Introduction to Cyber Security

ENABLING TWO-STEP VERIFICATION¹²

Every day, tens of thousands of personal accounts are hacked. Personal information is compromised, passwords are cracked, and lives are put in jeopardy. If you ever use one password for multiple accounts, you are exponentially increasing your vulnerability to being hacked. Thankfully, Google has launched its 2-step verification system: anytime an unknown device is used to sign into your Google account, the user has to provide a verification code in addition to the password. So it's not enough for hackers to just get your password; they'll also need physical control of your phone or computer to access your account.
Step 1: Sign into your Gmail account. Click on a thumbnail of your avatar on the right side of the top menu bar, and then click "Account" to update your settings.


Figure 14: Account setting
Step 2: You will land on your Account Settings page. Scroll down until you find a blue bar that says "signing in".


Figure 15: Signing in


¹² http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-2-Step-Verification-in-Gmail available under an Attribution- Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Creative Commons License
Step 3: In the 2-step verification section, you'll see if you already have 2-step verification turned on. If it says "OFF," click "Edit" to set the feature up.


Figure 16: Turning on ywo steps verification¹³
Step 4: You'll see a page that briefly walks through the steps of setting up 2-step verification. Hover over the steps for more detail. Once you're ready, click "Start setup."


Figure 17: Start setup
Step 5: Type in your cell phone number. This will be the phone associated with your Google account. Anytime you sign into your Google account from an unknown device (e.g., a public


¹³ Image courtesy: Figure 14 to 30 are adopted from http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-2-Step-Verification-in- Gmail available under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Creative Commons License.
computer), Google will send a verification code to your phone and you will need to enter that before you can sign in.


Figure 18: Entering mobile number for verification
Step 6: Select whether you'd like to receive a text message or Google Voice call with your verification code. Press submit. Then wait for the code to arrive to your phone and enter it in.


Figure 19: Entering varification code