To protect Gmail and other Google Apps from phishing and similar kinds of app-related assaults Android apps have become known for, Google has added an optional feature for a two-step verification upon log-in, from your mobile device.  A security code will be sent to your phone to verify your account.  It’s an extra step, but a necessary one, given the bad press Google has received for Android’s mobile security.

This option will be available on Google Apps premiere, education and government customers starting Monday. The extra steps also imply that mobile security is beginning to employ tactics that have become relatively standardized on PC access.

This feature is a verification, two-step process, but it doesn’t want to become a burden to users.  So it sends a one-time code to the account holder after the password is provided.  You’ll provide the password first before they send the generated code to your smartphone. To sign-up, go to settings page and specify whether you want a security code sent via text message or automated voice call. You can also download a Google Authenticator, that randomly generates a code. This code lasts for a couple of minutes, but will change subsequently.

As mobile operating systems become gateways to web content, the security around these access points become of increasing importance.  Apple, while hoping to maintain more control over security issues on the iOS, has made changes for its app approval process, still maintaining the integrity of devices.  Googlewill need to continue to find ways to make its Android platform as seamless an experience as possible.