something about if you lose a "key", you're sunk? Am I remembering wrong?
At my age, I'm lucky to just remember
something, knowing whether the memory is correct or not is
beside the point!
What you may be remembering is the older Apple method that created a code when you turned on 'two-step verification'. You were supposed to save (write down?) that code
and remember where it was! If you then ever forgot your Apple ID password, you could use the code and have access to one of your trusted devices, to create a new password. This wasn't really a 'two factor' method, just a two-
step process. Here's
a fairly detailed (if slightly dated) explanation as well as how the new two
factor method works.
Obviously, if you use almost any password manager, the old method would still be easy to use since you would have saved/stored that original code (which you would never, hopefully, ever use) in that app. If you were not using a password manager, you probably were over-confident about your memory skills... so how come you forgot your Apple password, which you probably used at least weekly?!!
What bothers many about two-factor schemes is that so many of them offer false security. Hackers are constantly finding ways to find holes. The holes aren't usually in the details of the two factors but in how the authorizations are transferred between them. One of the more widely used 2FA schemes uses SMS for one side of the process; SMS has been proven to be quite susceptible to hacked!
The less security related problem many of us have with 2FA is that it is often cumbersome, tedious, time-wasting and not user-friendly. I'm still angry that "Apple ID" is simply an email address!
Why use "Apple
ID" when
9097% of the world just uses the term "user name". At least the allow the Apple ID Password to be called simply a password! It all comes down to Apple's obsession of adding their brand name to everything...
