In just a few days the method of accessing your Google account will change: nothing complicated, but it will require a few extra steps for greater security
The process of digitizing a large part of the activities we carry out every day goes back a long way, more or less since the advent of the Internet. The Covid-19 pandemic has exponentially accelerated a process that was clearly already underway, with the result that even today our devices are a vault of sensitive information of all kinds.
Think about it: with a smartphone you can do anything. Online shopping, jotting down thoughts or projects to be carried out, transferring even large sums of money from one part of the world to another with just a few touches on the screen, and so on. You can do anything, so, intuitively, the protection of what is a "multifunctional treasure chest" as the smartphone (or PC, it's the same) is a primary objective for everyone. And it's also a priority for Google, which wants to ensure its users the highest possible protection from scams or the actions of malicious people who, with a stolen password, could do almost anything with our digital identity.
Two-step verification mandatory for everyone
The efforts of the largest companies that guard our data, however, may not be enough. Through a post on the official blog in which it was announced the new account access coming from November 9, Google has listed the efforts made over the years to make the ecosystem that we all use every day as safe as possible.
From November 9, in fact, the two-step verification will become mandatory for all those who have Google credentials, those that can be used to access the many services of the ecosystem, from Gmail to YouTube. To warn users, Google is sending out an email explaining what will happen.
"After you enter your password, you'll need to complete a second step on your phone. Keep it handy when you sign in." Google warns that "two-step verification will be automatically activated on November 9. If you'd like, you can activate this feature first - your account is ready."
What is Google's two-step verification
Two-step verification basically consists of double verification: the first focuses on "something you know," i.e. your password, while the second focuses on "something you own," such as your smartphone. (identical mechanism at the base of the "SCA" of credit cards). So accessing the account and Google services from November 9 will be more inconvenient to promote security: once you type the password "starts" the second verification, the one on identity, in which you are asked to interact with a notification on your smartphone or receive an SMS or a call with a code to be typed after the password.
In 2018, Google claimed that just 10% of users used two-step authentication, a percentage that certainly must have grown over the years thanks to increased awareness on the issue of cybersecurity, but that would be good to be used by all or almost all users for their security. The obligation that Google will introduce in a few days goes precisely in this direction.