There was a time when high-status people signaled their value with an ostentatious key fob for the purposes of an expensive automobile. Today the keyring of an important person–or at the least a manic one–might be distinguished by a less obvious marker: a pair of inconspicuous plastic dongles that keep an inbox full of secrets worth keeping.
In October Google announced a feature called Advanced Protection, a insurance adjusting designed to offer its strongest care yet against any hackers who would try to break into your Google account and access your email, reports, calendar, and every other slouse of sensitive knowledge you entrust to Google’s servers. It’s possibly the most secure authentication implemented by any tech conglomerate for any online software, and, short of hosting everything on your own network and a crew of security interests operators to patrol it, Advanced Protection is the best alternative out there.
But it’s certainly not the easiest. Unlike some other security settings Google presents, Advanced Protection can’t be turned on with a merely move of a switching. The security-to-convenience ratio is almost certainly higher than you’re are applied to. But if you need to keep your secrets actually secret–and doubt someone might be after them–it’s your best mainstream bet. Here’s how it works in practice.
The Setup Takes Work…
To turn on Advanced Protection, you two are is a requirement to own two minuscule devices that you’ll have to keep with you at all times–or at least any time you want to log into your Google account from a new device. You’ll connect those so-called universal two-factor( U2F) protection clues to your computer or smartphone to prove your identity after enrolling your password.