What is known as two-factor authentication , or two-step verification (as Google itself calls it), is an increasingly popular security feature that adds another layer of security to the authentication process. Thus, when the user has configured two-factor authentication, they use a secondary authentication option .
This basically means that, after the user tries to log in (with his username and password) on the platform where he has activated this option, the system sends a code to his mobile device by text message that he must enter to start. log into your account, or do so using an authenticator app.
It is a security system that we have already seen implemented when accessing our bank accounts through the Internet, or when accessing different online platforms, including some social networks.
However, it is true that it is curious to see how Google, such an advanced company, had not taken sides in the matter, and has not included this double security system in its services. Up to now.
And it is that just a few days ago Google announced that it will soon add the use of two-step verification for Google accounts, so as long as the account has been configured correctly (which means, for example, that the user must have added a correct and real mobile phone number), the registration in the system would be done automatically .
The Google Security Review online tool allows users to verify whether, at the time of the inquiry, it is possible to enable or not two-factor authentication for that particular account, and / or find out what information is missing for be able to enable this function.
As Google states, using a mobile device to log into an account “provides people with a much more secure authentication experience than passwords”, not only because it is a simpler system that protects the user, but also because works.
In this way, once implemented globally, users will receive a text message on their mobile device to verify that an attempt to log into their official Google account is legitimate.
The company’s goal is that the user does not need a password in the future to be able to access their online accounts , an authentication method that has been compromised on many occasions, especially when users tend to use the same password in different online sites, whose security can easily be compromised, especially in cases where the site is hacked or hacked, and the data leaked.
Thus, when this system is implemented in Google, the password will not be necessary to access some of the company’s most used services , such as Gmail, its popular email service; Drive , your cloud storage system; o Photos , the company’s photo storage service.
Of course, activating this double authentication system not only uses the password, but also forces us to always have the mobile phone on top , especially when the authentication is carried out by means of a code sent via text message.
