How to Set Up Two-Step Verification For Your Dropbox Account

If you're a Dropbox user, you may have heard about the hacking incident few weeks back. Dropbox announced that it would be adding security features such as two-factor authentication etc.

If you were eagerly waiting for the two-factor authentication then the good news is that DropBox seems to have quietly launched it to their Forum users to try it out.

So if you want to add an extra layer of protection to your Dropbox account then follow these step-by-step instructions to enable two-factor authentication:

Important: Dropbox hasn't officially launched it. They've released what they call the 'experimental build' to their forum users so the feature could still be in beta, so do proceed with caution. Dropbox plans to enable the feature for all users in the next few days.

• To enable two-factor authentication, go to this URL - http://www.dropbox.com/try_twofactor on your computer (you will be prompted to login, if you haven't logged in).
• It should redirect you to the security tab, where you should now see an option to enable two-step authentication. Note: If you're not redirected to the security tab, click on your name from the upper-right of any page to open the account menu, then click settings from the account menu and select Security tab or click on this link.
• Click on the change link for Two-step verification. You will be prompted to re-enter the password for security reasons. After entering the password, click on the next button.

• You will then get an option to receive your 6-digit security codes either on your iPhone via text messages (international phone numbers are also supported) or you can also choose to use the security code generated by apps like Google Authenticator.

• If you select to receive the security codes by text messages, then Dropbox will send you a security code by text message to verify your phone number.
• If you select Mobile app, then launch the Google Authenticator app on your iPhone and scan the barcode.  If you don't have it installed, download it from this direct App Store link on your iPhone. Google Authenticator will add the security token for your Dropbox account so it can generate the security codes. You will see a new entry for your Dropbox account prefixed with 'Dropox'.

Note: Advanced users can also generate security codes from the command line on their Mac using the OAUTH tool available here.

• Once the app is configured, you'll be prompted to enter the security code generated by the Google Authenticator app to verity the setup.
• After your phone number or the Google Authenticator setup is verified, you will be prompted to enable two-step verification.
• You will also get a special 16-digit emergency backup code before enabling two-step verification that will allow you to access your Dropbox account if you lose your iPhone or cannot receive or generate a security code. Write it down and keep it safe.

After you've enabled the two-step authentication, you need to download the latest versions of the Dropbox app for your computer (available for Mac, Windows and Linux) from this link, which support two-step verification. Please note that the installers from http://www.dropbox.com/download still don't support two-step verification.

The latest version of the Dropbox app for iPhone and iPad (App Store link) seem to already support two-step verification.

After you have installed the latest version of the apps on your computer, iPhone and/or iPad, unlink all your devices from the Security tab in your Dropbox account. You will now be prompted to enter the 6-digit security code when you try to access your Dropbox account from these devices.

So don't waste any time and secure your Dropbox account now. As always, don't forget to tell us how it goes. Hat tip to Amit Agarwal of Digital Inspiration! [via Dropbox]