"Two-factor authentication" may be the least sexy-sounding feature I've ever written about. But if you've ever worried about being phished or having your password hacked, it could be your best friend ?�because it makes it much, much harder for a hacker to break into your account. Today, Google is announcing that it's bringing the security feature to its millions of users: the feature will be rolling out first for Google Apps Premiere, Education, and Government edition customers, with plans to bring it to all Google users (even those who aren't using its Apps suite) in the next few months.
So what exactly is two-factor authentication? Most of the login systems you've probably used are only 'one-factor' ? you enter one password and you're in, but if that password gets compromised, you're toast. More secure systems are common in large businesses, and often require both a password and a physical card or dongle to login ? these are called 'two-factor' systems, because they require both your password and another key, and are far more secure because a hacker probably isn't going to have that physical token. Unfortunately these security systems are generally quite expensive. But Google is bringing one to the masses.
No comments:
Post a Comment