R Blog

I’ve been using Google’s services such as GMail, Blogger, Ad Sense and so on for quite some time already and I find their service useful to everyone. My primary email is Gmail, messenger is Google Talk, Blogger used to be my main blogging platform, and I watch videos on YouTube. But, recently what have came into my mind is that almost every data of me are stored on Google’s cloud services which is of course, Gmail and stuff.

The main concern is, say, someone able to get into your account by somehow will get to know everything what you’ve been doing in your internet life. They’ll get to know what you search on Google via Google Web History, what do you talk with your friends from GMail Chat, your private photos on Picasa if there’s any, your complete mail archive which could contain sensitive information such as credit card information, bank account data or even your little dirty secrets could be there too, or how about your documents on Google Doc? And all other accounts of the websites which you used this email to register. This list would go on depends on how many services from Google you use and Google has almost everything right now.

All they have to know is a single password of your Google Account. Its like a master key to open all the doors.

This did actually happen to someone who I know. The hacker got into the account and wipe out everything inside and left. Everything’s gone within a flick of an eye.

I”m not blaming the Google here. Its our own concern to keep our data safe. Like we used to say “Prevention is better than curing”. Here are a few steps to do s0 -

Have a strong password

This is very same old idea. Have a strong password all the time. Have different password for different sites and make sure your password is at least 8 characters long. Hey it doesn’t mean “12345678″ ok?

Clean your PC

Make sure your computer is well protected. Have a good Antivirus installed and scan every week. Don’t be stingy to spend on good ones like Kaspersky, Norton. And, never leave your personal computer to someone even if he/she is your friend especially when you have “Sensitive” data inside.

Run a simulated hack

Try to hack your account by yourself. From what I’ve seen, most of the Google account hacks are from Password recovery options. Make sure you have a good security question and a good answer. Its advisable to create your own question rather than using the default given ones.

Make a backup account with different login/password and put it as the secondary account in your primary account. So, whenever someone try to recover your password, a recovery mail will be sent to your secondary account. Be sure that you check both accounts constantly or at least do a frequent login because Google will give out the security question if your account is not active for some certain days.

If you tend to forget things, write down the hints on a book and keep it safe.

If you are outside of Myanmar, you can get the password recovery code to your mobile via sms. Register your mobile under Google Account > Password Recovery Options.

Pay attention on your account

Change your password every now and then. And, Google has this nice feature in Gmail where you can check from which IP logged in to your account (at the bottom of the page) and if Google see any suspicious login, you will be notified. If you are using from public pc such as from Internet Cafe or the library, make sure you logged out your account before you left.

Backup your data

Set up your account to send every mail forwarded to backup account under Gmail Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP or use a mail client such as Outlook or Mozilla to download to your pc.

Or take it or leave it

Or if you don’t feel any secured using cloud services, do not use them at all. There are always pro and cons and consequences behind.

You can read more about securing your Google account here or if you have any suggestions, please feel free to write it down in the comments section below.