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>> Did people not realize they can save their 2fa token and just use that with a new authenticator?

What's 2fa token? Is that an AI thing? AI uses tokens. Or a crypto thing? Do you need one of them "nonfungible" tokens? And what's an authenticator? I have MS authenticator for work, but it uses 2 digit numbers, are those tokens?

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Not sure if I'm missing a joke, but the 2fa token is a secret that you stick in your password manager and sync (or otherwise send) to other devices so that your 2fa is not bound to a particular device. My password manager lets me view the 2fa secret as if it were just another password.

Yes, I was joking. I'm not up on all the options and I'm an engineer who read HN. What chance does Joe public have of making sense of all these things?

2fa is two factor authentication. User+password is the first factor, and is a "something you know" check. The second factor is a "something you have" check. Like sending you an SMS code.

They exist so if someone watches over your shoulder while typing your password, they don't gain access to anything.

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