Just think about how much personal information we have stored on our phones and social media profiles these days! We need to make sure that this data is protected.
Today, I will help you give your Google account more protection from hackers and malicious access. I will talk about how to use two-step verification and Google’s Security Checkup.
First, the common things. Never give out your Google account login information to anyone. It is yours and it should remain your secret. Also, as with all usernames and passwords, do not write them down and put them in a secret place. Next, when you are finished using the account on your computer, log off of your Google account. This includes your Gmail, YouTube or any other Google account applications.
One thing to note is that Google does not store your password on its servers. It only stores a token that is used to access your account and generate a password each time you sign in. This is more secure.
For Google and all of your accounts, make sure you have a strong password. This is the first, most important thing you can do in order to protect yourself online. Years ago, we were to create eight-to-12-character passwords with numbers, letters, and symbols. This is still good, however, now you are safe if you use something even longer and simpler to remember. Say a verse of a favorite song, a long sentence that you make up that is easy for you to remember, a Bible verse, etc. That way you can have an easy to remember password that may be much longer. Say a phrase of 15 or 20 words.
Kaspersky which is a very well-known cybersecurity company, provides a free Password Checker. If you go to password.kaspersky.com, you can check the strength of your password.
Next, I suggest you turn on two-step verification, also known as two-factor authentication. This will send an authorization code or notification through text message. Or it can even call you on your phone and ask you for confirmation before entering your account.
Two-factor authentication is a process in which you need to log in with not just your password and username, but also with a six-digit code that is sent to your phone or an app on your phone. It might sound like a lot of work, but it’s worth it. It is simple to access. Login to your Google account at myaccount.google.com. When the browser tab opens, look to the left and click on “Security.” Scroll down to “Signing in to Google” and click to set up “2-Step Verification.”
You may set it to send a four-digit code to your phone, you can choose to have it call you to ID your access, or send a code to another device of yours, say a tablet. You can also have it ask you to press either “Yes” or “No” when you access your account. If you are a real geeky type as I am, you can have it set to a hardware “key” (yubico.com see below) that you must have plugged into your computer to unlock the account. The last way is to install an “Authenticator” app on your phone. In my opinion, it is simpler and very secure just having the code texted to your phone.
The last suggestion from me is to perform a Google Security Checkup. Go back to your account security page and at the top click “Protect your account.” Here, Google will scan your account for any security vulnerabilities and provide solutions to resolve them, if needed. It will even give you helpful “How to’s” to help fix them.
