Alternative to Gmail?

wonder_lander · 9 May 2011 at 13:58

Since this morning I've been unable to access my gmail account as I'm created with the following:

This account has been locked down due to unusual account activity. It may take up to 24 hours for you to regain access.

Unusual account activity includes, but is not limited to:

1. Receiving, deleting, or downloading large amounts of mail via POP in a short period of time.
2. Sending a large number of undeliverable messages (messages that bounce back).
3. Using file-sharing or file-storage software, browser extensions, or third party software that automatically logs in to your account.
4. Leaving multiple instances of your Gmail account open.
5. Browser-related issues. Please note that if you find your browser continually reloading while attempting to access your Inbox, it’s probably a browser issue, and it may be necessary to clear your browser’s cache and cookies.

If you feel that you have been using your Gmail account according to the Gmail Terms of Use, you can troubleshoot your problem by clicking here.

Now I've been using Gmail for years and haven't changed my usage in the last 24 hours so can't for the life of me work out what's triggered this.

The annoying thing now is that I'm locked out with no access to e-mail which we use for our business. We have over 30 domains forwarding e-mails into our gmail account as it was a simple solution to get all our e-mails in one place that we could view on iPhone / iPad / Blackberry / Browsers etc.

The help pages and troubleshooting are of no use so I am looking for an alternative way of accessing my e-mails.

There needs to be access using the devices listed above with the need for 2 people to also be able to see the mailboxes at the same time.

Participant · 9 May 2011 at 14:09

I can't really help but what a massive pain in the arse. I'd suggest that their support newsgroups are the best way for you to resolve this.

h00fzilla · 9 May 2011 at 14:11

Tried different browsers?

Edit: ignore me - that wouldn't make any difference I guess.

Xelene · 9 May 2011 at 14:11

There's a bloke on the forums that represents these people:

http://www.cobweb.com/

If you are a business user might be worth considering.

Randomface74 · 9 May 2011 at 14:12

Buy your own domain, from fasthosts for example.

Xelene · 9 May 2011 at 14:13

h00fzilla said:
Tried different browsers?

OT: I love that Bradford/Islington location. More of a Wakefield/Hampstead kind of guy myself

Xelene · 9 May 2011 at 14:13

billysielu said:
Buy your own domain, from fasthosts for example.

He's clearly got his own domain(s). Google are just handling the Mail

Sunbed · 9 May 2011 at 14:14

How many people in total use the account? Has anyone accessed the account from a different country whilst abroad or something?

markk · 9 May 2011 at 14:15

Robbie G said:
I can't really help but what a massive pain in the arse. I'd suggest that their support newsgroups are the best way for you to resolve this.

How do you access the gmail support newsgroups? Do you have a link?

Dj_Jestar · 9 May 2011 at 14:18

Search for them on Google Groups.

You might bum out of luck though.. you have to login with your (read: a) Google account to post.

wonder_lander · 9 May 2011 at 14:18

I've posted a thread on the support forums http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=42579f91d2ef7f2e&hl=en so will see if someone replies.

Only people who access the account are my wife and myself and we haven't been out of the country recently.

I am all for locking accounts if there is some strange activity detected but I would thought they could at least say it's because of x as well as giving me a way of getting it unlocked. Just waiting 24hours isn't very helpful!

Randomface74 · 9 May 2011 at 14:19

Exchange Server

Royal Fleet · 9 May 2011 at 14:21

If you like Gmail, why not upgrade to Google Apps, and you can get Gmail on your own domain. Don't know what the costs are like, but iirc you would get premium support, which I would suggest is a must for a business critical application

Dj_Jestar · 9 May 2011 at 14:21

wonder_lander said:
I've posted a thread on the support forums http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=42579f91d2ef7f2e&hl=en so will see if someone replies.

Only people who access the account are my wife and myself and we haven't been out of the country recently.

I am all for locking accounts if there is some strange activity detected but I would thought they could at least say it's because of x as well as giving me a way of getting it unlocked. Just waiting 24hours isn't very helpful!

It's because of strange activity

The likeliness is that they think your account has been hijacked, and (probably) has been used to send massive amounts of spam.

wonder_lander · 9 May 2011 at 14:29

Dj_Jestar said:
It's because of strange activity

The likeliness is that they think your account has been hijacked, and (probably) has been used to send massive amounts of spam.

Surely if they think this is the case the message could be tailored to say this and give me the option to log in to restore access through the verification process?

They have a mobile and alternative e-mail address for me so they could send me the reason (and examples) of the unusal activity so that I can confirm or deny them!?

rG-tom · 9 May 2011 at 14:32

if you're dealing with that much email, exchange seems the logical approach?

Participant · 9 May 2011 at 14:35

wonder_lander said:
Surely if they think this is the case the message could be tailored to say this and give me the option to log in to restore access through the verification process?

They have a mobile and alternative e-mail address for me so they could send me the reason (and examples) of the unusal activity so that I can confirm or deny them!?

Maybe if it was a paid for email service...that's a bit too much to hope for from a free to use service though.

I agree with the sentiment of upgrading your email account if decent email support is critical to your business.

Dj_Jestar · 9 May 2011 at 14:36

Newsflash: Gmail uses the same interfaces as Exchange, and frankly trumps it in both UI and performance.

Dj_Jestar · 9 May 2011 at 14:36

wonder_lander said:
Surely if they think this is the case the message could be tailored to say this and give me the option to log in to restore access through the verification process?

They have a mobile and alternative e-mail address for me so they could send me the reason (and examples) of the unusal activity so that I can confirm or deny them!?

I'll spell this out: They've already told you.

Participant · 9 May 2011 at 14:37