If you have a Google account, it often saves you an extra step when signing up or logging into many websites or apps. That's because the websites or apps are able to access certain information from your Google profile, such as your name and email address.
This eliminates the need for you to manually enter that information when creating a new account or logging into an existing one. It's also the very reason you may find yourself getting a warning from Google telling you to change your password. Here's why.
Google will get in touch with you about changing your password through various means of communication, such as email or text message. The search giant may also prompt you to change your password the next time you sign into your account or through a notification within the Google account settings.
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To determine whether an email from Google asking you to change your password is real or fake, you can look for several things:
Check the sender's email address to ensure it is from a legitimate Google domain, such as accounts.google.com or noreply@google.com.
Look for spelling or grammatical errors, as these are often present in fake emails.
Look for suspicious links or attachments, which may be used to steal your personal information.
Do not give personal information over email, and only log into your Google account by typing the url google.com to check your account.
Check Google's official website for any security alerts or announcements regarding suspicious emails.
You can also hover over the link to see the actual URL it will take you to. If the link seems suspicious, don't click on it.
It's important to note that Google will never ask you to provide your password via text message or email, so if the message requests your password, it is likely to be a phishing scam.
If you get an alert or notice from Google requesting you change your password, it means that there was "suspicious activity" with your Google account. That doesn't always mean the worst has happened, however, as suspicious activity could mean logging in from a location not previously associated with the account, including you logging into Google while on vacation.
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More often than not, it can mean that someone was trying to log into your account. It doesn't necessarily mean they were successful, as someone could have tried multiple failed password attempts. However, Google is trying to keep you a few steps ahead of the game, knowing that many Google account holders will likely use their Google login information to access multiple accounts.
If you get a request from Google to change your password, it is highly advisable to do so unless you can 100% verify the time and place that the suspicious activity was detected, and that it was indeed you logging in.
Sometimes only a few weeks, or even days, after changing your password, you might be advised by Google to change it again. That could be a sign that your account has been compromised or that hackers are making attempts to access your accounts on Google Chrome. Should that be the case, Google recommends clearing your cache and cookies. Here's how to do it:
*Settings may vary, depending on your Android phone's manufacturer.
Google Chrome also offers an easy way to determine whether any of your passwords has been compromised or part of a data breach. Here's how to check:
While it's difficult to completely evade hackers looking to access your personal information, there are some ways to make it difficult for them.
Tempting though it may be to use the same password for multiple websites, doing so makes it increasingly easy for hackers to access your private information, so always make sure you never use the same password for multiple sites or apps.
Writing down a password, either by hand or digitally, is an easy way to access and remember them. However, doing so makes it easy for someone to find and use it. Then, too, should you lose the note you wrote your password down on, you'll have to change your password again anyway.
A password manager helps you manage your passwords for all of your existing online accounts by helping you create unique and complex password synced across multiple devices without your having to remember them constantly. Most password managers also offer encrypted login and end-to-end storage, making your password inaccessible, even by the password management company.
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