Avoid Account Hijacking

Avoid Account Hijacking

To ensure that nobody but you ever accesses your Google account, you can have Google phone you with a confirmation code or send a SMS to your cell phone, every time you login. That way, even if somebody steals or second guesses your password, there's simply no way they can access your account.

This security is known as a two-stage verification procedure, which you can set up here. Note that this service is still being rolled out and might not yet be available to you. Keep checking back, however, because the intention is for it to be available to all Google users.

A drawback (or benefit) of the new security is that you might need to add new, specific passwords for certain Google services, such as mobile Gmail, desktop Picasa, or AdWords Editor. This is because these services don't yet work with the two-step verification process. Signing up using the link above will walk you through what's required.