Sumana

My friend Jacob is offering:

Free digital security checkups for people/organizations concerned about the incoming US government

Anyone is eligible for this - whatever your concern.

Whatever form any sort of resistance takes, it’s going to need to rest on a foundation of security and private communication. I’ve spent nearly twenty years working in the security industry, including actual experience protecting against nation-state-level adversaries. I’d like to use those skills and that experience to help those most at risk from the incoming regime (and the vigilante hangers-on that surround it).

So, if you — as an individual or a group — want to re-assess your digital security posture, I’d like to try to help. I’m offering free digital security check-ups to anyone who feels like they need it now. We’ll talk through your current digital security practices and review the risks that worry you, and I’ll give you some suggestions about practices and tools that might help. If needed (and my availability permitting), we can schedule follow-up time for some hands-on walkthroughs and tutorials.

Dreamwidth has now added two-factor authentication, though the FAQ doesn't mention it yet. [see January 3rd edit below]

You can go to "Account Settings" and check under the "Account" tab -- under "Password" is "Two-Factor Authentication".

Dreamwidth's 2FA implementation, as with most sites, depends on you having one of those standard apps on your phone or computer that generates one-time 6-digit passcodes, like Google Authenticator or Authy. (The jargon for this is TOTP: Time-based one-time passwords.) Once you do the setup and turn on 2FA in your Dreamwidth account, then your login is more secure, because having your password isn't enough to let someone log in to your account -- they also have to have access to your computer or phone.

Since it's not in the FAQ and wasn't mentioned in any of the recent code tours I think this feature might be in beta. I am subscribed to a GitHub issue where I might learn more.

EDITED A FEW HOURS LATER TO ADD: I just tried logging out and in again and the site didn't demand a 2FA code. So I don't know whether this feature actually works right now.

EDITED 3 JANUARY TO CHANGE TITLE: Changed the title of this post from "Dreamwidth has two-factor auth now (in beta?)" to "Dreamwidth is working on two-factor auth". Per this GitHub comment, the 2FA feature is not yet actually functional.