Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love my Yubikey! I use it with all my Google accounts.
So what happens when you lose that?
You can associate multiple U2F keys with one Google account. Buy two, put one in a safe. They only cost ~15 Euro a pop.
Google hacked account
131–140 of 169 posts
Re: Google hacked account
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
This may not be the quickest result, but the basic idea of just trying & trying & trying... until you eventually beat the hacker sounds almost like a game.
What if the hacker tells google that OP's other non-hacked email "has been hacked" and to please unlink it from the hacked account? :D
Game over :/
Re: Google hacked account
#133This actually happened to me a few years back and, eventually, they were very helpful.
The key for me was providing sufficient proof that the account really was mine and really had been hacked. I gave them as much information as I could remember/check:
* some contact names
* some tag names
* some recent thread subjects/recipients
* name of the person who first invited me to GMail back in the day
* details of any labs settings, theme etc
* mailing list subscriptions
I wish I could remember the email address I used to get in touch with them but, as I said, this was years ago now. I definitely found it somewhere publicly available, albeit buried somewhat.
HTH
Re: Google hacked account
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love my Yubikey! I use it with all my Google accounts.
Any benefit to Yubikey over Authenticator? EDIT: good points here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=159444.0
This is old. They old Yubikeys with HOTP provided some advantages over authenticator, but new Yubikeys provide U2F which is much more resilient against phishing attacks.
https://www.yubico.com/applications/fido/
Moreover, U2F does not present itself as a USB keyboard (which had security implications on X11, since every application can listen in on keyboard events.)
Re: Google hacked account
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Genuinely asking: is there a paid email provider roughly on par with Google's offerings in terms of usability and uptime? I'd consider switching.
I know HN frowns on "me too" responses but I am in the same boat. I'm heavily dependent on GMail right now and each time I see a story about someone having troubles on Google's non-charging (I hesitate to say "free") services I make a mental note to find a paid alternative, but never follow up.
Google offers Gmail paid ($5/mo IIRC). With that you get support (among other benefits).
Re: Google hacked account
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yea but technical strong people like yourself are always able to handle themselves better in all aspects of computing. This is why you end up fixing your aunts printer. And why you have a more secure e-mail account than her. And why you can handle backing up your photos.... etc It's not Google's fault entirely.
"but technical strong people like yourself" I like the sound of that. I actually have run my own mail servers since the mid 90's [1] but I am more of a business guy who knows computers than a strong technical guy the way that I see it. I don't use gmail (for anything important I do use it for unimportant things) I don't like the idea of my mail sitting on their servers. [1] Actually if you include non internet mail d…
How do you deal with spam when self hosting?
Re: Google hacked account
#137You had two step verification, or not? I'm hoping you'll say no, because my feeling of security comes from the fact I've enabled TSV.
"You had two step verification, or not?" Upvoted you but... A company offers a free service. "Your aunt" does know know or understand the need for "two step verification" nor do almost certainly a large percentage of people using gmail. This idea that companies resolve themselves of all responsibility to provide reasonable customer support for a free product with such wide adoption is ridiculous. Google derives benef…
>"Your aunt" does know know or understand the need for "two step verification"
I wonder more and more if we need to make it mandatory in some form, but maybe more formal. Like you can use your phone, but also here is a plastic, officially-sealed set of codes we'll mail to you at a verified address just in case.
Re: Google hacked account
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except that now Google has my phone number linked to my identity too. I know this is not everyone's use case, but for those of us that care deeply about privacy, that's not a good alternative. If that's not a good counterpoint, my phone/SMS service sucks when I'm traveling abroad, which is exactly when Google thinks I'm not me. I wish Google supported TOTP like Github does, without asking for a phone number.
> I wish Google supported TOTP like Github does... Goid nees, they do! They even have an app for it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Authenticator
Yes, they do, but there's no way to set it up without giving your phone number first. Whenever I enter into the 2FV options, I have to give a phone number, no alternative. I have no idea why. Sorry I wasn't clear enough.
Re: Google hacked account
#139Try posting to Hacker News in the hope someone with some authority deigns to intervene. It helps if you a high-profile blogger or known industry luminary. The prospects for the rest of us are fairly bleak.
> The prospects for the rest of us are fairly bleak Mostly because if changing ownership of a Gmail account were as simple as "Post to Hacker News and complain," it'd be an obvious and exploitable security gap.
Obviously it shouldn't be as simple as "someone complained, so turn over control."
However, us normal plebes should be able to get some competent human on the phone and talk to him about what's going on.
I'd hop through lots of hoops to recover my google account, but without getting a human's attention I can't do anything.
Re: Google hacked account
#140The issue is that you're not Google's client. Maybe buy something from them (a large amount of ads), then try to get support?
This worked for me. My account was suspended in error years ago (Suspect logins or something), and the only way I got it back was by calling up an adwords representative and telling them I couldn't login to adwords and spend money until they unsuspend my email account.
If something I learned about this world is that money talks. Always.