My Google Account
I've often wondered what would happen if Google went down. A major hack, a catastrophic server failure.
Well, that didn't happen, but I did get a minor scare.
When I tried to log in to my Google account one fine Monday morning, I was rejected!
I had spent the weekend away, and had taken a complete Internet break. (It happens!) So I don't really know how many days the account had been "suspicious." Nor do I have any idea why.
When I tried to log in, Google simply told me, "We've detected suspicious activity on your Google Account, and it has been suspended." I could look into the Google definition of "suspicious activity:"
The "fix" for the problem wasn't comforting: Google asked me to enter my cell phone number, to which a code would be sent. Using that code, I could reset my password. Without thinking (dumb, dumb)I sent the cell phone number. I did get a verification code, which (fortunately for me!) did work to reset my account with a new password.
A thoughtful person concerned with security would have first asked: would Google ask for my cell phone number? Upon checking, I did learn that this is indeed how Google handles what they suspect is a compromised account; if it had not been, however, I would have just happily made matters worse by handing over my cell phone number with nary a blink.
Looking into the matter further, I have learned that many people have encountered the same problem, though typically with a little research, users discover spam sent using their account, or some other activity that signals a potential problem with their account. I could find no such activity with mine.
In general, though, users aren't very happy about not being able to reach someone at Google for assistance, and about being asked for a cell phone number as a remedy. (And of course this begs the question: what about that, admittedly rare, person who doesn't have a cell phone?)
Well, that didn't happen, but I did get a minor scare.
When I tried to log in to my Google account one fine Monday morning, I was rejected!
I had spent the weekend away, and had taken a complete Internet break. (It happens!) So I don't really know how many days the account had been "suspicious." Nor do I have any idea why.
When I tried to log in, Google simply told me, "We've detected suspicious activity on your Google Account, and it has been suspended." I could look into the Google definition of "suspicious activity:"
- Some messages have disappeared.
- Messages you didn't send are bouncing.
- Your friends complain that they received spam from you.
- Messages that you didn't send appear in Sent Mail.
- Your Last account activity shows sign-in activity at unusual times or from unusual computers.
- Your Gmail settings have changed, but you didn't change them. Settings include: vacation responder, signature, forwarding, filters, and others
The "fix" for the problem wasn't comforting: Google asked me to enter my cell phone number, to which a code would be sent. Using that code, I could reset my password. Without thinking (dumb, dumb)I sent the cell phone number. I did get a verification code, which (fortunately for me!) did work to reset my account with a new password.
A thoughtful person concerned with security would have first asked: would Google ask for my cell phone number? Upon checking, I did learn that this is indeed how Google handles what they suspect is a compromised account; if it had not been, however, I would have just happily made matters worse by handing over my cell phone number with nary a blink.
Looking into the matter further, I have learned that many people have encountered the same problem, though typically with a little research, users discover spam sent using their account, or some other activity that signals a potential problem with their account. I could find no such activity with mine.
In general, though, users aren't very happy about not being able to reach someone at Google for assistance, and about being asked for a cell phone number as a remedy. (And of course this begs the question: what about that, admittedly rare, person who doesn't have a cell phone?)
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