Gmail Now Detects Suspicious Login Activity

Today, Google has introduced a new feature that should help you defend yourself against malicious attacks. It will notify you when they detect suspicious login activity on your account. Since 2008, Google has provided information about exactly which IP’s your account has been accessed from, which are currently logged in, and gives you the option to log the others off.

This information is located at the bottom of your Gmail page once you have logged in. Most people aren’t even aware that these features exist, though. Clicking “Details” here will show you browsers, IP’s, dates/times, and access types for your gmail account. If you see anything fishy, you can sign out all other sessions and change your password. Realizing that this isn’t enough protection, Google now uses this information to alert you when something looks wrong.

Now, if it looks like something unusual is going on with your account, we’ll also alert you by posting a warning message saying, “Warning: We believe your account was last accessed from…” along with the geographic region that we can best associate with the access.

This brings this valuable information to the forefront and prompts you to act immediately, hopefully before serious damage can be done to you or your contacts. The primary issue with someone getting into your email (assuming you’re not a politician or celeb) is not really the email itself. What these attackers will do is reach out to your contacts with some sob story and try to get them to give “you” money. I actually had a friend who had their account accessed in this way, but I knew better and was able to alert them to the problem. They will also save all your contacts for later, which would be a considerable number of email addresses.

Google goes about deciding whether there is an issue using the IP’s it tracks that log in to your account. If your IP is found to be in the US one moment and Zimbabwe the next, this could cause a red flag. If you are capable of teleportation, you can simply dismiss the alert. Otherwise, you’ll need to change your password. All of these options are available from the details screen so you can act quickly.

This feature should be available for businesses and schools via Google Apps once Google has “gathered and incorporated their feedback.”

About the Author
Rahsheen has been a certified geek since before it was the thing to do. He started programming and tinkering in the 4th grade. Now, Rahsheen mostly writes on various sites about technology trends in social media and mobile. . He is also a musician, singer, rapper, writer, and producer. @rahsheen - +Rahsheen Porter - coachrah.com
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