Google adds new security features to GMail

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Google has added new security features to its email service to warn users of suspicious activity within their account.

In a blog post, Google said Gmail users will now be given a warning the company detects accessing of their accounts from two different geographic regions within a short amount of time. Credit card companies have long used a similar system to prevenrt fraud, but it is believed to be the first time an Internet company has deployed similar methods to detect suspicious activity on email accounts.

The feature takes advantage of the IP tracking that Google launched in July 2008, which allows users see the last few IP addresses which accessed their account. Although the accuracy is not perfect, sometimes only narrowing the parameters to a particular state in the U.S. for example, it should at least help users detect attacks from across the country or abroad.

There may of course be legitimate reasons why multiple people might be accessing the same Gmail account. Some couples may share of have access to each other's accounts, as might company employees. As such, Gmail will not lock out the user. Instead displays a warning and prompts the user to change the password. Google’s post also notes that the service will be coming to Google Apps after it receives feedback from its education and business customers.

The new feature comes shortly after Gmail rolled out default SSL access. In 2008 Google also allowed users remotely sign-out for the occasions where people might inadvertently have left their account open in another location. A "Sign out all other sessions" button may be found at the bottom of a user's GMail page via the IP details link.