Gmail account being hacked and keeping it safe . Let’s dive in!
Contents hide
1 Step 1: Create a Stronger Gmail Password
2 Step 2: Check "Trusted Devices" in Gmail
3 Step 3: Use Two-Factor Authentication Key to Lock Gmail
3.1 Setting up a 2FA key for Gmail
4 Step 4: View third party access to your account
5 Step 5: Enroll in Google's Advanced Protection Program
5.1 Related publications:
Step 1: Create a Stronger Gmail Password
I hate to have to do this, but if you don’t have a strong password — or if you’re not sure you have a strong password — you need to change it now. A strong password is a random string of characters (the longer, the better) that’s unique, meaning you only use it for Gmail and no other sign-in. To change your Gmail password, go to myaccount.google.com/security and click Password under Signing in to Google.
If you need help with passwords, I recommend installing a good password manager that will not only create those strong passwords , but also store them securely in an encrypted vault.
Step 2: Check "Trusted Devices" in Gmail
Now that you're in the security settings of your Gmail account, you may have noticed a few warnings in the "Security Checkup" box. Even if Google pats you on the back with a "Your account is secure" message, I still recommend you go to the Security Checkup page. It's important to know what you can do with this tool provided by Google, both from a monitoring and threat prevention perspective . For example, I can check all the devices that are "trusted" to open my Gmail account and make sure there are no unknown devices that I can tell Google I don't recognize.
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Or better yet, let's say your phone gets stolen, this will allow you to quickly log in and ask Google to register the device so the thief doesn't have access to my email.
It's a good idea to come back a couple of times a year to double-check and make sure you know all the trusted devices on your account.
Step 3: Use Two-Factor Authentication Key to Lock Gmail
In my opinion, probably the most important change you can make to secure your Gmail account is to enable two-factor authentication . Personally, I have several keys that I use to secure my Gmail account, including:
My 2FA Master Key
My 2FA backup key
My wife's 2FA master key (so she can log in if needed)
