Google’s new online security tool scared me for a minute

Indiana?!? Why is there a Windows machine with my account logged in in Indiana? Is there a friend there with a laptop I logged in on? I'm pretty sure I've NEVER been in Indiana? COULD MY ACCOUNT HAVE BEEN HACKED?!?

On Monday, Google began offering a new online security tool to help users and IT managers monitor the different activity going on with their devices and accounts. Google is calling this the Devices and Activity Dashboard and it can be found within the Security tab of your Google Account settings. There, "the page shows a comprehensive view of all devices that have been active on an account in the last 28 days, or are currently signed in. And in case any suspicious activity is noticed, there's a setting to immediately take steps to secure an account and change a password."

So there I was, checking out the Devices and Activity Dashboard on my Nexus 5, concerned. I got about a click away from resetting my password and having to re-log into my account on all my devices. Not a huge issue, but definitely an inconvenience. Frankly, I felt suspicious. I have a relatively tough password on my Google Account. I JUST changed the password recently. I have Google's two step authentication on. I feel like I would've been aware of suspicious activity on my account. Then I pull open my laptop to begin writing this news post about Google's new Online Security tool and lo and behold, my current device is supposedly in Indiana. PHEW! I've not been hacked! Something is just not right on Google's side or I learned that the area I live in might be called Indiana.

Either way, there are some lessons to be learned here. One, Google is offering a great new tool to track your account and device activity for users. Two, do a little investigation before you nuke the awesome password your just worked hard to create and memorize due to some suspicious account activity. And three, if there is some real suspicious activity, Google's provided a really convenient link to take care of that.

How is this tool working for you? Think you'll use it? Any suspicious activity that you couldn't figure out? Any not-so-suspicious suspicious activity? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

Android Match

ae

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe