What options do I have to secure my account?
In order to protect your account from unauthorized access, bitcoin.de offers various methods for so-called 2-factor authentication as well as other security features.
For a 2-factor authentication you have to enter a so-called one-time password for a login next to your username and password, which you can obtain in various ways.
After entering your username and password, you will receive a login TAN by e-mail for login by default. Mentioned below we present you further methods for a 2-factor authentication, which you can optionally activate in the settings of your account under 'my Bitcoin.de' -> 'Settings' -> '2-factor authentication'.
2-factor authentication via Authenticator app
After setting up the 2-factor authentication through an authenticator app (for example, the Google Authenticator app, which you can obtain in your app store), the app automatically generates a 6-digit one-time password every 30 seconds. To log in, you must enter the one-time password generated by your app.
Note: You can use a different app than the Google Authenticator for generation of OTP, as long as it is compatible with the "RFC 6238" standard.
2-factor authentication with the password table
Another way to secure your account is the password table.
This is a character table, from where, during the login, you need to extract and enter the correct values from the requested four coordinates.
You can download the password table and ideally print it out or save it separately, e.g. on an external hard drive. We strongly advise against storing the document locally on your computer.
The advantage of the password table is that you do not necessarily need a smartphone or another device for extra protection.
2-factor authentication with the "Yubikey"
The 2-factor authentication with a Yubikey is even safer. Yubikeys are small "USB security tokens" that generate one-time passwords based on cryptographic functions. By dint of these small, digital keys you can transpose various procedures and scenarios for secure login and authentication.
The Yubikey is a piece of hardware that you might need to buy.
PGP encryption for e-mails, sent by the system, as additional protection
The so-called PGP encryption ("Pretty Good Privacy") is an encryption method with which you can encrypt automatically sent e-mails by bitcoin.de. The corresponding settings can be found in the settings of your account under 'my Bitcoin.de' -> 'Settings' -> 'PGP encryption'.
As the use of PGP encryption requires expert knowledge, we ask you to read up on other different sources.
Login restrictions by confinement of the IP address
Setting a login restriction can make unauthorized access for a third party to your account even harder.
With a login restriction, you can specify that you can only log into your account with IP addresses that are assigned to a specific country. A corresponding option can be found in the menu under 'my Bitcoin.de' -> 'Settings' -> 'Login Restriction'.
If you e.g. have defined that an access may only be made with an IP address from Germany, but our system recognizes a login attempt from another country, no access will be granted, even when entering correct access data.
Please note that access via a corporate network may be assigned to the country in which the relevant company is located. In rare cases, it can also happen that a connection is assigned to a wrong country.
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