[kwlug-disc] voip.ms referral

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

On Fri, Apr 4, 2025 at 4:24 PM Giles Malet <gdmalet at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 04/04/2025 09:20, Anton Avramov via kwlug-disc wrote:
> > Did you setup the SMS also?
> > If so, did you ever try them for code verification?
>
> I have a problem with banks etc. insisting on sending SMS verification
> codes on login (because it is secure, hah!), but with a Koodo SIM card
> that doesn't work anywhere other than Canada I'd be stuck while
> travelling, which I do a lot.


I fully agree with you Giles ...
SMS is a lousy way for authentication, for all the reasons you mentioned.
And one more reason: criminals steal the SIM somehow (social engineering
with carrier staff, insider collusion, ...etc.).
They can take over anything that you used SMS for authentication.

I know someone whose SIM was stolen that way twice!

The good thing is that some web sites and even the CRA are moving
to time-based one time passwords (TOTP). That means you can use
a app like FreeOTP+, as well as command line tools, such as oathtool.

So, I give them a voip.ms number, they
> send the SMS, and voip.ms sends me an e-mail, which I can easily receive
> anywhere in the world, almost instantly, even on hotel wifi. I've been
> doing this for years, and never had a problem (touch wood).
>

That is a good way to do it for the remaining stragglers.
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