Everyone knows that your primary email account is the lynchpin of your digital security: if someone gains access to that it's likely you could face quite a bit of damage, not unlike what happened to Mat Honan earlier this month. Your Dropbox account is a close number two, however, especially if you have passwords and other private files synced with your account, so we're glad to hear that two-step authentication is now available as an optional extra security feature. You'll need to download the latest beta version of the desktop software to try the feature out. Once you do, visit this link to activate yourself in the beta, and follow the steps to turn on two-step authentication. Just like Google's popular version of the security feature, you receive the codes via text message or an authenticator app that uses Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) protocol (e.g. Google Authenticator).

We're a bit concerned about the backup options should you lose access to your phone — Dropbox only provides a single emergency access code — but otherwise the feature seems to be working well. None of those irritating application-specific passwords, either. Dropbox says it'll be rolling out the feature to all accounts "over the next few days," but it looks like you'll need to download the beta version of the desktop client either way.

Update: Well that didn't take long. After just a day of beta availability, Dropbox has rolled out its two-step authentication option to its entire user base. Users can activate the service by visiting the "security" tab in their preferences at Dropbox's website.