Online gaming is fun and brings people together from across the world in different time zones. However, it also comes with the risk of losing access to your account in the blink of an eye. If you are a fan of Fortnite, Epic Games wants to make sure you don’t have that ugly experience with the introduction of two-factor authentication (2FA).
Epic Games has detailed steps for players to enable 2FA for Fortnite. What is even more interesting is that players are rewarded when they enable 2FA for Fortnite. It is like handing you a tip for taking your security seriously.
Upon activating 2FA for Fortnite, players are rewarded with exclusive free emote (Boogie Down emote in battle royale mode) and other goodies—when applicable. For example, fans playing “Save the World” will get 10 backpack slots, 50 armory slots, and a Legendary Troll Stash Llama.
Although Epic rewards those that enable 2FA for Fortnite, those that fail to do so are also “punished” in the form of restriction. Players without 2FA cannot gift items or join competitive events.
Nevertheless, there is absolutely no reason why any gamer wouldn’t want to enable 2FA for Fortnite. Imagine building your resources to an enviable level only to wake up one day to discover that your Epic account has been hacked and you have been kicked out. Some of our team members have suffered such heartbreaking losses before.
How enabling 2FA for Fortnite will protect you from hackers
In the past, having just a strong password with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters was all you need to keep your account safe. However, with evolving hacking tools, really long passwords with a combination of the aforementioned characters can be hacked in a few hours—if not minutes.
Thankfully, 2FA adds a second layer of barrier that often hands over the security of your account to your hands. When you enable 2FA for Fortnite using email, you will be sent a secondary code via the account holder’s email which you will need to input to unlock the account.
Alternatively, you can opt for an authenticator app (e.g. Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, LastPass Authenticator) to generate the secondary code that will have to be supplied after inputting your primary password.
Authenticator apps generate codes that refresh after a few seconds. You must key in the current code and press enter before it refreshes or the code will become invalid. What this means is that the hacker will need to have access to your authenticator app or your email to be able to pull off a successful hack—unless they somehow trick you into sending them the code.
If you are a regular Fortnite player and have amassed a large library of gears (both purchased and earned), the last thing you want is to lose all of that to hackers. Lately, gaming companies like Rockstar Games have become sweet targets for hackers. Turning on 2FA for Fortnite can save you hot tears.
How to enable 2FA for Fortnite
It only takes a few steps to enable 2FA for Fortnite but the benefits are massive and you can sleep with ease knowing that your hard work will not be suddenly wiped off.
- Firstly, you need to locate your Epic Games Account Settings.
- Once you are there, navigate to “Password & Security”
- Choose to enable Two-Factor Authentication using either the authenticator app or email
- Follow the instructions and complete the process
Popular ways hackers use to take control of your account
Ultimately, it is your sole responsibility to keep your account safe. Getting smart about some of the ways that hackers can con you into revealing your password can make a huge difference. Sometimes, hackers will call posing as Epic employers, and ask for your password or authentication codes. Never share your codes or password with anyone on call or chat, regardless of who they claim to be.
Another popular way that hackers use to steal the passwords of unsuspecting victims is through website cloning. They create a website that looks almost identical to the one that you are trying to visit but with a little misspelling in the URL.
They usually shorten the links to hide the misspelled URL and lure their victims to visit these fake websites. Once you key in your login details, they will copy them and use them to gain access to your account. Enabling 2FA for Fortnite can make it harder for them to get in even if they steal your password.
On the more proactive side, ensure that you don’t click on shortened links, especially if it comes from sources you don’t know. Secondly, make sure you double-check the URL of the website and ensure it is spelled correctly before keying in your login details.
Lastly, make sure that your Epic account password is not used anywhere else on the internet. Sometimes, when massive data breaches occur, hackers can use the password revealed in that breach to gain access to your other accounts where the same password was used.
Although Epic Games continue to work tirelessly to fortify its security systems, be vigilant so that you don’t become one of the isolated cases of attacks.
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