The Real Blogger Status

We see too many problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , about locked accounts and deleted blogs. My Google account was suspended because of 'suspicious activities'. Last month, I realized that my two connected blogs, to that account, were also put offline! Somebody else was unable to use the supplied account / blog recovery tools - and tried guessing what could not be remembered .

We've been seeing a few queries recently, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , suggesting very subtle account attacks going on. Some reports are about accounts locked (and blogs temporarily offline), because of "suspicious" / "unusual" activity . Other reports are sadder - and mention blogs now owned by another person . When we're able to identify the new blog owner, too many look like intentional hackers. Temporarily offline - or permanently stolen - both are stories that you do not want to tell. Fortunately, both stories can be prevented.

One of the more mysterious causes of blog loss involves deleted blogs, with the owner being forced to recover account access because of "suspicious" / "unusual" account activity . In general, with the report made in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , we may dismiss the owner as a "hacking victim". We may suspect just one more botnet in operation, stealing peoples accounts and blogs - and the victim unwisely revealed his email address. Sometimes, the story is more bizarre.

Some blog owners use Mail-to-Blogger, for publishing to their blogs, without considering the issues. Some owners can't get Mail-to-Blogger to work. I get Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently: or I don't get any error - and the post never shows up in my Posts list. Other owners have no problems getting theirs to work, and later find posts that they didn't send - and don't appreciate . Where did all of the spam come from? Using Mail-to-Blogger seems simple - but maybe should not be treated so. The Mail-to-Blogger email address, at Settings - Mobile and email, is a major part of the challenge , in this case.

We see the signs of naivete, periodically, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger . How do I require my readers to enter a password, to keep my blog safe from public view? This blog owner does not understand the realities of setting up a private blog. Long ago (very long ago), a computer system might have "private" files, and a shared password, known by everybody, for each file. Nowadays, a private Blogger blog uses team blog access - or team blog ownership - and each team member gets to choose her / his own Blogger account , with a password that he / she decides to use (and hopefully, remember).

We see signs of naivete, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken . too often. I gave my boyfriend (girlfriend, former spouse, Internet acquaintance, whatever) my account password - and now, I can't access my account. This is a problem which Blogger cannot resolve , in any way. Please, never ever share your Blogger account. Blogger accounts, like Blogger blogs, are free. If someone who you know would like to read your private blog - or contribute to your team blog - add that person as a blog member, and let her / him use his / her own Blogger account (new, or existing).

Nowadays, even if you're going to the corner store for a six pack, you'll lock up your house before you leave. Generally, you do the same at night, before going to bed. Security is a way of life, with the world as it is now. What happens if you go to the store, leaving the house unlocked because somebody else is in there, and neglect to take your key? The last person in the house is responsible for locking up, before leaving. If you get home, discover the house locked, and realise then that you have no key to get inside, what do you do? Do you call the police, and demand that they send an officer over, to help you break in? Do you call the home owners association, or maybe the landlord, and request key service? If the home owners association, or the landlord, can't be reached, do you complain if they can't provide a 24 hour emergency number, to service you when you are locked out?

Recently, we see a few reports from nervous bloggers. From time to time, the following message appears in a box at the top of my main Gmail (My Blogger login, my Google login, etc) page: Hey, this is important: we don't have a password recovery email address or phone number for your account. If you lose your access, we may not be able to help you. Is this a scam (Is this phishing?) (Is this spam?)... In computer security, it's never a bad idea to be skeptical. It's one way of limiting the effects of CKI Faults. But when you are doing something intentional, using (what should be) a trusted product, like Google, and you get advice like this, heed the advice - please . You don't need to do something dodgy, like answer an email, and provide your account name / password / drivers license number. But take this as a warning. Check the email address associated with your Blogger account , and make sure it is one that you can use easily, when needed. Now. If your account doe...

Almost every Internet service, that requires us to identify ourselves, provides a backup identification option. Every properly planned Internet service provides a way to access their services, should we forget our account name and / or password. Some services provide backdoor access in such easy fashion, that some people don't bother about using front door access. Some Blogger blog owners use backdoor access to Blogger, routinely. This is a problem, in several ways.

Security awareness, in almost every feature of every computer application, operating system, and security program, is reaching an intense level. Any time that you enter a password, don't be watching the screen and counting the number of "*" or "#" characters displayed there, expecting the count to match the number of characters you know that you put in the password. Just in case there's somebody standing behind you, shoulder surfing your password entry process, a masked password of "n" number of characters won't necessarily be displayed as "n" number of "*" or "#" characters on the screen. Blogger is part of the paranoia, too. In various places where Blogger accepts entry of a password, after you hit "Enter" or "Save", the number of "*" may change. This is to keep people from walking up to the screen, counting the number of "*" displayed there, and guessing that 7 "*...