Tech Tips for Non-Tech People!
Original Air Date: Mar 28, 2017
Preventing Compromised Accounts
Once again, a compromised Gmail user asked for help because they were locked out of their own account because they were compromised.
Google has a number of resources for recovering an account that's been compromised, but something they should have done long ago would’ve prevented the being a victim in the first place.
I’m talking about 2-step verification and it’s really simple to setup.
With 2-step verification activated, even if a hacker steals your password, they wouldn’t be able to gain access to your account and here’s why:
Google can track when a strange computer tries to access your online accounts and they will text a short code to your phone when it detects any unusual access.
Without having the special code, whoever stole your password won’t be able to get in. It is also the perfect way to know when your password has been stolen.
With it turned on, when you get an access code message on your phone out of the blue, you’ll know that someone has acquired your password and you’ll know it’s time to change it.
Gmail isn’t the only account you can protect, as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Paypal, Microsoft, Apple and just about every online service offers some form of 2-step verification.
If you’d like instructions for most major sites, I’ve posted a link at DataDoctors.com/radio.
http://twofactorauth.org
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