Gmail Logs Activity Information
“Oh no! I forgot to sign out from my friend’s PC!!!”
Has it happened to you? Well if you have closed the browser, there’s no need to worry, but what if you have not? And worse, what if you have clicked ‘remember me in this computer’ before you have signed in?
So, if the owner of that computer opens Gmail, or opens the window you have used and see your Gmail account, then he/she decides to look over your emails, instead of signing it out voluntarily, that would be a disaster. Just imagine what sort of information will he/she knows if he/she decides to read your emails… passwords for your other accounts, love letters, hate letters.
Sigh, if only you have signed out before you left that computer.
Fortunately, Gmail now has this new feature like those you see when you check your bank account online…the feature that shows your log-in sessions.
In Gmail, it does not only show your sessions but will also tell you if you are still signed in in other computers. This can happen if you are in a hurry to leave a friend’s house, or your workplace. Once you have seen that you can remotely sign out from that computer.
For example, you just arrived at home and have signed in to your Gmail account, but you’ve remembered you’ve forgot to sign out before you left the office. You will then see at the bottom of the Gmail page that your account is still open in one location, with the time of your last activity.
To sign out, click the ‘Details’ link, and ‘Sign out other sessions’ button.
But what if it was not you who sign in that time? Then that’s great because you have been just notified that someone has accessed your Gmail account. In most cases, you don’t give out your passwords. Therefore, that someone who accessed your Gmail, most probably, is a hacker or a stalker. You should then quickly change your password. I suggest you create a strong one with numbers, letters in caps lock, or symbols to protect your account.
Also, since the IP address is shown where your account has been accessed, you will be able to figure out who is he/she. Well, that’s if he/she is a stalker rather than a hacker.
By the way, I found out that the feature does not appear in the Opera browser.
Other Articles on Gmail:
Subscribe to Gfanatic
