Google this week made available to Google Apps users a dashboard that displays recent account activity for each of a user’s devices, and allows them to take action if anything suspicious is afoot.
Eran Feigenbaum, Google for Work director of security, said the new Devices and Activity dashboard will provide a view into device activity for a 28-day period.
“The page shows a comprehensive view of all devices that have been active on an account in the last 28 days, or are currently signed in,” Feigenbaum said. “And in case any suspicious activity is noticed, there’s a setting to immediately take steps to secure an account and change a password.”
The dashboard should also help IT managers get a high-level view of device activity and tweak security settings or remove devices if they’re logging in from an unusual location(s).
The dashboard displays any device logged into Google, identifies the current device, and logs the last time it was active. Clicking on any of the devices brings up a list of the last locations where the device was used, dates, and times.
If any of that data doesn’t mesh with usual activity, a remove button is available to manage account access.
Feigenbaum also announced the availability of a new security wizard for Google for Work accounts. The wizard spells out security features and how to enable or configure them. Users, for example, can update contact information in case the need to recover the account arises, or adjust account permissions.
“This tool prioritizes all administrator settings for security features that end users are permitted to turn on,” Feigenbaum said.
“Security in the cloud is a shared responsibility and keeping your company information secure is at the core of what we do every day,” he added. “By making users more aware of their security settings and the activity on their devices, we can work together to stay a step ahead of any bad guys.”
