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Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

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Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#251

Post by benoliver999 »

8cvor6j844qw_d6 wrote: post #3

Recently helped a small business set up a Google Workspace account and we hit a wall during registration. Told the owners that if Google is already being difficult during signup, imagine being locked out later with client work on the line. Pulled up a few horror stories about Google lockouts to drive the point home. They ended up with another workspace solution.

I've been reasonably happy with it since 2013 now.

This last year however, I've started to hear complaints from staff of annoying popups about AI stuff people don't want to use

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#252

Post by intended »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #177

People complain a lot about Gmail, but honestly I kind of understand Google's plight here. They've essentially gotten roped into maintaining a huge chunk of internet infrastructure, for free . If they ever shut it down the whole world would end up rioting because it's so widely used. But it's expensive, complicated and time-consuming to maintain - and both a source of and recipient of endless waves of spam and scams.…

I have no issue with firms making money, and I am sympathetic to the people who work on these problems.

Not for one second, am I sympathetic to the firm, because it is simply a business acting on its incentives to minimize costs and maximize profits.

Google keeps it running because they make money off of it. Tech firms have profit margins unlike any prior industry; maybe feudal kings come close.

They make money off of it because they (like all tech) avoid investing in human heavy services like customer support / trust and safety. I have had google safety members vent about how they can’t get engineer attention. That when they do get it, engineers don’t want to help the moderators or the moderation software. Their incentives drive them to find a way to obviate the moderation process entirely.

People working to fix things and make it better for users are great. The firm? Heck no.

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#253

Post by [deleted] »

nottorp wrote: post #74
b112 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If one takes the comment to mean, 50x better for support, I can believe that. After all, 50x almost nothing can be achieved fairly easily.

Maybe MS actually has support. The UI is so much worse than Google's (which is bad enough for communication compared to Slack) that you just cannot win though.

[deleted]

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#254

Post by Night_Thastus »

pishpash wrote: post #208
Night_Thastus wrote: post #177

People complain a lot about Gmail, but honestly I kind of understand Google's plight here. They've essentially gotten roped into maintaining a huge chunk of internet infrastructure, for free . If they ever shut it down the whole world would end up rioting because it's so widely used. But it's expensive, complicated and time-consuming to maintain - and both a source of and recipient of endless waves of spam and scams.…

You assume there will be no takers to replace Gmail, whereas there probably will be hundreds waiting to do it.

There are plenty of e-mail providers out there. None of them have even come close to toppling gmail. Gmail is free and good enough for most people. Gmail is to e-mail what kleenex is to tissue. It's almost synonymous.

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#255

Post by Xelbair »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #177

People complain a lot about Gmail, but honestly I kind of understand Google's plight here. They've essentially gotten roped into maintaining a huge chunk of internet infrastructure, for free . If they ever shut it down the whole world would end up rioting because it's so widely used. But it's expensive, complicated and time-consuming to maintain - and both a source of and recipient of endless waves of spam and scams.…

>They've essentially gotten roped into maintaining a huge chunk of internet infrastructure, for free

Just because they don't charge you directly, doesn’t matter it's not profitable for them.

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#256

Post by Bender »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #177

People complain a lot about Gmail, but honestly I kind of understand Google's plight here. They've essentially gotten roped into maintaining a huge chunk of internet infrastructure, for free . If they ever shut it down the whole world would end up rioting because it's so widely used. But it's expensive, complicated and time-consuming to maintain - and both a source of and recipient of endless waves of spam and scams.…

Gmail is not now nor has it ever been free. Everyone pays for it. To your point many people use it and for businesses to contact their customers they have to pay into whitelists for high volume delivery. The costs are passed onto the customers, including those that have never used Gmail. Companies that do not pay into such lists and that have many customers using gmail have to set up careful rate limits which means the emails will not be delivered the same day.

Email marketing and campaign companies pay into these lists and they pass that cost onto their customers as well.

There has never been a email provider that accepts mass email delivery to millions of recipients for free.

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#257

Post by intended »

thisislife2 wrote: post #82
torben-friis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spam is getting horrible lately. I get all sorts of new techniques including: - using legitimate sites to bypass filters, like sending you a bill through a legitimate bill-creation site - pretending to be a tracking service for something you supposedly ordered, then over the course of days pretending the package got lost on the way and offering a discount code for the 'purchased' amount, expecting you to use it on th…

If I put on my tinfoil hat, it seems to be something deliberate, to push us all towards accepting hardware / software attestation and better "online id" stuff - "Don't you want to identify and stop the spammers and phishers?" . Email scanning and file scanning (on our computer) became acceptable when the level of spam and malware became intolerable. But it was at cost of our privacy. Today, Gmail scans all your mails…

Eh - conspiracy territory. There’s been a massive evolution in phishing and spams with LLMs.

> Evaluating Large Language Models' Capability to Launch Fully Automated Spear Phishing Campaigns: Validated on Human Subjects

> https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.00586

LLMs make phishing absurdly profitable, and can now make profits from targets who were previously economically unviable to target.

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#258

Post by [deleted] »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #177

People complain a lot about Gmail, but honestly I kind of understand Google's plight here. They've essentially gotten roped into maintaining a huge chunk of internet infrastructure, for free . If they ever shut it down the whole world would end up rioting because it's so widely used. But it's expensive, complicated and time-consuming to maintain - and both a source of and recipient of endless waves of spam and scams.…

[deleted]

Re: Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

#259

Post by zamalek »

Obviously this is bad in general, but what's the threat profile here? Google already has the content of your emails and I guarantee they have pinned down your fingerprint unless you're using Snowden-level counter-int.

Protest this by using a paid email provider. My $60 yearly payment just went through today, is that honestly too much for the typical person around here?

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