Secure trading tips: the Two Factor Authentication (2FA)

HitBTC Team -

Dear traders,

Setting up 2-factor authentication (or 2FA for short) for any website that contains your private information is a very important step  – whether it’s email or social media accounts, iCloud, online banking, or sometimes even hardware like your phone or PC. But when it comes to cryptocurrency, setting up a 2FA is a lot more than a good idea, it’s an absolute must.

As a decentralized network, the blockchain is wonderfully transparent, but there’s also a much greater need for you to protect your own assets. If your account is compromised, there’s usually little anyone can do to recover the lost money.

The concept for 2FA is simple. Any time you fill in your login and password details on a website, you will also be asked to enter a 6-digit code generated every 30 seconds in the Google Authenticator application or a similar program. These codes are random, and their lifespan is too short for any attacker to crack them.

This means that even if your credentials somehow get into the wrong hands, the perpetrator will have no use of them without the code. It’s a simple step that makes your account virtually impregnable, and is an absolute must for anyone that wants to keep a lock and key on their private data.

 

How to enable 2-factor authentication on HitBTC

  1.  Open the ‘Settings’ page in the upper right corner of the website and switch to the ‘Security’ tab.
  2.  Follow the instructions in the tab: download an application suitable for your device, scan the QR-code, enter the validation code from the device to the corresponding field, then click confirm.
  3.  We strongly suggest that you print out or write down your backup code and keep it in a safe place. Somewhere where you won’t forget about it and where others won’t find it. If your device is broken, lost or stolen, this may be the only way to log in without asking for assistance from HitBTC Support.
  4.  Finally, decide all the situations when you’ll want to be asked for the 2FA code in the ‘Verification Settings’ box. Simply select the desired options and then click the ‘Save’ button.

Now your account is secure. Great work. But please keep in mind that the 2FA is not a 100% safety guarantee – if you click on a scam site or use a scam application the scammers can get full access to all of your devices without you noticing it. Every day we receive messages about new scam projects copying HitBTC on twitter and web. Some of them will be published as case studies soon.

 

Troubleshooting

If you have any issues setting up 2FA, or need help accessing your account if you’ve been locked out, please get in touch with our Support Team, who will be glad to assist.

Code not accepted

This is most commonly caused when the time and date settings on your devices are out of sync. First check that there is no time difference between the app on your phone or tablet and the computer, or simply choose auto settings on both. If this doesn’t help, kindly reach out to us.

Your phone has been lost or formatted

You will still be able to log in with the backup code, but to reset the 2FA you will need to contact HitBTC Support. We’ll take you through a few proof of identity checks to prove you are the legitimate owner of the account, and once fully verified will be able to set up 2FA again on your new device.

You want to change your phone or reset it

If you’re planning to make any significant changes to your device, such as upgrading the hardware or resetting the software, it’s important you first disable the 2FA using the codes generated on your current device. Once you have setup your new device, or completed the factory reset, you can then go ahead and re-enable the 2FA. It’s important to note that if you simply delete the authenticator app, the 2FA won’t automatically be removed from any of the websites where you enabled it, so make sure to do everything in the right order.

We wish you safe and successful trading.