Google Now Offers Two-step Verification in 40 Languages, More than 150 Countries
Great news for users who take security very serious: Mountain View-based search engine giant Google recently announced that, in its stride to keep users from all over the world safe and secure, it is now offering two-step verification in 40 languages and in more than 150 countries.
Two-step verification was introduced by Google back in September 2010 for a simple reason: the fact that passwords can be compromised. This can happen for various reasons, like if the user chooses a week and easily guessable password, or if the user recycles a password (uses the same password over and over again; when one account is compromised, all accounts can get comprimised), or if the user falls victim to a phishing scam.
When two-step verification is enabled, the password isn’t the only thing that protects the user’s account. Which is a good thing, because Google said once that “we often find that passwords are the weakest link in the security chain”. When two-step verification is turned on, the whole things works like this;
Step 1 – the user introduces his username and password as he always does.
Step 2 – a verification code is sent to the user’s mobile phone and the user has to type that code to access his account. Alternatively the user has to enter a code generated by a mobile app installed on his Android, BlackBerry, or iPhone. This way, even if the bad guys get hold of the user's password, they can't access his account.
“People have told us how much they like the feature, which is why we're thrilled to offer 2-step verification in 40 languages and in more than 150 countries,” commented Nishit Shah, Product Manager, Google Security. “There’s never been a better time to set it up. Examples in the news of password theft and data breaches constantly remind us to stay on our toes and take advantage of tools to properly secure our valuable online information. Email, social networking and other online accounts still get compromised today, but 2-step verification cuts those risks significantly.”
A video that explains how two-step verification works is available below.
Two-step verification was introduced by Google back in September 2010 for a simple reason: the fact that passwords can be compromised. This can happen for various reasons, like if the user chooses a week and easily guessable password, or if the user recycles a password (uses the same password over and over again; when one account is compromised, all accounts can get comprimised), or if the user falls victim to a phishing scam.
When two-step verification is enabled, the password isn’t the only thing that protects the user’s account. Which is a good thing, because Google said once that “we often find that passwords are the weakest link in the security chain”. When two-step verification is turned on, the whole things works like this;
Step 1 – the user introduces his username and password as he always does.
Step 2 – a verification code is sent to the user’s mobile phone and the user has to type that code to access his account. Alternatively the user has to enter a code generated by a mobile app installed on his Android, BlackBerry, or iPhone. This way, even if the bad guys get hold of the user's password, they can't access his account.
“People have told us how much they like the feature, which is why we're thrilled to offer 2-step verification in 40 languages and in more than 150 countries,” commented Nishit Shah, Product Manager, Google Security. “There’s never been a better time to set it up. Examples in the news of password theft and data breaches constantly remind us to stay on our toes and take advantage of tools to properly secure our valuable online information. Email, social networking and other online accounts still get compromised today, but 2-step verification cuts those risks significantly.”
A video that explains how two-step verification works is available below.
