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If you use Gmail to send emails to friends and family you could find your account getting a major change in the coming days. Google announced earlier this year that it would be switching millions of users over to a new and more secure way of logging into their accounts and it now appears that this upgrade is imminent.
Reports are flooding in that Google will soon require users to use a new 2-step Verification system this month with some accounts being updated as soon as November 9.
If you weren’t already aware, 2-Step Verification makes things far more secure as you’ll need more than just a password to access an account.
When trying to log into your inbox you’ll still need to pump in that usual secret phrase but then Google will send out a second message, usually to your phone, to check it’s really you trying to log in.
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Explaining more about its decision to enable this security update, Google said: “The personal information in online accounts is valuable to hackers. Password theft is the most common way accounts are compromised.
“For example, deceptive messages or lookalike sites often trick people into sharing their passwords. These password-stealing scams are common and even experts are sometimes fooled.
“Signing in with both a password and a second step on your phone protects against password-stealing scams. Even if someone gets your password online, they won’t also have your phone.”
There’s no official word from Google about when all users will be required to switch over to 2-Step Verification with the US company simply saying that individual users will be informed 7-days before the change is enforced.
Google did confirm last month that it wants more users to have this additional security by the end of 2021 with the firm saying: “By the end of 2021, we plan to auto-enroll an additional 150 million Google users in 2SV.”
According to Android Police, some users have now begun to receive the email explaining that will soon need more than just a password to access their emails.
That suggests that Google is gearing up for a big push to move everyone over to this new way of logging in whether they like it or not.
