Google has introduced a new feature to notify Gmail users of potentially “suspicious” account login activity.
“If it looks like something unusual is going on with your account, we’ll alert you by posting a warning message saying, ‘Warning: We believe your account was last accessed from…’ along with the geographic region that we can best associate with the access,” engineering director Pavni Diwanji explained in a blog post.
According to Diwanji, Google’s automated system will display a warning message only after matching the relevant IP address to a broad geographical location.
“While we don’t have the capability to determine the specific location from which an account is accessed, a login appearing to come from one country and occurring a few hours after a login from another country may trigger an alert.
“[So], by clicking on the “Details” link next to the message, you’ll see the last account activity window that you’re used to, along with the most recent access points.”
Diwanji also recommended users with compromised accounts change their passwords to avoid further unauthorized access.
“Or, if you know it was legitimate access (e.g. you were traveling, your husband/wife who accesses the account was also traveling, etc.), you can click “Dismiss” to remove the message,” he added.
