Google launches Password Alert tool to detect sign-ins, protect against phishing

Google today is launching a new tool called Password Alert that will allow users to keep track of sign-ins on their account with notifications and change their password if necessary. The new tool comes in the form of a Chrome extension and allows users to easily change their password if a fraudulent sign-in attempt is detected.

If you enter your Gmail or Google for Work password into anywhere other than accounts.google.com, you’ll receive an alert, so you can change your password if needed.

Google notes that the tool “also tries to detect fake Google sign-in pages to alert you before you’ve typed in your password. To do so, Password Alert checks the HTML of each page you visit to see if it’s impersonating a Google sign-in page.”

It only works with Chrome for now, as you’ll need to install the Password Alert Chrome extension from the Chrome web store to activate the feature. Once you do so, the next time you login to your Google account you’ll begin receiving real-time login notifications. Google for Work admins will also be able to set it up for their users’ accounts to keep an eye on all accounts in their network.

You can download the Password Alert Chrome extension here.