Have you heard? hackers are at it again

People loose their google accounts everyday

here is how to keep yours safe

How To Secure Your Google Account

Check your recovery information

Now, of all the various google account security tips for your google account, many users seem to dump ''the recovery information''. This section in your google account settings is very i repeat, very important. In the event of ever loosing your google account, you always have the recovery option where google will send you specific details via text for account retrieval.

You will need to provide google with certain details in the ''my account'' section. You will give information like.

+ A recovery phone number.

+ A recovery Email.

+ A security question.

You can however use only the recovery phone number option, but I'd advice that you use all.

Google will not use your contact details to send spam messages to you, they will only use the information you provide if they need to reach you about your account.


To setup recovery for google account security

Log in to http://myaccount.google.com/security
Scroll down to where you see ''account recovery option''



Click on any of the recovery options you want to change.
And your set.


Creating a strong password





Another tip to keep your google account safe is to create a strong password, you should use a unique password for each of your important accounts.

Re-using passwords is quite risky, if someone figures out your password for any of your accounts? Maybe twitter or instagram and it tally's with your google account? That person would gain access to your account.

You should also use a mix of letters, symbols and numbers in you password. most people use easy passwords because they do not want to forget it, but trust me, it is better to forget your password and recover it, than for your account to get ha*ked.

So it is time to be a bit geeky and step up your game, use numbers, symbols and a mix of upper and lower case letters for your password.

For example, a seven character password with numbers, symbols and mixed letters is harder to guess because it has 20,000 times as many possible combinations than a seven character password with only lower case letters.


Finally do not use personal information like your birthday, example ''12november2014'', a password like that is easy to guess. you should use a hybrid password like ''pal128BIGBOY/2@'' but be sure not to forget it, and do not write it down anywhere.


Turn on 2-step verification




An extra layer of google account security is added to your google account when you enable the 2-step verification.

This verification really boosts your google account security. The method requires you to have access to your phone, as well as your username and password.

The sweet thing about this is, when someone steals or guesses your password, they still can't sign in to your account because they don't have your phone.


HOW DOES IT WORK?

--You sign in with two details, your normal password.

and also with

-- A code sent to your phone.

If you would want to activate the step verification to secure your google account? Follow these steps.

Go to the 2 step verification page ()
In the 2-step verification box on the right, select start setup.
Finally, follow the step by step process for setup.

When you are done with the settings, and the 2-step verification is fully activated, the next time you try to log in, you will receive a text message with a verification code.

Note: Add an email recovery option as well, this ensures that you can access your account in the future in case of any mishap


Other google account security tips


Never use your google account password on another website ( do not use your google account password to register any account on any site)
Whenever you use a public computer to sign in, make sure you sign out, also clear cache, forms and cookies on your browser on a regular basis.

How to detect suspicious activity on your google account

If you notice any of the below behaviour while using your google mail then it is possible that your google account is no longer secured.

Some messages have disappeared without you removing them.
Messages that you didn't send appear in sent mail section.
Your friends complain that you send them spam messages.
Your account activity shows sign in activity at unusual times, and from unusual computers.


you can visit http://www.techytab.com for other cool tips and tricks