Okay.. Setting up MFA

(2FA is just MFA where "multiple" == "two")

Have you got your FaceBook page up?

1. Click on your profile picture -- top right in English, North America. A menu will drop down.

2. You'll want to click on "Settings & Privacy" with an angle bracket to the right. Clicking it will produce another menu.

3. You'll want to click "Settings" and that will lead to a page titled "Your Facebook Information". If you haven't been here for awhile, you may get a pop-up window telling you that account security management has been moved to a Meta page.

4. On the left, of "Your Facebook information", under "Settings" there's a "Meta Account Center" (mis-spelled because of course this is an American page, not a Canadian one -- it's called "Centre" up here) an item called "Password and security". Click on that.

5. Annoyingly, the result will look like you're Starting All Over Again...<sigh>

6. And again, on the left, there'll be a "Password and security" item. Click it. (Didn't I click that already?)

7. And now, on the right there's a Two-factor authentication item. Click on that. With Meta, you may need to choose between a Facebook and an Instagram account. (Remember. Computers are stupid. They're the idiots here, not you)

8. If you don't already have it set up, Meta will probably ask you to do 2FA through SMS messages (text) on a cell phone first. Go ahead and follow the steps.

Choose a cellphone that you have exclusive use of, if you can. If you can't, I hope it's held by someone you can trust. Enter the cellphone and when you get the text message, enter the number in the browser.

9. Then go back into the 2FA selection and choose the app.

10. Fire up the app on your phone and choose "Scan a QR Code".

11. Back on the computer, when Meta gives you a QR code, scan it with your phone and a 6-digit number will start being generated on your phone (whenever you need it).

12. Enter the "current number" (you'll have a minute after the next time it changes) in the field on the web site.

13. Then, make sure Meta wants to use the app, not SMS to your phone going forward.

There. You're done. There were more steps there than I thought there would be (or in all honesty, more than I think there should have been) but it wasn't that hard, right?

Can you do the same thing in gmail? It'll start with the "Gear" icon and choosing "See all Settings" but I'll leave the rest for you to discover and feel accomplished for yourself.

And now it'll be just that little bit harder for someone to take over your account. You won't be able to prevent someone from choosing a name like yours on Twitter or Facebook, but your. own. account. is just that much safer than it was.

One last thing. Can you pay it forward? Maybe you know an elder or other person with practical challenges who could be helped with this?

But now this is out there and maybe when someone else does the google search, they'll find my explanation, and maybe it'll help in a more generic way than any one web site's explanation. 🧵4/4

(click older to get parts 1 to 3)