In the last few years, the safety of your Google and social media accounts has been adversely affected. Most leading apps like Facebook, and Twitter were in news because of privacy and safety issues. If you use the internet, it’s most likely you may have been using Google. And to use Google, you would need an account. But in this age of hacking, and phishing, how do you keep your Google account safe? There is an effective way to do that, and everyone who uses Google should know about it.
In present times it has become vital to keep your Google account safe, because it not only contains our personal data, but a lot of private conversations. Here, we will discuss some important methods that will help you protect your account from attacks by hackers.
Safety is Sacrosanct | Google
Gmail is the most popular online platform for communication, and is widely used in offices, businesses, and for personal correspondence. Anyone can easily send emails, files, photographs, and documents through Gmail. The platform also provides enough storage facility to keep your emails. Besides, users can chat with their contacts, and also participate in video conferencing on this platform.
It’s very important to keep your Google account safe since it keeps your sensitive data. That is why, people should have a strong password to protect their Google account from hackers. However, in spite of taking every precaution, Google accounts still get hacked. So, how do you protect your Google account?
However, to make your account more secure, you need to perform the following steps quite regularly. Here are those 6 steps.
Step 1: Activate Two-Step Authentication
Visit the two-step verification page to secure your Google account. You will have an option to ‘Get Started’ on the right side. After you click on ‘Get Started’, enter your E-mail ID and Password. Now you will get an option of ‘Try It Now’ at the bottom. The moment you click it, you will receive a message from Google on your phone. Now click on the ‘Yes’ option given within that message
Now enter your mobile number, and get the code by clicking on either text or phone call. Once you enter the code, tap on ‘Turn On’. Now relax, your account is protected. After you are through with this process, whenever you log-in to your account, a notification will first appear on your device along with the password.
You will be able to open your account only after tapping on this notification. Because, if you aren’t able to do that, you can’t even open your account with the help of a password.
You must know that Google has added a chatting feature for your convenience in the Gmail app. Gmail users can easily integrate their Google Chat app into Android and iOS devices. Through this, users can do chatting as well as video conferencing besides sending mail. The chat app is also available to Google Workspace users as an extra feature in their personal account.
Therefore, now Gmail users will get four tabs at the bottom of their app. A lot of users have now migrated to new channels like Vero, Helo, and Connect app mainly because of safety concerns.
Step 2: Security Checkups
You must go through the security checkups and ensure to get personalized security recommendations for your Google account, including updates, and account recovery options. You should turn on the screen locks to remove doubtful access to your data.
Step 3: Update Your Software
You should frequently update the software of your browser, because if the operating system, browser, or apps are outdated, the software might not remain safe from the possible attack from hackers. Make sure your software is always updated to help protect your account.
Step 4: Passwords are Very Important
Usually people use predictable passwords for their Google accounts. Remember, this can cost you dearly. Therefore, always use unique and strong passwords.
Moreover, avoid repeating your passwords, and don’t use the same passwords on multiple sites. Because, once your password for a particular site gets hacked, it could be used to get access into your other accounts.
Step 5: Remove Unnecessary Apps and Extensions
There may be such apps and browser extensions that you don’t need anymore. It’s time to remove all of them. The more apps you install on the device, the more vulnerable it becomes. They also occupy a sizable space on your device.
Make it a point to install only such apps that are essential for your work. Same is true for browser extensions, because they too have easy access to sensitive information. If you aren’t sure about the source of apps, avoid installing them on your device to protect your personal information.
Step 6: Be on Guard against Suspicious Mails and messages
Always look out for suspicious messages and mails from unknown sources. Usually, hackers use such text messages, emails, phone calls, and web pages pretending to be an authentic source. And if you don’t keep your guards on, they might send malware to control your device remotely.
