Gmail Account temporarily disabled

Posted on January 16, 2010 



Update 20 Jan 2010: Exactly four days after my Gmail account being temporarily disabled, it’s now active again. A email notice was sent to me this morning:

“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 here. If you aren’t receiving the password-assistance email, please check your inbox for an email from accounts-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.”

Well, I can access my Gmail again (fatihsyuhud-at-gmail-com] which used to be my main email for correspondence with many companies and friends. Not now. I have moved to another email, my old one in yahoo. Gmail just gave me a traumatic experience which force me NOT to use it again as my reliable free-email partner.

***
I am shocked this morning when I found out my main Gmail account disabled despite temporarily. Here’s the notice from Gmail when I tried to login into my Gmail account:

Account temporarily disabled
We apologize for the inconvenience. Accounts may be disabled because of a perceived violation of either the Google Terms of Service or product-specific Terms of Service. Learn more

For immediate assistance, enter your mobile phone number below and we’ll send you a text message with a verification code.

I tried to follow the instruction by entering my mobile phone number. Strangely enough, no text message being sent to my cellphone. I repeated the process using the 0062 (contry code) or without 0062. All to no avail.

What the “perceived violation” is not clear. As far as I am concerned I did nothing wrong with my Gmail. The probability is that (i) my email gets virus which has used my email to automatically send email to multiple email addresses as mentioned here:

In an effort to fight spam and prevent abuse, Google will temporarily disable your account if you send messages to more than 500 recipients or if you send a large number of undeliverable messages. If you use a POP or IMAP client (Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail, e.g.), you may only send a message to 100 people at a time. Your account should be re-enabled within 24 hours.

If it’s the case, how to keep your Gmail secure in the future? Here’s an advice from Google:

* Update your secondary email address and your security question. This will help you recover your account if you ever lose access to it. Make sure that you have access to the email address listed as your secondary, and the answer to your security question is easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess.
* Use a secure connection when signing in. In your Gmail settings, select ‘Always use HTTPS.’ This setting protects your information from being stolen when you’re signing in to Gmail on a public wireless network, like at a cafe or hotel.

You should also be sure to:

* Never tell anyone your password; if you do tell someone, change it as soon as possible.
* Use a strong password, and don’t write it down or send it via email.
* Run scans and change your password immediately after noticing any changes in your account that you didn’t initiate.
* Always sign out of your account when you’re using public computers. Just click Sign out at the top right corner of the screen when you’re done using your Google Account.
* Clear forms, passwords, cache, and cookies in your browser on a regular basis, especially on a public computer.

If the first step does not work, i.e. there’s no text message from Gmail to you mobile phone like what I’ve experienced, try the second step by reporting your issue by going to this link .

You can also contact support to restore access to your account without using a phone, click here.

Lessons learnt:

  1. Always forward the important data in your Gmail into other email as well, say Yahoomail or self-hosted email if you have any.
  2. Keep your main Gmail, the one you use for all important communication, away from public eye. Don’t put it on your website / weblog.
  3. Don’t use your main Gmail’s email to join a public mailing list.

Filed Under how to   Tags: gmail


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What Do You Think?

26 Comments »

Comment by Piala Dunia 2010
2010-01-17 08:09:17

glat you have your account back :)

Comment by aprillins
2010-03-02 11:29:51

never got banned by google.. and I hope it won’t

 
 
Comment by Wisata Riau
2010-01-17 09:32:58

so bad!

Comment by Movie Background
2010-02-07 06:01:50

Gak pernah pake gmail

 
 
Comment by Rock
2010-01-18 13:37:14

Iya mas, sekarang buat email di gmail harus pake nomer hp segala…

 
Comment by LL
2010-01-18 13:39:43

Kadang verifikasinya juga ga terkirim… emang susah sekarang buat email di gmail

Comment by aaronarin
2010-02-12 10:35:30

tergantung operatornya.

 
 
2010-01-24 04:57:11

waduh gimana nih

 
2010-01-24 04:57:39

kok bisa yah

2010-02-04 12:24:26

Tanya ama om google aja bos

 
 
2010-01-24 04:58:16

Kok bisa gitu yah

 
Comment by Blogger Ceria
2010-01-24 19:21:37

pengalaman yang berharga nih.. :)

 
2010-01-25 06:47:40

So Hope for the BEST.Thats the only thing that we can do as per now…

 
2010-01-26 23:06:50

datang dengan penuh kebingungan,dan dihadirkan bahasa yang membingungkan.tapi untung selalu sedia translator idolaku,lumayan buat belajar….

makasih infonya mas bos…

 
2010-01-26 23:10:17

kadang pesan verifikasi telat datangnya,padahal cuma oL di warnet.buat pusing aja ya bos

 
Comment by doezt
2010-01-27 09:45:56

thx bgt tips nya,,

siip
salam blogger

 
2010-01-28 04:39:21

The “vacation responder” will inform senders that you may not respond quickly, that’s the best option, don’t try and disable your account.

 
Comment by REFLEKSI
2010-02-04 06:03:55

Nice posting mas fatih,
IP Gmail yang sudah terdaftar tidak bisa daftar lagi

 
Comment by inspirasi kecilku
2010-02-04 14:26:48

good news…

 
Comment by karim
2010-02-04 14:50:24

ok brother

 
Comment by TRIK BLOG
2010-02-06 04:26:49

Nice post.. Thanks for share…

 
Comment by E-BOOK
2010-02-06 04:27:40

Good and interesting information. Thanks

 
2010-02-09 07:02:11

I can access my Gmail again (fatihsyuhud at-gmail-com] which used to be my main email for correspondence with many companies and friends.

 
Comment by rizalsaputra81
2010-02-19 08:29:35

harus hati hati nih boz

 
Comment by Sharindo
2010-02-22 06:27:47

We can choose to have E-mail accounts from many free E-mail providers. In fact, so far I don’t have any problem with my gmail account. But people can have different experiences. Anyway, be success for all of us.

 
Comment by Blogetarian
2010-03-11 04:55:26

Spooky

 
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