Google has launched a couple of new security feature for user of its apps. Most strikingly, the Devices and Activity dashboard allows users to see all devices that have logged in to the user's Google account, and from where, in the last 28 days, Mashable reports.
The Devices and Activity dashboard lists all computers, mobile phones and tablets which have logged into your Google account, along with a timestamp when they were 'last seen', and an approximate location. The description breaks down the mobile phones by handset type, but keeps computers to either Mac or Windows, with no indication as to whether the machine is a desktop or laptop machine.
If you see any activity you don't recognize, Google encourages you to remove account access from the device in question. A text at the top of the page encourages you to 'Secure your account' should you notice anything suspicious. Following the link takes you to the security section of Google, where you can change your password, check your recovery settings, see what apps can access your account and enable 2-step verification.
Information Week argues that the feature is predominantly aimed at business and enterprise users, but it can be used by anyone with a Google account. An additional feature aimed squarely at Google for Work accounts is the 'security wizard'. This guides users through additional steps to secure business accounts, with steps for contact information for account recovery, reviewing recent activity and managing account permissions.
Writing on the Google for Work Blog, Eran Feigenbaum, Director of Security, outlined the changes, and why the company has introduced the new features: "As an IT manager, we realize you spend a lot of time managing devices, applications and security settings for everyone at your organization. To make your job a bit easier, today we’re announcing new security tools to help Google Apps users take more control of their security online."
"Security in the cloud is a shared responsibility and keeping your company information secure is at the core of what we do everyday. By making users more aware of their security settings and the activity on their devices, we can work together to stay a step ahead of any bad guys," he concluded.
