Computer users today more than likely have a Google account, either for business or personal use. Not only is it accessible and convenient, it offers a versatile assortment of features. Regardless, no amount of accessibility, convenience, or versatility are worth your security. However, many users put precisely that, their security, at risk\u2026 often without even realizing it, or why this is such a big deal.<\/p>\n
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Today, we aim to fix that. We will review why a Google account is so important to keep secure, as well as a few means and methods of doing so.<\/p>\n
How a Google Account Can Be So Valuable<\/strong> The Internet was always meant for sharing information, from the very first inklings of an idea. In 1962, J.C.R. Licklider of MIT wrote up a series of memos that illustrated a system of interconnected computers, intended to share programs and data the world over, that he coined the \u201cGalactic Network.\u201d This idea of sharing information was also the driving force behind Sir Tim Berners-Lee\u2019s development of the World Wide Web. As Sir Berners-Lee said:<\/p>\n \u201cHad the technology been proprietary, and in my total control, it would probably not have taken off. You can\u2019t propose that something be a universal space and at the same time keep control of it.\u201d<\/p>\n In many ways, these ideals are retained in today\u2019s environment. Online sharing is at its peak, social media and collaboration fulling leveraging a network that is, for the most part, still free of control by any central source. These are ideals that have developed into the demand for net neutrality and open-access information. However, while these ideals have been largely upheld, there are a few notable caveats that give us a more accurate view of today\u2019s Internet.<\/p>\n As the Internet grew in capability, it also grew in utility\u2026 many of which featuring the need for greater security and privacy. With the confidential information that only select users should be accessing growing in popularity within Internet-based communications, this spurred a balance to the Internet that both individuals and businesses can appreciate, and that Google has shaped its offerings around.<\/p>\n From its beginnings as a dissertation project by two Stamford doctorate students, Google has grown into the dominant force online today. Businesses use its G Suite applications every day, as private users leverage some of their other services to their own benefit. Many people, both for business and personal use, leverage Gmail. Let\u2019s face it, Gmail is just useful, whether you use it for work, or just maintain an account to open accounts with other web services.<\/p>\n It is this last point that makes your Google account\u2019s security so important to maintain.<\/p>\n How many of your online accounts are accessible by Google? On the subject, how many of your accounts would be compromised if your Google account was first?<\/p>\n The Impact<\/strong> Unfortunately, there\u2019s one critical consideration that doing so adds into your security equation, that many overlook:<\/p>\n Linking an account to your Google account ties your Google account\u2019s security to it directly.<\/em><\/p>\n This means that, if your Google account was to be compromised, all of the accounts you had connected to it are also compromised by association. Depending on what you had saved in this way, that could have some devastating ramifications.<\/p>\n
\nThe purpose of the Internet has evolved greatly in the relatively few years it has been around. Today, the Internet is largely used as a communications and information sharing tool – true to its roots. This is where the name Internet comes from: inter (reciprocal or shared) and network (a system of connected things). However, as new purposes for the Internet emerged over time, circumstances changed, and the view of the Internet shifted.<\/p>\n
\nThis is the double-edged sword of a Google account. On the one hand, it only makes sense to use a Google account to create others, either using your associated Gmail address or linking it directly. The convenience is inarguable, and Google does equip these resources with reasonable security standards. So why not use a Google account?<\/p>\n