Google unleashes geolocation security feature for Gmail

Would-be Gmail hackers will have to contend with another layer of defense that Google has added to its popular email service. According to Pavni Diwanji, engineering director at Google, Gmail now sports rudimentary geolocation technology and will automatically notify you if it detects any suspicious activity.

In a blog entry, Diwanji wrote, "Our automated system matches the relevant IP address, logged per the Gmail privacy policy, to a broad geographical location."

For example, a login from one country occurring hours after a login from another country may set off the alert, which entails a warning message splashed across the top of the Gmail page and highlighted in red.

Users can click on a "Details" link next to the warning message to access the last account activity window, which will show the most recent access locations from which your account was accessed. Obviously, the notification system is meant only as an alert for suspicious activities; in no way does it reduce the importance of developing good security habits.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Ars Technica 

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