[Patentpractice] Authy Desktop App Sunset Notice, March 19, 2024

[Timothy Snowden]

Ditto on Bitwarden. It automatically syncs, it's open source (so less likely to become cripplingly obsoleted so that you can't access your info), and it's low cost for the 2FA feature (which includes a lot of extra features).

On a daily basis, I second Authenticator.cc – I have it installed on every browser. Order of magnitude faster than a phone app – just decrypt with your password for the day, and then it auto-detects which website you're on, has the 2FA token ready for you when you click on the app button in the browser header, and when you click on the token, it (mostly) auto-fills it for you.
The nice thing and the headache is that you manually sync (i.e., you download a text file – which you can choose to encrypt when you download). The headache is doing it. The nice thing is that you don't have to trust a server with your secrets, and if you have manually synced it, you automatically have several backups. If you trust a specific cloud storage, you can save the backup file to that, and then upload it to your other browser / computer from there.

________________________________
From: Pct <pct-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> on behalf of Scott Nielson via Pct <pct at oppedahl-lists.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2024 11:01 AM
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Cc: Scott Nielson <scnielson at outlook.com>
Subject: Re: [Pct] [Patentpractice] Authy Desktop App Sunset Notice, March 19, 2024

I store all 2FA info in two apps—Bitwarden and Microsoft Authenticator. This way, if I lose access to one, I can always revert to the other. Both apps encrypt the information and back it up to the cloud.

The 2FA feature in Bitwarden requires a subscription ($10/yr). I use it as my main authenticator because it is available on my phone and through the Bitwarden browser extension. I use MS Authenticator as a backup because the firm uses it for account authentication, it is free, and it works well enough as a backup. MS Authenticator is mainly a phone app that syncs to the cloud so that if you lose your phone, you can reinstall it on a new phone and restore the information. It isn't a good app for daily use.


Scott Nielson

801-660-4400

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From: Patentpractice <patentpractice-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> on behalf of Rick Neifeld via Patentpractice <patentpractice at oppedahl-lists.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2024 9:24 AM
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Cc: Rick Neifeld <rneifeld at neifeld.com>
Subject: [Patentpractice] Authy Desktop App Sunset Notice, March 19, 2024

Colleagues - Authy is the 2FA Authenticator App I have used for years due to its end to end encryption sync-ability across platforms.
Today I received a "Desktop App Sunset Notice" in an update to Authy, noting a March 19, 2024 end of life for the Authy desktop authenticator app.  The mobile app on Android will continue to function. That means Authy would be limited to mye mobile Android (and for others to their Apply versions).

Do you have a recommendation for a replacement 2FA authenticator that syncs cross-platform (at least Windows and Android) and has end to end encryption?

Twilio, Authy's owner, kindly suggested trying one of the following desktop authenticator alternatives.  I have not explored these alternatives; do not know if they sync cross-platform and have a mobile app version.


https://authenticator.cc/
https://steptwo.app/
https://secrets.app/
https://keepassxc.org/
https://support.1password.com/one-time-passwords/

Any other comments in the 2FA issue are welcome. My concerns are security, usability, and reliability.  I have always been concerned with being locked out of a substantive online service as a result of the corresponding 2FA service becoming unavailable, which is what I consider a reliability issue.

--

Best regards, Rick Neifeld, Ph.D., Patent Attorney
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