For those of you concerned about the recent sale of Gmail accounts to Russian hackers (and that should be everyone, really…), here are some instructions on how to protect your account.

For personal gmail.com accounts (and enabled Google Apps accounts):

  1. Log in and use the gear icon on the right side of your screen, above your inbox to go to your account settings
    gear
  2. Once you click the Settings option in the Gear dropdown, click on the Accounts tab, then the “Other Google Account Settings”
  3. Click the “Security” link at the top of the next page and find “2-step verification”. If it’s enabled, you are fine. If it isn’t, click the setup link to get it set up.
  4. Enter a cell phone number that you will have with you and which can be texted.
  5. Stay safe!

To enable a Google Apps account (using your own domain name such as rhastings@nekls.org):

  1. Log into Google with your admin account
  2. Click on the gear icon (see pic above) and choose “manage this domain”
  3. If there is no “Security” option on that page, check the bottom of the page for “More Controls” and grab the Security option and drag it up to the list of your options on the dashboard.
  4. Click the Security icon
  5. Click on Basic Settings
  6. Click the checkbox at the right that says “turn on 2-step verification”
  7. Follow the directions to turn it on for your Gmail account above.

Once all that is done, you can safely change your passwords and keep those Russians out!