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Connor Kurtz ‘22
Guest Writer
I want to go back to feeling like an in-class idiot in the usual way: flubbing a cold call. Redmond, Washington, can butt out, thank you very much.
Question: Why does logging into Canvas every day feel like breaking into Fort Knox?
All I wanted was the syllabus for my 8:00 a.m. class. I like to be prepared, so as class started, I opened up Canvas to do the readings. God knows why, but every week I must enter a 6-digit code to access my online course files. (You know the drill.) So, I surreptitiously snuck out my phone and fired up the Authenticator app—only to not see the code.
Yes, the damned thing had to be reconfigured. Which wouldn’t have been too big of a deal but for what followed.
On entering my UVA ID and password, Authenticator redirected me to a UVA-specific online portal. But get this: you can’t access the portal without first entering an Authenticator code. It’s Kafkaesque—and infuriating.
The Microsoft Authenticator app is garbage. Using the Law School’s IT infrastructure should not leave students and staff craving a one-way ticket to a Dignitas clinic.
And what’s with Authenticator and Duo Mobile? Duo Mobile is undeniably superior: it gives you a notification and allows for one-click verification. Authenticator forces you to open your phone, enter your passcode, scroll to the app, open the app, navigate to your UVA account area, and only then find the code—which you must then type on your laptop. Is this really the best we can do? To access our boring-as-hell class files? Does the Hairy Hand case need this level of protection?
I hate this app with the intensity of a million burning suns. It should go the way of the dodo, the Soviet Union, and Windows Vista.
What must we do to rid ourselves of this demented 15-step verification Rube Goldberg regime? Who will be the hero in Law IT to step up to slay this monster?
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cjk3fw@virginia.edu