it's time to do some YouTube Q&A.
Josh wrote and asked this.
"How do you go about protecting your account?
Do you use 2-step verification?
I've tried that and it becomes annoying
because I can't check emails through my iPad or iPhone.
Is 2-step verification a good thing to consider?"
Yes Josh, absolutely.
I think that 2-step verification is very important.
What if your account is compromised, or someone figures
out your password, or your account is just hacked?
Well, 2-step verification makes it
very impossible for that to happen because instead of just
requiring a password to get into your account, now
someone needs a password and an actual physical device-- which
is, in this case, your cell phone-- to actually get into your account.
The way it works is that you go to log into your account.
You use your password.
And as soon as you log in, a prompt
opens up asking you for a verification code.
At that exact same instant-- in my experience because I do have
this enabled on my accounts-- is that a text message pops up
on your cell phone giving you a six-digit verification number.
You then enter that into the field right there
in front of you.
You can say yes, trust this computer for up to 30 days.
And then you proceed to log in just like normal.
So it makes it very difficult for anyone
to hack into your account.
Even if they do get your password,
they need both your password and your cell phone.
And I definitely recommend having this set up.
I'll put a link in the description text
below this video that you can click to kind of get started.
But let me take you to my desktop
and walk you through the step-by-step process of what
this looks like.
A link to this page right here is
in the description below the video.
So we're going to get started right here.
But first of all, make sure that this account up here,
that you log in with your personal Google+ profile
or your Gmail address, not your Google+ page or one
of your other channels.
This will apply to your entire account.
So we're going to click on Get Started and Start setup
right here, this big blue button.
Now first thing that you do is verify my password
and then log in.
And then you're simply going to enter in a phone number
that you want your security code sent to.
I'm going to put in mine.
And I'm going to do a text message.
You could do a voice call if you want them to call you
if you get data rates or charge for that.
So send code to me.
I'm going to wait for the code to pop up on my phone.
It usually only takes a minute.
There it is.
And Verify.
And I'm going to trust this computer.
And next, to confirm that I want to enable
this for this account, the Gmail account, Google account.
And now we are-- the 2-Step Verification is ON.
A couple of other options here, though, real quick.
Using the backup option.
So if something, you lose your phone or your primary
[INAUDIBLE], you can't get to it or something,
you have some backup numbers right here you can add.
And then backup codes, which is for some reason you're
having trouble getting the code on your phone and something
is not working right, you have a couple
of backup codes printed out or downloaded.
That will always work helping getting you into your account.
So if you ever want to turn it off, you can come right here.
Click the Turn off.
And then you have registered computers
that you trusted will be here.
As far as app-specific passwords,
this is where you'll add your iPad apps or your iPhone apps
for your email and things like that.
This is where you'll get started with adding those, which
basically will give you a special password that you
use just for those apps.
So if you go through here, you can select the app
that you're going to use, YouTube.
Select which device you're going to use it on.
I'm going to use it on my iPad.
And I'm going to generate a code for YouTube on my iPad.
And there we go.
There's my app for my pad.
So it shows you how to use it.
Go to Settings in your Google+ accounts.
And then replace your password with the 16-character code
shown above.
Just like your normal password, it'll just get you right in.
So you repeat that with all your different apps and programs
that you wanted to access your Google accounts after you've
set up the 2-step verification.
Now, it's been my experience that yes, sometimes you do need
to use a special code to allow the mail
app on iPad and other programs to access your Google account.
But I found that usually works on non-Google apps.
So for example, if you were trying
to log in to your YouTube account using
your iPad into the YouTube app, that then they will actually
go through the normal process-- use your normal password,
props you for your verification code that's sent to your phone,
enter in the code, and you use the app as normal.
So I found that's what happens with Google's apps.
But if you're using a third party app, most of the time
you will need to go in and generate this new code.
And what's cool about it too is that if something happens
and your iPad gets stolen, you can then just log in to Google
and revoke access from your email right there.
And boom, now email is no longer working on your iPad.
So I hope that answers your question.
I would love to hear from you guys in the comments
below about whether or not you have this enabled.
And if you do, do you find it annoying?
Do you appreciate it?
I personally, I like having the comfort and the security
just knowing that even if someone hacks my password,
they still can't get into my content
unless they have my cell phone.
And that's something I usually have on me,
so you're going to have to kidnap me.
And now I'm putting bad thoughts in your head.
So don't do any of that.
If this is your first time here, I'd love to have you subscribe.
Every Thursday I do a Q&A just like
this to help you guys with your YouTube
content, and your channels, and the audiences you're
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On Tuesdays, we take a look at all the updates and changes
that happen here on YouTube every week
and talk about what those updates mean
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On Wednesdays, we do some YouTube tips, advice,
suggestions, ideas for you guys.
And then a Q&A here on Thursdays.
And I do all of this because I really
believe that a lot of you guys have messages
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Messages that really need to spread.
And I want to do everything that I