If you’re reading this, chances are, you are a certified netizen with multiple online accounts. Surely, you have more than one email address and are part of the social networking world. You must have also heard by now that there is an overwhelming need to secure all your online accounts, this being the age of spamming, phishing, and hacking.
Keeping Your Accounts Safe Without Hassles
There is a very convenient way to secure all your online accounts through the Google Authenticator which generates a one-time password for your online accounts. It is a mobile application that creates 2-step verification codes via a smartphone even if it has no network connection. A smartphone can use Google Authenticator to promptly create verification codes to log into Google Apps accounts. The 2-step verification becomes an additional security feature for the Google Apps accounts because it requires the user to key in a verification code on top of the usual username and password.
Getting Familiar with Google Authenticator
Google Authenticator app works on iPhone iOS 3.1.3 or later versions, Android version 2.1 or later editions, BlackBerry OS 4.5 – 6.0, and Windows Phone. If any of these devices is not available to you, you can still acquire your 2-step verification code through a phone call or an SMS message.
Famous Sites Using a 2-Step Verification Process
Currently, the following sites and services have started to implement the 2-step verification: Google/Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Facebook, WordPress, Dropbox, LastPass, DreamHost, Amazon web services, and some Microsoft products.
Google Authenticator with its 2-step verification is the best way to strengthen your log in security. It is the most current means to protect your online data and, ultimately, other resources such as your money. The biggest benefit of the Google Authenticator is its ability to be used on multiple devices.
How It Works
It is simple and easy to sign in with Google Authenticator. Once enrolled in the 2-step verification, simply log in your Google account username and password. The 2-step verification page prompts in. Key in your generated Google Authenticator verification code and click “Verify” to complete the sign in process.
Important Points to Remember
Should you opt to click on “Remember verification for this computer,” you will need to key in the verification code just one time per 30 days for each browser, or after you have deleted the cookies from the browser. Of course, it goes without saying that you should not do this while on a shared or public computer.
Also, don’t forget that security starts with having a secure password for each of your online accounts. After all, security really means personal vigilance and awareness that nothing online is totally guaranteed to be secure.