When you access your Google Apps account online, you are prompted for a password. This is the way most things on the internet work these days. Unfortunately, passwords are vulnerable to different forms of hijacking, either through theft, by the passwords themselves being easy to guess, or by brute-force attack. In order to make Google Apps more secure, Google has released their two-step authentication method for business users. Once activated, there will be an additional step between entering a password and accessing data. According to Eran Feigenbaum, Director of Security for Google Apps, "After entering your password, a verification code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS, voice calls, or generated on an application you can install on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone device. This makes it much more likely that you're the only one accessing your data: even if someone has stolen your password, they'll need more than that to access your account."

This feature is not meant to be a hindrance for anyone. It is voluntary, and must be opted into by an account administrator. Not only that, but you can choose to create 'trusted' computers where you can log in with just a password. As of right now, not everyone will have access to this new feature. Feignebaum says "Administrators for Google Apps Premier, Education, and Government Editions can activate Two-step verification from the English version of the Admin Control Panel now, and Standard Edition customers will be able to access it in the months ahead. Once enabled by their administrator, end users can set it up in the Accounts tab in Gmail settings." For those of you who are already familiar with the Blizzard Authenticator, this will just be business as usual.