Anyone ever have their Google account disabled?

[Teuthida]

Originally Posted by Combine 017

You should tell them they are dicks and ask for a refund.

That's the thing. It was a free service so I guess they're not obligated to do anything. Though after this happened I went looking at similar cases and there are plenty of folks who paid for services and got the same treatment.

Guess it's time to finally get a domain and set up a proper website. I really liked my blog though (and it had a lot more of my stuff than my DA page). Was only conducting business currently with one employer and I know his email off hand so that's good. Almost applied for another job the day before this happened. That would have been embarrassing, linking to a blog that didn't exist and an email address that doesn't work.

Originally Posted by Typhoid

The internet is getting more and more like the real world every day.

Indeed. Well, I've been conducting myself as I would in the real world for a while now. Outside of GT at least. I'm not as polite here.

[Teuthida]

And it's back.

We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. The issue you described should now be resolved.

If you are still having trouble accessing your account and you still have
access to the email address you used to create your account, please reset
your password by visiting https://www.google.com/accounts/ForgotPasswd. If
you aren't receiving the password-assistance email, please check your
inbox for an email from account-recovery-noreply@google.com.

If you don't have access to the primary email address on the account or
have forgotten the answer to your security question, please fill out the
form at http://www.google.com/support/accoun...quest.py?ara=1

Still have no idea what caused it. Was kind of looking forward to drawing those Google rape pictures... Oh well.

Gonna remove that furry porn line just to be safe.

EDIT: You know, I signed up for online banking right before I noticed my google account got disabled (or at least I didn't check my blog/email before I did so). I wonder if they disabled my account for safety reasons. Would they even notice or be aware of such a thing, or is it just a weird coincidence? Forgot my email was even tied to it until I was able to get back in since I was never able to get the email saying I'd done so.

[gekko]

I had my gmail disabled once (and panicked, since having an email account lets you recover an account at almost every site you ever visit). I believe they did send me a response, though it appeared fairly automated. Something along the lines of I sent out 250 emails in a very short time, and they said it occurred at a time when I would be sleeping.

Worst part about it was when it happened, it was the same password I used for everything. I had recently started using a password management program, so immediately started taking the idea of using a unique password for each site a bit more seriously. Just the thought of someone hacking a amateur site (like this one), and getting my email and password to run through gmail scares me.

I would highly recommend using Google's 2-stage authentication process. Basically you need two forms of authentication to gain access to your account, which means if someone cracks your password, they still aren't in. It's the whole idea of using something you know (like a PIN), and something you have (like an ATM card). Card is worthless if the wallet is stolen, and if someone sees you enter a PIN, it's no use without the card. Google has some programs for smart phones that give you a 6-digit pin you need to enter after you log-in, but you can also do it over text message. For non browser-based services (like an email client on your phone), they can generate a one-time use password for that app. Should hopefully avoid these situations in the future.