Google to use One-Time-Passwords for Gmail

Google has demonstrated over time to be very serious
about Gmail accounts safety, rolling out more and more
effective features mitigating the number of stolen email
accounts.
One time password are nowadays spread among
Internet banking websites where the so called OTP
token generates a new password every 30 seconds
and adds more security to the username and password
pair.
Google approach to the OTP is slightly different. It
does not replace the user’s login credentials but it adds
a further layer of security to it, providing random security
passwords through your landline phone, mobile phone
or even Skype.
The option can be enabled under Google Accounts
Personal Settings and it’s named Using 2-step
verification. A mobile application named Google
Authenticator will run on the major smartphones
(iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, iPad) to show the one
time password in seconds (3 seconds according to
tests) .
Another great feature is the possibility of creating
ad-hoc accounts for non-web browser applications
that need to login to your Google Account. This is very
common with mobile phones accessing your Google
Reader or your other Google services. Applicationspecific
passwords will shrink the attack surface and
increase the control you have over your account.

Source: Armanod Romeo