Beware of Vanguard's "restrict access from unrecognized devices" setting

[NW-Bound]

This was prominently displayed in the screen describing this feature

Keep in mind that if you select "Restrict unrecognized computers, browsers, aggregation service, or mobile devices from accessing my accounts," you won't be able to access your accounts from new locations or a new computer or device because they won't be recognized. Also, if you change browsers or delete cookies or offline content, your computer may become unrecognized. To access your accounts using an unrecognized device, you'll need to disable this feature from a recognized device.

Sounds to me this is one level beyond the usual 2FA, in that absolutely no new devices can be used to log in.

PS. Come to think of it, if your smartphone is lost and compromised, the phone can be used to defeat the 2FA because of course the phone has all the usual apps for text messaging, reading email, as well as logging on to your bank and brokers.

But then, this new level of security does not help either, because your lost and compromised phone IS a trusted device.

 

[Graybeard]

I'm pretty sure I set that setting as an additional piece of security. That said, I never experienced any issues, never use a VPN, always log in from my home pc, told them to always send me a 2FA code, updates to Windows or AV software never caused an issue, I just have not had any problems. I could see deleting cookies being a problem. What happens if you get a new PC, it sure would not recognize that machine.