Hey everyone,
I recently had a pretty scary experience where my Outlook/Hotmail account got hacked because I didn't have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled. I set up 2FA immediately after I noticed, and I went with the authenticator app option since Outlook said it was the safest. Now, while I feel more secure because the hacker can't access my email anymore, I'm still getting constant notifications from the authenticator app almost every hour about login attempts from various locations, like Vietnam.
Has anyone else dealt with this before? What can I do to stop these notifications? Also, if you have any general advice on securing my account further, I'd really appreciate it! This situation is quite unsettling, knowing someone is still trying to breach my personal email.
Thanks a lot for your help!
3 Answers
You might want to check if Outlook offers geofencing for your logins. This way, you can restrict access to certain locations, which might help reduce those unwanted login attempts. It’s worth looking into!
Have you thought about switching your 2FA to a U2F or FIDO2 security token? Devices like Google Titan or YubiKeys don’t require an app, and you must use the physical token to log in. This makes it much harder for hackers to gain access even if they keep trying. Plus, you can register multiple tokens to your account as a backup!
I appreciate the suggestion! I’ll definitely check into those security tokens.
Definitely consider adding an extra layer of security by changing your password, even if you’re using the authenticator app. This can prevent anyone from trying to use an old session. Also, if you’re concerned about hackers trying to log in again, make sure to log out of all devices and sessions. It might give you some peace of mind since they won’t be able to reconnect without the password!
Thank you for the tip! I don’t actually have a password at all, just the authenticator app. Is it really a good idea to have a password too?
I’ve looked around, but I can’t seem to find any geofencing settings in Outlook.