In recent years, cybercrimes have been on the rise all over the world. Governments, companies, even individuals have been targeted by cybercriminals, leading to their financial and reputation loss. Given that these thefts and hacks are increasingly getting sophisticated, it’s best to have a stronger defense against them. Username and password is an insecure method, mostly because many people do not set a strong password. Easy passwords such as “qwerty”, “123456”, etc. are very common.
2FA (two-factor authentication) is the second layer of security to all your accounts, it makes sure that the person who wants to gain access is truly the owner. Instead of gaining access directly after entering the password, you are required to provide a second factor for authentication. This can be something only the person knows like a specific answer to a question or something only you have like confirmation from your trusted device, etc.
After falling in love with the “Epic” Battle Royale game, you would be disheartened to find that all your precious V-bucks, favorite skins and pickaxes have been stolen! To ensure this doesn’t happen to your account, enabling 2FA will help you secure it. Not only enabling 2FA in Fortnite gives you a free “Boogie down” emote but it also opens you up to other features such as participation in competitive events to earn crazy rewards! A prerequisite to enabling 2FA in Fortnite is to have a verified email address on your Epic games account. With that in mind here are the steps to enabling 2FA in Fortnite with 3 options to choose from.
Steps to Enable 2FA in Fortnite
- Sign in / Login on the Epic Games website (make sure you have the same email ID linked to Fortnite).
- Click on your name on the top right corner, then select “account”.
- Click on “Password & Security” and then scroll down to two-factor authentication.
Here you have the option to choose one of the three methods for 2FA authentication. Here are the steps to activate each of them:
Authenticator App
- Click on Enable Authenticator App.
- A pop-up will appear with a QR code, now download an Authenticator App eg. Google Authenticator App.
- Launch the App and tap on “begin”, then tap on “scan a barcode”.
- Scan the QR code on your screen, then tap on “Add Account”.
- You will receive a six-digit code, type this code into the popup on your screen and click on activate. (This code refreshes in a few days for more security).
- You have successfully activated 2FA, you can also create backup codes in case you lose your authenticator app.
- Click on “generate codes” – write the codes down or download a text file containing the codes.
SMS Authenticator
- Click on Enable SMS Authentication.
- Add your country code and enter your phone number.
- Click on send code.
- Check Messages on your phone and enter the code into the pop-up window.
- Click on “Activate”, You have successfully activated SMS 2FA.
Email Authenticator
- Click on Enable Email Authenticator.
- Check your Inbox for a mail from Epic Games (check your spam before clicking on resend mail).
- Open the mail and copy the six-digit code to the pop-up window.
- Click on “Continue”.
- A confirmation window will appear, click on done.
To double-check if any of your 2FA methods for Fortnite has been activated, log out from the Epic Games website & try logging in again. After entering the password, you will be prompted to verify, if yes that means the 2FA has been successfully activated. If you were not prompted, try the steps again or try another 2FA method. Activating 2FA in Fortnite is rewarding since you are not only securing your account but also receive great benefits such as:
- Free Emote – “Boogie down”.
- Access to free games on the Epic Games Store.
- Access to the “Gifting” feature in Fortnite to send and receive gifts.
- Participation in Fortnite Competetive events eg. Fortnite World Cup.