<div style="text-align: justify;">With tons of personal information and data being stored online every day, the chances of data theft is rapidly increasing. Passwords, pin codes, fingerprint scanners and even retina scanners have started emerging to ensure security, but even with the enforcement of such authentication measures, users are still vulnerable to hacking. This is where the two-factor authentication method comes in which the user has to enter the usual password at the login page and then has to enter another password that he/she receives on his/her mobile device. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the two-factor authentication method you need to register your mobile number with your email ID or any other login. Once that is done, it gets saved as an identity along with your login details. Every time you login to your account, you need to enter your login password along with that you also need to enter a special generated password sent to your mobile number as an SMS. This password, also known as OTP or One Time Password, is valid for a limited time period. This method is widely used in making banking transactions and online payments and has started making its way to secure emails, social media accounts and more. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a neat way to ensure your passwords are safe, but there are times when you don’t have your mobile device on you, or there are delays in receiving the second password or the OTP on your mobile device. To improve this login method researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, have devised a more protected way to login to your account by relying on ambient sounds. Named as ‘Sound Proof’, when a user tries to login, the microphone on the user’s computer and your mobile device will be activated automatically and will start listening for ambient sounds. When the sounds on both of the devices match, it lets you login. The system only uploads and verifies the digital signatures of the ambient sound, and there is no recording that is saved or passed on, making it safe for people concerned about privacy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This method ensures that even if a hacker manages to get the second password or maybe gets his hands on one of your devices (laptop or mobile phone), he won’t be able to login to your account. Of course this method is not perfect either, as it requires both of the devices to be in same place at the same time and one would have to rely on mobile data connection if there is no Wi-Fi. Also if someone is in the same place or same room as you and has your password, there is a good chance that they can get access. There’s also the possibility that if someone is listening to the same song or maybe the same TV program, they might be able to verify the authentication. However, with some refinement and improvements, this could turn out to be a simple yet a secure way to keep your accounts safe.</div><div> </div>
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