PSA: Backup your Passwords, 2FA codes, Wallet mnemonics please!
Since the price for BTC is going back up, I’m seeing a lot of posts of the nature of “I forgot my password” or “I forgot my mnemonic” or “I have 2FA but no longer have that phone”.
If you are investing in cryptocurrency, you should always assume that losing passwords, 2FA auth, or mnemonics will result in the complete loss of funds. Binance may be kinder than offline wallets in this regard, but please never assume that there is some boffin somewhere that will magically be able to guess your secrets and return your funds to you.
Remember TOTP 2FA gives you a “[secret code](https://www.one2crypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Binance-2fa-setup2.jpg)” that can be used to recover your TOTP 2FA on another device. I’d probably avoid SMS based 2FA, since you would have no way to move your funds if you were vacationing overseas on a foreign cell network when things go lunar.
At a minimum, get a password manager to store it all, and make the password something like your SSN so your wife or whoever can get to your funds if you bang your head surfing.
If you (correctly) think your SSN is not a good password, then create a cryptographically random password then store it with a steel punch on sheet metal, encase it in lacquer and bury it beneath the oak tree that you proposed to your wife under.
Point is… make sure that every lock you make can be unmade by your next of kin in the case of the zombie apocalypse. If you don’t have a good recovery plan in place… it’s ultimately your fault.
What password manager do you recommend?
I’m having issues with this 2FA, I haven’t used it in about a year and I got a new phone. I however had copies of all of my 16 character keys, but the issue is I’m not sure what to put into the account name field. I wasn’t sure if it mattered, but when I entered it in I used my email address as the account name, should I be using an account name that looks like [xxxx@binance.com](mailto:xxxx@binance.com) or does it matter or how is it supposed to look? Any help would be really appreciate as I can’t seem to find any info about what login name you need for the 2FA app.
1password + Authy
Don’t use Google Authenticator as that is tied to a single device and if you change your phone you can’t port it.