Worried about your Gmail account’s security? Know how to set up Google Two-Step Verification to keep it safe
No matter how long and difficult your Gmail password is. It is not completely immune to the modern day hackers. With the advance of latest malware and key loggers, it becomes fairly easy for a hacker to snoop into your Gmail account security. This is the reason why Google has introduced the two step verification process. In this process, the users have to enter their Gmail passwords, and then enter the OTP sent to their mobile phone in order to access their Gmail account.
The two step verification makes it next to impossible for a hacker to breach your Google account security. It enhances the Gmail security which was previously based on password and recovery options such as phone number or secondary Email ID. In case you don’t know how to setup Gmail two-step verification then this post is going to help you immensely. Here, we will brief you on step by step procedure to enable the Gmail 2-step authentication.
How to enable Gmail Two Step Verification?
With the risk of increasing online security threats, it is recommended that you should enable two-step verification right at the time of getting started with Gmail.
Follow the step given below in order to set up Google 2 step authentication.
- First of all, log in to your Gmail account.
- Click on settings gear icon available at the top right corner.
- Select settings for the opened menu.
- Open Accounts and Import tab.
- Choose “other Google account settings” from the Change account settings option.
- Open “Sign in and security”.
- Now, under password and sign in method, click on 2-Step verification.
- Click on “Get Started”.
- Enter your Gmail password for verification.
- Now, you will have 3 options to set up additional security with your password. Choose any one of the following options you want to add in your Gmail account to verify your identity.
- Text message/ phone call on your phone number
- Security Key
- Google Prompt.
- In case you have chosen your phone number/ text message for 2-step verification then you need to enter the verification code that google will send to your phone number.
- If you choose to google Prompt then google will send a prompt to your trusted device in order to verify your identity.
- If you have chosen security key then you need to verify your security key device by plugging it into your computer.
By following the steps mentioned above, you can enable 2-step verification. But what if you lose your password or your phone number? For such cases, you need to setup Backup codes. These backup codes will help you in case you do not have the access to your phone and you want to log in to your Gmail account.
Setting up Backup Codes for Gmail 2-Step verification
Follow the below-mentioned steps to create backup codes for Gmail verification
- Go to Google my account page.
- Click on “Sign in & security”.
- Scroll down and open 2-step verification.
- Select “setup or show codes” under “Back up Codes”.
- Your Back up codes will be displayed on your screen. You may note down these codes or download them in your system.
Be very careful while noting down the backup codes. Losing access to back up codes can result in serious login issue in Gmail.
How to set up 2-step verification using Google Authenticator App?
If you are an Android, BlackBerry or iOS device user then you can enable 2-step verification via Google Authenticator App. The instructions to enable 2-step verification using Google Authenticator are as follow:
- Visit the 2-Step verification section from the Google my account page and click on “Switch to app”
- Click on “Android” followed by “Continue”.
- A barcode will appear on your Screen.
- Download and install “Google Authenticator App” from the Play store/app store.
- Tap on “+” button in the application.
- Choose “Scan Barcode”
- Scan the QR code from your browser’s screen.
- Enter the code appeared in your Google Authenticator app.
- Click on verify.
You should note that using Google Authenticator App is different from using Gmail app-specific password. The app-specific password deals in having a different password for each application. On the other hand, Google Authenticator is just the other method for two-step verification.
How to disable 2-Step verification for a Gmail Account?
If you want to turn off the two-step verification for Gmail then you can do it by following the steps given below
- Open “Account and Import tab” under Gmail settings.
- Click on “other Google account settings”
- Open “sign in and security”.
- Go to the 2-step verification page.
- Enter your password (if prompted)
- Select “Turn off Two-Step verification”.
- Finally, Click on “Ok”.