As with Google’s implementation, Dropbox’s two-factor authentication relies on two separate elements: something you know (a password) and something you have (in this case, a separately generated code). While the combination of these two elements doesn’t guarantee your security, it does make it much harder for a potential hacker to gain access to your account.

Smart way to make your Dropbox more secure. I use the free Google Authenticator app for iPhone already for my Google account, so this is easy to set up.

If you're not already using Dropbox to backup and share your documents, sign up here and we'll both get extra storage space.

Update: Some recommendations for users of 1Password to not use this version of Dropbox (yet) from 1Password:

The bottom line is that I am  strongly recommending that 1Password users not be early adopters of this. Early adopters should:

• understand the data security gains and risks thoroughly (discussed below)
• take steps to reduce those risks (have great backups), and
• be very comfortable using pre-release systems