How to: Two-step authentication with Google

Having your e-mail compromised can be a serious problem – there is a lot of potentially sensitive data sat around in your inbox. For many Gmail users, it is not just e-mail that is at risk if their account is compromised. Nowadays, many of us have documents, calendars, pictures and even some location information associated with our Google Inc. accounts.

Part of the solution to this problem is to use a password protection system such as LastPass. With the recent release of two-step authentication, however, there is another layer of protection and peace of mind available. Using both solutions together can help make your online  data very safe indeed.

Google itself has the following to say about the -step process:

Two-step verification adds an extra layer of security to your Google Account by requiring you to have access to your phone – as well as your username and password – when you sign in. This means that if someone steals or guesses your password, the potential hijacker still can’t sign in to your account because they don’t have your phone.

This “how to” will take you through the steps required to set up Google’s two-step authentication.

1. The first thing to do is confirm that two-step auth is available for you. Go to the Auth Config page. This should take you to the beginning of the two-step set up process.  If it doesn’t then you may need to wait a few days and try again – Google seems to be rolling this out fairly quickly.
2. The next step is to get started by clicking on the “Set up 2-step verification” button.
3. Select the kind of phone you have from the drop down box. You will be asked to install the appropriate app for your phone’s platform. You can also pick them up directly:

Android BlackBerry iOS

4. Having installed the app – click “Next.”
5. You should now see a QR code displayed on the page – use the app you just installed to scan it and then click “Next.”
6. You will be asked to enter a code which will be generated by the app on your phone.  Do so and click “Verify.”
7. Assuming that has all worked OK – click “Next.”
8. Now you are going to get some backup codes in case you need access to your Google accounts and you phone has been lost or stolen.
9. Click “Next.”
10. You should now see some backup codes displayed. You will want to print these out or copy them to somewhere secure – other than your phone! This a very important step so make sure you do it now – do not put it off until later!
11. Now, check the box to confirm you have got the codes somewhere safe and click “Next.”
12. You now have the (optional) step of providing a secondary phone number to which codes can be send via text or voice message. If you wish to complete this step, follow the instructions on screen and click “Next.” Otherwise click on the  “Skip this step” link.
13. Almost there – you may now see a warning telling you that you will need to set up application specific passwords. These are one-time passwords for any apps which are connected to your Google account, but which do not support two-step auth – such as Gmail for Android or the Picassa desktop application. You will enter these passwords instead of your normal Google password. Click “Next.”
14. Final step before we are there! Click on the large blue button which says “Turn on 2-step verification.”
15. You are now all set up! Google will log you out of all apps – Web, mobile and desktop for this account.
16. Sign back in to your Google account. You should now be presented with a form asking for a verification code. Open the Authenticator app on your phone and enter the code that it will provide for you.
17. You will now be asked if you wish to create some one-time passwords for other apps associated with this account. To do this simply give the password a name (the name of the app is a good choice) and hot generate password. You will now need to use the generated password to sign in to that application.

You should now have two-step verification set up for your account. You can repeat this process for any other Google accounts that you have – the Authenticator app will provide codes for as many accounts as you need!

Enjoy enhanced security and peace of mind!