pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

How To Use The Google Authenticator App to Protect Your Google Account

In a previous post, I talked about enabling two factor authentication on your Google account. Just to rehash, two-factor authentication adds another layer of protection in your authentication method. You still login using your username and password. But, before you can go any further, a random number is generated and sent to a registered device. The device is typically a mobile phone. But, it can also be a specialty device that generates these numbers.

This means that even if someone guesses your password, they will still need access to your registered device to receive the special code. And, if they somehow get a special code one time it will change in a short amount of time. Two-factor authentication is so easy to set up that it really should be used when possible to add that extra layer of security to accounts.

You can read the previous post on how to enable two-factor authentication on the Google account. But, if you stop there you will receive your codes by text messaging. There is also an app you can install on your phone called the Google Authenticator App that will generate those codes for you. This is good if you do not want to pay for texts or if you would just rather have an app controlling this.

The first thing you need to do is to install the Google Authenticator App on your mobile device. You can go here to find the links for your appropriate device. Once you have installed the app on your phone, then you can proceed with the next steps.

Next you need to login to your Google account at https://accounts.google.com. Once you will scroll down to the area that says “Signing In” and click on the “2-Step Verification Section”

You will be taken to the next screen. As you will see the default when you enable 2-factor authentication is to use Text Message. To change to Google Authenticator App, you will need to click on the button that says “Switch to App”

 

 

The next screen will have you pick your device type

The next step will register your device with your account. You will get a screen with a barcode in the middle. This is what the screen will look like. But, you need to add an account to your app first

Open the app on your phone and click on the + sign to add an account

 

Click on the link that says “Scan Barcode”. It will open up a camera where you can hold it towards the barcode on your computer screen.

 

As you can see it has now added another entry for Google. This is the one you will use to login from now on

Your account is now set up to use the Google Authenticator App to login. From now on when you log into any Google property like Gmail, Calendar, Tasks, etc, you will use your username and password. But, it before going any further it will ask you for the 6-digit code on your phone inside the app. This code changes every 30 seconds on your phone as shown by the count down icon. If you do not enter the code in before the time expires, you will have to wait for a new number to be generated.

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Articles

Latest Articles

The History of Digital Video

In the early 1990s, a digital video system capable of capturing full-screen video images would have cost several thousands of pounds. The biggest cost element was the compression hardware, needed to reduce the huge files that result from the … [Read More...]

3 Huge Benefits of White Label Mobile Wallets

For most, the term “Mobile Wallet” brings up images of consumer products such as Apple Pay, Paypal, or Square. Mobile wallets are revolutionizing the financial sector and continually growing in popularity - especially amongst Millenials - for their convenience and security.  A mobile … [Read More...]

LP to CD Clean Up

Audacity includes many built-in effects and also lets you use plug-in effects. In general, the way these are applied is to simply select part or all of the tracks you want to modify, and select the desired effect from the menu. For the purposes of this tutorial, we're just going to use the … [Read More...]

2021 PC Hardware Releases to Bolster Your Gaming

If you are a PC gamer, then chances are you are looking to upgrade your kit over the coming year. However, a lot of money can go into building the … [Read More...]

New Transfer Feature in Dropbox Enable Sharing files with Third Parties

Dropbox has been a popular P2P sharing platform for many years. They don't announce new features as often as other applications, since they have a … [Read More...]

Ransomware Operators Find Data Theft Profitable

How valuable is your data? That’s not a question that organizations or individuals have to ask themselves all that often. You might know the market … [Read More...]

Engineers Encounter the Quantum Challenge with Computers Running a Hundred Million Times Faster

Quantum computers have been a subject of discussion for many years. They have probably been something that philosophers and technology pundits have … [Read More...]

Transferring Image Files from Your Cell Phone Without Cables or Email

You don't have a cable available to transfer the photos from your cell phone to your computer? You don't feel comfortable sending them through your … [Read More...]

Why Drupal Accessibility is Vital for Your Website

Drupal may not be as popular as WordPress, but it is still used in over 1 million websites. The Internet might be more conducive to our needs if more … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

Phase Change Technology

Panasonic's PD system, boasting the company's own patented phase-change technology, has been around since late 1995. … [Read More...]

Creating Color

Creating colour accurately on paper has been one of the major areas of research in colour printing. Like monitors, … [Read More...]

Thinking of Selling Your Phone? Follow These Tips First

Smartphones and tablets have grown exponentially the past few years. People trade them in quite often because they want the newest device or they are … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2021 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors