A Google account sits at the heart of the internet experience for billions of users worldwide. Protecting it is paramount if services such as Gmail, Google Docs and Google Photos are to remain secure.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Davey Winder is a veteran cybersecurity writer, hacker and analyst. Update, Nov. 07, 2024: This story, originally published Nov.

Previously, users could enable 2FA but lacked the option to define the secondary verification method upfront. This update rectifies that by allowing users to choose a second-factor method – such as ...