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A comment on Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access 3 times a year. Parent comment

Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by paganel on Friday October 07, 2022 @10:04AM (#33121487)
> someone in their 70s keep

I'm in my early 40s, computer programmer, and I've temporarily lost access to my WhatsApp account because I don't have a recent enough mobile phone, and the phone that I do have doesn't have a relatively recent OS installed.

It's a 4-year old (I think I've got it for 4 years) iPhone SE, on which I never updated the OS because I hadn't feel the need to do it. When I started getting pop-ups that "hey, our app will stop functioning on your phone unless you upgrade the OS" was already too late for that, I was afraid that upgrading the phone to the latest OS will cripple it permanently in terms of performance (the battery is already on its way out by this point).

So, assuming I get to 70, in no way I'll be up to date by then in terms of having the latest OS installed and all that crazy stuff, who has the time and the nerves for that? (especially the nerves).

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by arubania2 on Friday October 07, 2022 @10:39AM (#33121995)
What‘s your speciality in programming?

Keeping all your software, and that includes the OS, up to date, is one of the most important aspects of personal security.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by paganel on Friday October 07, 2022 @11:24AM (#33122596)
I also don’t have a WiFi password at home, if it matters. Of course, I don’t have Internet banking nor do I do much (if at all) money-related things with my phone, something tells me that makes me more secure than people who trust Apple and Google with their money (at least the local banks have to answer to the authorities).

What’s your employment specialty that makes you trust Apple and Google?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by flerchin on Friday October 07, 2022 @12:20PM (#33123387)
That something would be wrong. I can steal all your money with the information on the front of one of your checks.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by everdrive on Monday October 10, 2022 @08:45AM (#33150641)
Having a Wifi password is honestly pretty important unless you're remote enough that there's just no chance someone can access your network. Remember, unencrypted WiFi doesn't just mean that someone can access your network, but also that they can collect your traffic.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by flerchin on Friday October 07, 2022 @12:18PM (#33123367)
If your face hurts, maybe you should stop punching yourself in the face. Update your software.
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Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by paganel on Friday October 07, 2022 @12:28PM (#33123502)
Equating lack of software updates to punching oneself in the face is part of the whole problem.
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Re:Gmail 2FA causes the homeless to permanently lose access ... by flerchin on Friday October 07, 2022 @01:22PM (#33124308)
It's not though. No one writes perfect software on first release. Even perfect software adapts to the changing realities of our world. Staying up to date is not optional.
[ Parent | on HN ]