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Re: CCC OTD 2021-06-04 - Winner

3-Jun-21 22:17

CLUELESS!
I like it!

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Paddington Bear3-Jun-21 22:29

Paddington Bear

3-Jun-21 22:29

That lasted all of nine minutes.

It goes without saying

Re: CCC OTD 2021-06-04 - Winner

pkfox3-Jun-21 22:32

pkfox

3-Jun-21 22:32

It actually didn't last that long but I didn't want to post on Monday - Nice clue though Big Grin | :-D

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Why do phone carriers not allow shortcode SMS?

swampwiz3-Jun-21 8:25

3-Jun-21 8:25

It appears that I now have 2 banks that DEMAND that for authentication I receive an SMS code that I enter into the webpage. However, my carrier, MagicJack, doesn't accept such shortcode SMS (I am using the MagicApp via LDPlayer emulator). Mad | :mad:

And evidently, there are a lot of other carriers who don't as well.

OriginalGriff3-Jun-21 8:36

3-Jun-21 8:36

2 Factor authentication is not a legal requirement anywhere I am aware of, but ... it's a needed requirement to comply with standards in (among other fields) the financial industry to combat fraud and money laundering. Basically, the banks are taking proactive action to ward off mandatory legal measures which might be even more restrictive (and expensive for banks to implement).

Get used to it: it's going to be more prevalent in future!
Either complain to your carrier and get them to fix it, or switch to one that does ...

swampwiz3-Jun-21 9:32

3-Jun-21 9:32

OriginalGriff wrote:
Get used to it: it's going to be more prevalent in future!
Either complain to your carrier and get them to fix it, or switch to one that does ...

What if I have 4 more years on my subscription? Mad | :mad:

OriginalGriff3-Jun-21 9:58

3-Jun-21 9:58

Option 1 then, and "why did you sign up to a four+ year contract? OMG | :OMG:

swampwiz3-Jun-21 10:35

3-Jun-21 10:35

Because a yearly subscription was $35, while a 5-year was $100.

OriginalGriff3-Jun-21 10:53

3-Jun-21 10:53

That's a good saving, but that's a long contract period!

swampwiz4-Jun-21 9:40

4-Jun-21 9:40

OriginalGriff wrote:
That's a good saving, but that's a long contract period!

Yes, but at > $2/mo for phone service, it's a feature to have it for that long. Smile | :)

modified 4-Jun-21 19:39pm.

obermd4-Jun-21 5:07

obermd

4-Jun-21 5:07

True, but SMS is just about as insecure as no MFA.

OriginalGriff4-Jun-21 5:44

4-Jun-21 5:44

Because SMS is not encrypted end-to-end it's intrinsically insecure - but it's a better system than a password people write down in a book labeled "passwords" and leave lying around, given that most people cry like babies if separated from their mobile for more than 30 seconds or 2 meters, whichever comes first ... Big Grin | :-D

At least the OTP's are short-time limited.

It's the "Something you are, Something you know, Something you have" paradigm at work.

Greg Utas3-Jun-21 10:16

Greg Utas

3-Jun-21 10:16

Despicable. My US bank offers the options to either send an SMS or call your home phone and announce the code. My mobile lives in our vehicle in airplane mode, so I choose the latter.

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swampwiz3-Jun-21 10:42

3-Jun-21 10:42

My particular bank will give me a call, where I am to punch in the code that it displayed on the webpage. But the stupid automated phone call won't accept my keypad entry because it's MagicJack.

Mad | :mad:

Greg Utas3-Jun-21 11:06

Greg Utas

3-Jun-21 11:06

I don't follow. I thought your original post meant that the bank wants to send you an SMS. I believe MagicJack uses VoIP to provide voice calling. But SMS is like packet data. Trying to get an SMS on a regular phone would be kind of like trying to get a fax without a fax machine, so it's not surprising that it doesn't work.

What my bank does is make a regular voice call in which a synthesized voice announces the numbers in the code, after which I can type them into the login page.

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The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

DerekT-P3-Jun-21 23:40

DerekT-P

3-Jun-21 23:40

In the UK you CAN send an SMS to a regular landline with an ancient handset. BT (the telecom provider - although I use AdeptTelecom as my phone line provider) generate a spoken version of the text. Not sure how "readable" it is when the voice is speaking out random letters and digits, but for normal messages it's OK.

swampwiz4-Jun-21 13:42

4-Jun-21 13:42

Greg Utas wrote:
I don't follow. I thought your original post meant that the bank wants to send you an SMS. I believe MagicJack uses VoIP to provide voice calling. But SMS is like packet data. Trying to get an SMS on a regular phone would be kind of like trying to get a fax without a fax machine, so it's not surprising that it doesn't work.

Via the MagicApp (via Android or iPhone), I can receive SMSs, but only from longcode (i.e., 10-digit) phone numbers. The standard Windows MagicJack app cannot do SMSs.

Nelek3-Jun-21 11:26

Nelek

3-Jun-21 11:26

don't they offer an App as a TAN-Generator?

I don't want an App for online banking, but my two banks have a "lite" version, where you only have a barcode reader that gives you the transaction summary and the pin to be introduced to confirm the order.

M.D.V.

If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
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David Crow4-Jun-21 2:47

David Crow

4-Jun-21 2:47

A short code is an SMS number that your bank would use to communicate their text message program with you. At some point, you texted a keyword to their short code to subscribe and receive SMS (and MMS messages). Unless I'm misunderstanding, your bank should be sending the authentication code to your mobile number.

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swampwiz4-Jun-21 9:44

4-Jun-21 9:44

David Crow wrote:
Unless I'm misunderstanding, your bank should be sending the authentication code to your mobile number.

As I am a global traveler (well, in non-COVID times Mad | :mad:

), the only thing I can count on is my internet telephone. That said, I am looking to see if the mobile telephone service I get free from Medicaid will allow Wifi use.

Dan Neely4-Jun-21 3:17

Dan Neely

4-Jun-21 3:17

From reading explanations from a small US phone company that was doing wife-cellular voice handoff way before it was cool (initially their service only worked on Android handsets they sold because it needed major hackery at the base OS level) about why they didn't offer it for a few years after starting their service: Shortcode SMS is apparently a kludged together cluster Elephant | [mastadon]

of hacks and takes way more effort to implement than any sane person would expect.

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