Computers

How to protect your Google account from attacks

4 years ago
Read Time: 2 minutes
by Frank Mccarthy
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Google Account Protection: How to secure your Google Account.

DrNot only is the Google account used for emails, the Android Play Store and many other services also use the account directly or provide logins via Google accounts. This makes it one of the most important accounts on the Internet and you should protect it as much as possible. COMPUTER BILD explains how to do this.

Protect your Google account: a secure password

Yes, simple passwords are easier to remember. And the easiest thing is to use the same thing everywhere. But this is also the most dangerous. Simple passwords can be hacked automatically in seconds, and if one password is applied to multiple accounts, attackers will have direct access to everything. So you should choose a separate, secure password for each account and save it in a password manager. How to create a secure password is explained by COMPUTER BILD im Password Wizard. You can find a selection of good password lockers in Password Manager Overview. If you haven’t used a secure password for your Google account, change it. To do this, open Security settings-Sign in if necessary, click password Replace your old password with a new, randomly generated password.

Password manager at a glance

15 programs

They protect your most important data

Use two-factor authentication

Even if hackers manage to crack your password, nothing is lost yet? Provided you have activated two-factor authentication (2FA for short). This ensures that an additional password factor is always required to log in. With Google, this is a code that you receive on your smartphone via SMS. To activate 2FA, open the Security settings Once again and click Confirm in two steps. Activate the function and follow the instructions to enter your smartphone number.

Print out the redemption codes

This function is only available with 2FA activated and is used so that you can still log in if you lose your smartphone. Open the two-factor authentication settings as described in the previous paragraph and click Backup icons. You will then see a list of ten codes that you can use to log in without entering the code from your smartphone. Print this list and keep it safe at home.

Emergency email address

In the event of an account seizure, you can use the recovery email address to recover it. You will also receive information about suspicious activities at this address. To set it up, open the security settings again and click Account recovery email address. Follow the instructions to set up the address.

Set up your smartphone as a validator

If you want to be completely on the safe side, replace SMS messages with an authenticator app on your mobile phone. SMS may be intercepted by someone. Although this requires a lot of effort and is only worthwhile for the attacker in the case of targeted attacks on VIPs, it does happen. So if you want to be on the safe side, you need an authenticator app, for example Google Authenticator. Then open the 2FA security settings again and follow the instructions to set up in-app authentication. Then remove the SMS variable.

Frank Mccarthy

“Certified gamer. Problem solver. Internet enthusiast. Twitter scholar. Infuriatingly humble alcohol geek. Tv guru.”

Frank Mccarthy

<p class="sign">"Certified gamer. Problem solver. Internet enthusiast. Twitter scholar. Infuriatingly humble alcohol geek. Tv guru."</p>

How to protect your Google account from attacks

Protect your Google account: a secure password