3. Setting It Up, Step by Step
Setting It Up, Step by Step
This takes about five minutes and you only do it once per account.
Step 1 — Install the app
On your phone, install Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator from the official App Store or Google Play. Both are free. If your company uses Microsoft 365, prefer Microsoft Authenticator.
Step 2 — Open the security settings of your account
On your computer, sign in to your account and open the security or "sign-in method" settings. Look for two-step verification, two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication — different services use different names for the same thing.
Step 3 — Scan the square code
The website shows a square black-and-white code. In the app, choose to add an account and point your phone camera at it. The account appears in the app straight away and starts producing six-digit codes.
Step 4 — Confirm once
Type the current code from the app into the website to prove the link works. From now on, that code — or an "Approve" prompt — is your second lock.
Step 5 — Save your backup codes properly
The service will offer a short list of one-time backup codes. These exist for the day you lose your phone. Treat them like cash.
Do: store them in your company password manager, or print them and lock them in a drawer or safe at the office.
Do not: email them to yourself, keep them in a note on your phone, or save them in a file called passwords on your desktop. If somebody reaches your mailbox, emailed backup codes hand them the second lock as well.
If you get a new phone
Set up the authenticator app on the new phone before wiping the old one. If it is already too late, call us — that is exactly what we are here for.
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