Tumblr boosts security with two-factor authentication

(Tumblr introduces two-factor authentication. Tumblr)

Tumblr has joined the ranks of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, Dropbox, and many others in beefing up users' online security with two-factor authentication.
The blogging platform announced on Monday that it has launched the added security measure via users' Settings page. Now, Tumblr bloggers have the option of making it more difficult for outside actors to access their dashboards.
"You know how you need two keys to launch a nuclear missile?," Tumblr wrote in a blog post. "Two-factor authentication works like that. One key is your password, the other key is your cellular phone, and you need both to access your Tumblr Dashboard. Keep your Dashboard safe and secure, like you do with your nuclear missile."
The goal of two-factor authentication is to make it more difficult for hackers, stalkers, or any other nefarious actors, to access users' accounts. The security measure won't necessarily stop bad guys in their tracks, but it does make it harder for them to access user accounts.
Most two-factor, or multi-factor, authentications requires users to type in their password and then the Web site creates a random code that is then sent to the users' cell phone or some other device -- only after users type this code back into the Web site, can they log into their account. In the case of Tumblr, the site will send the code to users' cell phones.
"The smile of a loved one. Your childhood blanket. A handsome bodyguard to take you in his arms," Tumblr wrote. "'Security' can mean a lot of things in this crazy life, but nothing says 'security' like Tumblr's two-factor authentication."