Google Authenticator

       Google announced the other day that they are offering an optional Google Application that will send your mobile Smartphone a security code that will allow you to login to their services. The two-step verification feature will be available to Google Apps premier, education, and government customers on Monday, and to the hundreds of millions of individual Google users in coming months, as a built-in part of the free service, a Google product manager told CNET. This new service will make it harder for online criminals to be able to hack a users account. The six-digit code will be sent to the user after they have entered their password. This type of two-factor authentication--something you know (password) and something you have (Smartphone with code)--is similar to smart cards and tokens, except that the code is accessed on a piece of hardware you most likely already carry. If some users find this service a hassle, you can check a box on Google "remember verification for this computer" so that they won't be asked for a code on that computer for a month. Google is offering this service as open-source so big companies can do their own customization and bring the application to their corporate platforms. I think it is a great feature especially if you have valuable information on your account that you want to add an extra layer of security to.

-Clay Chapman