Login Gmail Account Successfully

Creating a Gmail account is the first hurdle you have to cross. You can check out our article on how to open a new Gmail account. Once your account has been set up, logging in is very easy. If you want to login via Gmail web version, you can, regardless of the device you are using. If it is the Gmail app you wish to use, it only works on smartphones (iOS and android). You can’t use it on computers.

In this article, you will be shown in a detailed way how to log into your Gmail, how to recover your Gmail if you forget your password, and several ways to protect your Gmail from getting hacked. Either you use a computer or your phone, the process is still similar.

Follow these steps –

1. Open your web browser

You can use any web browser. Input www.gmail.com into the search box of the web browser, or you can tap on that link. Gmail homepage will appear. You will see ‘sign in’ at the upper right corner of the page, click it. You will be taken to a new page with an empty field box.

You can also access your Gmail through www.google.com. You will be taken to Google’s official homepage. At the top of the screen, you will see ‘sign in’, click on it. A new page will appear with an empty field box.

2. Input your email or phone number

What is required is the Gmail address (your username) or the phone number you used in opening your Gmail when you were creating an account. Input either of the two into the box. Make sure it’s correct, then tap on the “Next” button.

3. Input your password

The password you chose when opening your Gmail account, input it as well. Then tap on the ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the screen. If you input the correct email address/phone number and password, then you will be logged in to your gmail account. in some cases, you will need to follow step 4 to verify your identity.

4. Verify your Identity

This does not happen all the time, but in some cases, Google might ask you to verify your identity, so that they can protect your account from people who are trying to hack your account. Besides, if you enabled 2-step verification, this is something you will experience every single time you try to log in.

To start the verification, enter the phone number you used when you were creating your Gmail account. In some cases, Google might automatically detect your phone number.

Choose how you want to receive the verification code. It is either you tap on ‘text message’ or the automated ‘voice call’. If you select ‘text message’, the verification code will be sent via SMS, and you would receive it within a few seconds.

If you chose automated ‘voice call’, you will receive a voice call on that phone number. Before you click on the get code button, make sure you have a pen and a notebook with you so you can jot down the code. You will receive a call within a few seconds.

If you don’t receive the verification code after 3 to 5 minutes, tap on verify, a message will show on the screen asking if you want the code to be re-sent.

When you receive the code, enter it into the box on the screen and click on verify.

You will now be logged in into your account. You can read your messages, and send or receive messages.

 

How to log into Gmail if I forget my password

 

There are occurrences where people forget their passwords, probably because they haven’t logged out from their account in a long time, so they do not have to use their password, and it has made them forget the characters they used when setting up their account.

You can still access your Gmail account regardless. Just follow the steps we offer.

1. Open Gmail on web browser

You can use any web browser you want. Input www.gmail.com into the search box of the browser or simply use the link. You will be taken to the Gmail homepage. At the upper right corner of the page, you will see’ sign in’, tap on it. A new page will open with an empty field box. At the bottom of the search box, you will see ‘forget email, tap on it.

You can also follow this method. Input www.gooogle.com in your web browser or use the link. When the page opens, look at the upper right corner of the page, you will see ‘sign in’, tap on it. A new page will open, and at the bottom of the empty field box on this page, you will see ‘forget email, tap on it.

2. Enter your phone number or recovery mail

Input the phone number you used in creating an account on Gmail. If you set up a recovery email, you can use that instead. However, if you don’t have the phone number again and didn’t set up a recovery email, then there is no way Google can ascertain that you own that account, so you won’t be able to recover your account.

Note: always make sure when you are creating a Gmail account you also set up another Gmail account, and this other account will serve as your recovery email. If possible, don’t use this email to set up social media accounts and so on. It should just serve as your recovery email when you forget your password.

3. Enter your name

Input your first and last name in the empty field. Tap on next.

4. Verify your account

After entering your phone number or recovery email, a verification code will be sent via text message on your phone or via a mail on your recovery email. It is usually a 6-digit code. Input the verification code into the empty field box on your screen then tap on next.

If the verification code isn’t sent to you, tap on next. An instruction will appear at the bottom of the screen telling you to tap on resend if you didn’t get the verification code. After tapping on it, a verification code will be sent to you in a few seconds.

5. Choose an account

Google will bring up your account. Tap on it. However, if it isn’t your account, tap on ‘use another account’. If you tap on the latter, you will be taken to a new page requesting you to enter a new account. Generally, Google will bring up the exact account you are trying to recover, so there is no need to click on ‘use another account’.

6. Enter new password

You will have to create a new password. Come up with a strong password which is at least 8 characters long with numbers and symbols, so it will be hard for anyone to guess it.

Input the password into the empty field box. Then tap on change password.

Google might present you a page requesting you to add a home address or add/confirm your recovery email or phone number. You can tap on either if you want to make your account more secure. If not, tap on ‘not now’. Besides, you can always secure your account later in your Google account.

7. Open your account

A new page will appear, requesting you to open your account via the web version or via the Gmail app. Anyone you tap on will open your Gmail account.

 

How to protect my gmail from being hacked

 

If you are not the owner of the device you are using to log in, there is a high chance you will be hacked. Besides, hackers are getting smarter every day, so there are several precautions you should take. Even if you are able to recover your account after it has been hacked, the hackers might have already harvested sensitive information such as your credit card details, social media details, and so on. Moreover, they might use your Gmail and social media account to boost their phishing campaign, thereby creating a bad image of you if your contacts or followers fall victim to it.

There are several measures you should take to protect your Gmail account:

• Set up 2-step verification
This is the most important security measure to take. Before you or a hacker can gain access to your account, they have to present two pieces of evidence – something only the user knows (password) and something only the user has (OTP).

In 2-step verification, what you will need to access your Gmail, is your password and a one-time password (OTP) that will be sent to your mobile phone. The only way your Gmail can be hacked, even if you enable 2-step verification is if the hacker has access to your mobile phone.

• Create a strong password

Lots of people are guilty of using simple passwords, mostly because of the fear of forgetting it, or not having enough time to think of strong passwords when creating an account. Besides, if you are reusing the same password on all your accounts, then you are begging to get hacked.

If your fear of not wanting to have a very strong password with symbols and numbers is because you don’t want to forget it, you need not worry. What you need is a password manager. You will get different applications with the both free and paid version.

However, the first step to take is to find a free time to come up with strong passwords. Then try to commit it to memory. When you are done, log into your Gmail account. Go to settings and change your weak password to the strong one you just created.

• Update your software

If your operating system, browser and apps are out of date, the software will be unsafe. Hackers will have easy access to it, which will give them not only access to your Gmail but also access to your device. They will be running your device with you without your knowledge.

Make sure you are always using the latest version of your web browser. Most times you will be notified to update to the newest version, make sure you do it as soon as possible. Your mobile device will always notify you to update to the latest version of the operating system. For your apps, you can turn on the automatic apps update feature. If you are an android user, turn on the Google play protect feature so you can keep your device safe from harmful apps. Also, don’t download apps from unknown sources.

• Be wary of links sent to you

If you receive unsolicited messages, it is best you ignore them. Even if it’s from someone you trust, try to verify the link isn’t a malware, because their account might have been hacked and the message is from the hacker.

There are link scanners you can use to verify this, Norton SafeWeb ScanURL URLVoid are some of the more trustworthy link safety checking websites. These sites will index the link’s remote destination, then report what they found. If it’s a malware, you will be alerted.

You can also make use of anti-malware software by enabled their active/real-time scanning feature. This scanning feature will make use of more system resources and may drain your battery; however, there is nothing you can do but to enable it if you want to keep your computer and email safe. Besides, enabling it will allow you to catch the malware before it enters your computer, rather than when it has already infected your device.

Conclusion

Logging in to your Gmail account is not the only thing to be concerned about. The safety of your account is also important. All the precautions talked about in this article, if possible try to implement them after reading the article, several people who fall victim to hackers usually put off updating their software or creating a stronger password and the 2-step verification.

Also, you need to be wary of all that you do online, and take note of precautions offered by the software installed on your device.