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Passwords and two-factor authentication: holding your accounts

A password stolen on an unrelated site opens your work mailbox if you reused it there. The defence holds in three habits: a long passphrase, different for every service, a manager to remember them for you, and a second factor on your email and banking access. That second factor does not protect against a code read out on the phone: it is shared with nobody.

  • Written by Skillrung team
  • Review by a subject-matter expert under way
  • Updated on
Read the first 4 slides, freePlay the Discovery quiz, free

What is this course about?

Build accounts that hold, and know what the second factor does not protect.

This is a core course: the material taught is the same for everyone, only the examples, the tools mentioned and the people you deal with change with your job. It has 3 sections, of which 1 section is followed by a quiz, and reads in 20-30 min. The legal framework cited is French law.

A leak elsewhere, an open door here

A service with no connection to your work has its passwords stolen. Yours is in there, and it looks like the one for the mailbox of your structure. Nobody needed to target you: it was enough to try the same combination elsewhere. It is the most travelled way in, and it calls for no technical skill at all.

Key points

Four habits that make all the difference

None of them needs a paid tool or an IT department.

  • A different password on every service, without exception
  • A long phrase rather than a short word dressed up with symbols
  • A manager to remember them in your place
  • A second factor on your email and your banking access

What you will be able to do

  • Understand what a reused password actually opens.
  • Build resistant passwords and switch on a second factor that actually helps.
  • Leave with three habits you can apply to your accounts.

The first 4 slides, free

What you read with no account and no card. Here, the generic version; in the player, the examples take the vocabulary of your job.

Try it, before you even create an account

Choose a job: the passage below is rewritten straight away. Nothing is saved, and no extra content opens.

No job selected: the generic version is being shown.

Generic version
A service with no connection to your work has its passwords stolen. Yours is in there, and it looks like the one for the mailbox of your structure. Nobody needed to target you: it was enough to try the same combination elsewhere. It is the most travelled way in, and it calls for no technical skill at all.

Real extract from the free slide “A leak elsewhere, an open door here” of this course.

  1. FreeSlide 1 of 13 · Why your accounts matter more than your antivirus

    A leak elsewhere, an open door here

    A service with no connection to your work has its passwords stolen. Yours is in there, and it looks like the one for the mailbox of your structure. Nobody needed to target you: it was enough to try the same combination elsewhere. It is the most travelled way in, and it calls for no technical skill at all.

  2. FreeSlide 2 of 13 · Why your accounts matter more than your antivirus

    What you will be able to do by the end

    • Build a passphrase that you actually remember
    • Switch on a second factor where it counts
    • Recognise what that second factor does not protect
  3. FreeSlide 3 of 13 · Why your accounts matter more than your antivirus

    Four habits that make all the difference

    None of them needs a paid tool or an IT department.

    • A different password on every service, without exception
    • A long phrase rather than a short word dressed up with symbols
    • A manager to remember them in your place
    • A second factor on your email and your banking access
  4. FreeSlide 4 of 13 · Why your accounts matter more than your antivirus

    Where do you stand?

    One question to place your reflexes, with no score and no judgement. Answer before you carry on.

    1 short questions, marked immediately, inside the course.

These 4 slides can be read in the player, with no account and no card.

Read the first slide

Programme

3 sections, 13 slides and 4 quizzes in total. Each content section ends with a quiz that checks it has been learned.

  1. IntroductionFree

    Why your accounts matter more than your antivirus

    Understand what a reused password actually opens.

    • 4 slides
  2. SectionSubscribers

    Passwords and strong authentication

    Build resistant passwords and switch on a second factor that actually helps.

    • 7 slides
    • Section quiz: 5 questions
  3. RecapSubscribers

    Your action plan

    Leave with three habits you can apply to your accounts.

    • 2 slides

9 slides are for subscribers

The first four slides of this course can be read without an account and without a bank card. From the fifth on, the €29.99/month incl. VAT subscription is needed. The Beginner level quiz, though, stays free: it measures your level without asking you for anything.

Subscribe, €29.99/month incl. VATPlay the Discovery quiz, free

How your level is measured

  • Beginner
    Questions drawn
    10
    Pass mark
    70 %
    Question bank
    ≥ 30
    Time limit
    20 min

    Free, no account and no subscription.

  • Intermediate
    Questions drawn
    12
    Pass mark
    75 %
    Question bank
    ≥ 36
    Time limit
    24 min

    Subscribers only, once the Beginner level is passed.

  • Expert
    Questions drawn
    15
    Pass mark
    80 %
    Question bank
    ≥ 45
    Time limit
    30 min

    Subscribers only, once the Intermediate level is passed.

The level shown for a course is the highest level you have passed, with your best score and its date. Questions are drawn at random on every attempt. Play the Beginner quiz for this course or read how we measure your level.

Which jobs is it for?

Common core: the examples change with your job, what is taught stays the same. It addresses all 58 jobs in the directory. See courses by job.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need technical knowledge to take this course?

No. Everything is explained through everyday actions: reading a message, choosing a password, plugging in a drive, calling the right person. No command line, no setting reserved for an IT department. The examples adapt to the job you indicate.

My organisation is very small: am I really a target?

Yes. The vast majority of attacks target no one in particular: they cast a wide net and exploit whatever opens. A small organisation is often more exposed, for lack of an IT department and a verified backup.

How does this course fit into the theme?

It is one step of the Cybersecurity theme. Each course is short and self-contained; the theme exam measures your level across all of them and issues a personal certificate.

What can I read without a subscription?

The first four slides of every course are available without an account and without a subscription, as is the Beginner level quiz. From the fifth slide onwards, the €29.99/month incl. VAT subscription is required. Creating a free account unlocks no extra slide: it keeps your progress, your job and your results.

How is my level measured?

By three level quizzes: Beginner (10 questions, 70 % to pass), Intermediate (12 questions, 75 %) and Expert (15 questions, 80 %). The level shown is the highest level passed, with the best score obtained and its date.

Who writes and who reviews this course

  • Skillrung team

    Editorial team of skillrung.com

    The skillrung editorial team writes the courses from the publications of the French and European authorities: ANSSI, CNIL, Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, Légifrance and EUR-Lex. Every figure is tied to its primary source, dated and verifiable from the course page. The team does not stand in for an expert reviewer: every course intended for publication is reviewed by a named professional of the field concerned, whose name and review date appear on the course page.

Artificial intelligence assisted the drafting. Editorial responsibility for the published text remains human.

Statements with regulatory scope verified on .

Sources

Every figure stated in this course points to a primary source, dated and verifiable.

  1. Panorama de la cybermenace 2025

    ANSSI, published on

  2. Mots de passe : une nouvelle recommandation pour maîtriser sa sécurité

    CNIL, published on

What Skillrung is not

  • Skillrung is not a French training body certified under the Qualiopi scheme.
  • As things stand, our content is not eligible for the French CPF, OPCO, DPC or FAF funding schemes.
  • A Skillrung certificate of completion is not a diploma, not a professional title and not a qualification registered in any national register. It records a result obtained in an unsupervised online assessment, on a given date.
  • Taking a Skillrung course does not make your organisation compliant and does not replace the obligations that fall on your employer or on you.
  • Our content is educational. It is neither legal advice, nor medical advice, nor a security audit.
  • For a self-employed professional or a company, the subscription is a deductible business expense : confirm this with your accountant.

Same topic

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Keep going on Skillrung

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