Five steps to ensure that your G-mail account stay in your hands

There are some simple steps you can take to ensure that your G-mail account stays in your hands, and to greatly improve the chances of regaining access if you have any problems:

• Don't share your Gmail password with anyone. Not friends, not family, not anyone. And if you need to write down your password, be sure to keep it in a safe place, away from your computer. (For info on how to choose a good password and keep it safe, check out thispost.)

• Don't respond to messages asking for your login info. As you may already know, there are people out there who will try to steal your login info. Google will never send you an email, IM, or any other communication asking for your Gmail login info, so don't respond to any messages asking for it.

• Always keep the verification number you get when you sign up for Gmail.When you sign up for Gmail, G-mail'll ask you for a secondary email address and then email a verification number to that account. This number is the best way to prove ownership of your account, so be sure to hang on to it.

• If you aren't able to access your account, try resetting your password.  Resetting your password usually gets the job done.

• If resetting your password doesn't work, try G-mail's  account-recovery process. G-mail recently launched an account-recovery form in our help center that can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to verify ownership of an account and restore access. If you have the information necessary to prove ownership -- such as the verification code for the account -- this new process can help our support team restore access within a matter of hours.