Last month, hackers dumped more than 2.2 billion usernames and passwords on internet compromising the security of personal information. Now, Google, as it marks the world Safer Internet Day, announced two products that will help both the consumers and also app developers creating safer environment protected from cybercriminals.
"Today, we're introducing two new updates that will help keep your data secure, beyond just Google's sites and apps: Password Checkup, a Chrome extension that helps protect your accounts from third party data breaches, and a new feature called Cross Account Protection," Google spokesperson said in a statement.
The new products are built by cryptography researchers of Google and Stanford University and they are available to download starting today (February 6).
Here's how to get started with Password Checkup on Chrome browser:
Users are advised to download the Password Checkup extension on Chrome web store (or click here). Once installed, you will see a green-hued icon in the shape of a shield with stars in the top right corner. If activated, it will show a small tick mark on it.
With Password Checkup on, your Google account will be safe, as it will proactively detecting and responding to security threats in real time.
"If we detect that a username and password on a site you use is one of over 4 billion credentials that we know have been compromised, the extension will trigger an automatic warning and suggest that you change your password," Google added.
On the other hand, Google's Cross Account Protection feature will protect your accounts details of third-party apps, which you have used Google credentials to log in. Google has built it with collaboration with top technology companies such as Adobe, and the standards community at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and OpenID Foundation to make this easy for all apps to implement.
"For app developers using Firebase or Google Cloud Identity for Customers & Partners, it is included by default. We're getting this effort off the ground now, and developers can get started today to improve security for everyone, " Google noted.
It can be noted that Google does not get any access to the user details, but will only offer information that a security breach has happened and also inform if your account details are compromised or not. If yes, it will ask the user to reset the password immediately.
