Re: techcrunch.com/2017/10/17/google-launches-strongest-security-opt-in-program-for-high-risk-users/

Advanced Protection by Google Helps Protect Users at Elevated Risk of Online Attack. Advanced Protection works by focusing on, what Google calls, three core defenses:

  1. Requiring a physical, USB Security Key to log in to your account.
  2. Only allowing specific apps to access to your Google data. For now, the only apps that can access your data will be Google’s own.
  3. Having additional reviews and procedures for any account changes or recovery requests.

This program isn’t for everyone—Google’s clear on that—but for journalists, campaign staffers, or anyone who might be at a higher risk for hacking or phishing, this appears to be an obvious preventive step.

For the rest of us, using a strong, unique password and turning on Google’s Two-Factor Authentication should be good start. It’s also worth checking out what apps have access to your account, and then removing the ones you don’t use anymore.

Tuesday, 17 October 2017