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2-factor/multi-factor authentication (2FA, MFA) protects your account from unauthorized access


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This page awaits an update. Please follow the University of Oulu’s MFA instructions, now that we are sharing the same M365 tenant.

2-Factor/Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) prevents unauthorized access to you account. In practice, MFA means you need to verify your login attempt on another device: Typically it is done with a mobile phone, that is connected to the user profile. Another example for verification is a separate key code list; this was a common way for online bank authentication, before mobile applications replaced them. If your username and password are compromised (leaked to wrong hands), MFA helps to prevent unauthorized logins into the service, when it requires access to your phone. 


This is an excellent video (in YouTube) about MFA and what it means:


If you use social media, take MFA into use also for your social media accounts

Here are instructions to some common social media services:

Try to find out, how to turn MFA on also in other services you are using with an account that requires logging into the service. Share the tips with your family and friends!


MFA is not always required – this is a tug-of-war between ease of use and information security

MFA can feel bothersome if it is used every single time. Some services or internal networks may have e. g. device-specific mitigations, so that MFA is not required every time for the same device, when the service can recognize the device. This is of course also a risk if your laptop ends up in wrong hands, especially if not protected. Please take good care of your devices and note that if you lose the phone you use for MFA, it can mean that you yourself cannot access those services that require MFA.

(See why MS Office 365 login or MFA is not always required.)

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