Most of us rely on Google’s application Gmail be it for personal or work purpose. In fact, this one Gmail account is linked to several other applications on your own. There are about 1.2 billion active users of this mail facility and the latest report from Google has given some shocking reports. Despite hearing of growing cyber hacks and threats, almost 90% users are vulnerable to such threats. By denying the two-factor authentication on your emails, users are susceptible to cyber threats.

When you enable a two-step verification it prompts for a special one-time use code. Google can send it to you as a text, call you and read it out or use can use Google Authenticator app to generate it yourself. It is like another password or a single-use key along with your original account password. It is very important to maintain a high security regarding your mail account because we have a lot of personal details attached to it. Online banking or social media, we tend to use our personal email-id to register. So, it is vital to do a two-step verification which can make it difficult for a cybercriminal to crack your account and misuse it.

A two-step verification does add more time to your login but at least your account is more secure at all times. Google had rolled out this feature back in 2011 but still, only 1 out of 10 users are using the safety measure. The Google engineers inform that compromised passwords are the easiest ways to hack into an account. If you are working in a big enterprise and have a combined email then even hacking one person’s account can give access to the others’ accounts. The hackers have complete access to not just the employees but also the company data, which is why it is important that all employees use the two-factor authentication. This feature was not made mandatory by Google, probably why it sees such fewer users.

Here is how you can Turn On the two-factor verification if you haven’t:

  • Go to upper-right corner on your Gmail (your profile) and click on My Account.

  • A lot of options will pop-up. Select Sign-in and Security.

  • Select the 2-Step verification option under the Password and sign-in method

  • When you change these settings, Google may ask you for your password to sign-in

  • Now you have to set up your 2-Step authentication. Click Get Started.

  • You will have to enter your mobile number.

  • Once you get the code on your mobile, enter it on the screen

  • Click Turn On.

If you find this too time-consuming, download the Google Authenticator app. It is a popular choice which generates one-time passwords for your logins. Plus it also supports other application services. When we rely highly on technology and all of it is connected through one common email account, it is of primary importance to have it secure over others. So, ensure you undertake the two-step authentication and also inform your co-workers about it.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 22, 2018 12:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).