one of your designated “trusted” devices by displaying a verification code from Apple when you sign in on a different device or browser.
This makes it significantly harder for a foreign hacker to gain
access to your account!
Turning On Two-Factor Authentication
1) You need to have at least one iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 9 or a Mac with El Captain (10.11) and iTunes (12.3) — keeping your system up-to-date ensures you have the latest and greatest security settings.
2) Head over to Settings on iPhone/iPad or System Preferences on a Mac (by clicking the little apple in the top left corner of your screen).
3) Choose iCloud and then click on your Apple ID email up at the top. You will be asked to enter your iCloud password before proceeding.
4) Once in, select ‘Password & Security’ and then select ‘Set Up Two-Factor Authentication…’ and follow the onscreen instructions.
That’s it!
Once you’ve enabled this extra security measure, whenever a new device attempts to authenticate with your Apple ID, your trusted devices will be alerted with a dialog showing a map with the location the request is coming from and the verification code necessary to authenticate.
If you’d like more information, you can check out Apple’s support page about this issue, or if you have any specific questions, concerns, or are uncomfortable doing the above on your own, absolutely contact us anytime.
If you need urgent help, request a 10-minute callback.
