Although web security is something I like to dabble in, I can’t honestly say it always is on the top of my mind. Up until an hour ago, access to the vast amount of information that Google manages for me (including access to my Google Android account) was protected by nothing but a password. A rather strong password for that matter, but it wasn’t entirely random and it has been the same for quite some time now.

As access to important online services such as Google should ideally not only rely on just a password (session hijacking anyone?), I activated Google 2-step authentication. What this means is that access to Google (Mail, Docs, …) is now also limited to authenticated devices. If I try to access Google from another computer, I’ll have to authenticate the device using an SMS-challenge or a code generated by the Google Authenticator application on my Android-phone.

If you’re still unsure about what 2-step authentication entails, here’s a brief intro-video from Google:

So yeah, you can have my password now. Theoretically. If you really insist. But even if I do decide to give it to you, you still won’t be able to access my account. How’s that for peace of mind? And now off to Facebook security settings, to enable login notifications & approvals.