Google introduces two-factor authentication for everyone

Google introduces two-factor authentication for everyone

The time has come - Google is actually enforcing two-factor authentication for every user. This affects more than 150 million users worldwide. However, many people still have questions about the background of the security system.

The Internet company Google made good on its announcements as early as November 2021 and implemented the planned two-factor authentication. Allegedly, this was supposed to improve the user's security. For many, the question now is how they can deactivate this system at all and what this new authentication is all about.

With two-factor authentication, it is supposedly now more secure to log in to an online service. This means that two different factors are decisive for each login. This supposedly ensures stronger security at the online service. Data thieves will find it more difficult to get hold of a password. Many people are already familiar with this new system for credit card purchases. It is also common to enter a password or PIN in the online area. Now a second certain factor is necessary, which concerns the second security. This is the only way to actually confirm the login. In most cases, the smartphone is ideal for this. This is how the registration takes place. An alternative is a biometric solution, such as with the face or by fingerprint. The scanner on a smartphone is used for this, for example.

As far as practice is concerned, this approach is not very user-friendly and, above all, also inconvenient. This means that people without a smartphone might have a problem. The system often uses SMS so that passwords can be transmitted once. In the meantime, however, it has become known that there are some gaps in this as well. Therefore, the above methods are combined with each other. The user can often choose what the second factor should be with the respective service. This is to minimize data mishaps and data leaks in the future

Google, by the way, has been pursuing this plan for several years in order to present a reliable system. This is primarily to protect personal data that is stored online. Examples are YouTube, Google Drive and Gmail.

However, this new authentication method was not immediately activated for all users. Those affected received an email beforehand as information. Those who have not yet received such a message from Google have also not yet been activated with two-factor authentication.

The following options are available for authentication with Google:

·       Back-up Code
·       Special security key
·       Push notification
·       One-time password via app
·       One-time password via SMS

It is also possible to deactivate this new method for authentication. This must be done in your own account in the overview. In the “2-Step Verification” and “2-Step Verification Settings” section, two-factor authentication is disabled. However, this is not recommended as far as the current security measures are concerned. Basically, everyone may assume that two-factor authentication is enabled.