hey - it's kymber here even though it looks like it's jambaloney. i had to sign in to blogger using his account. why? ugh. it's a long story but here goes.
i was commenting on blogs this afternoon and on one blog i was forced to sign in, in order to publish the comment. it happens from time to time. whenever it happens...it always directs me to a page that asks me to enter my telephone or mobile number...ya, right. i always hit the skip button!
except that today...i was directed to an error msg that said my google account had been de-activated due to "suspicious activity". the msg then went on to say that google takes my account privacy very seriously and therefore de-activated my account for my own personal safety. ya, right.
i was then prompted to provide a phone number so that they could reach me to rectify the situation. ya, right.
i went through all kinds of google help...nothing could help me unless i gave my phone number. so i gave it and was then given a choice of SMS Text or a Voice Call within 10 minutes. i chose voice call as our phone is not capable of receiving texts.
it is approximately 6 hours later, i cannot log in to our blog and i cannot access my gmail. i went to google help and their contact us and left a very nasty msg about all of this, about them wanting my phone number and the fact that i cannot access my google profile and accounts. i demanded that after they finally contact me, and that they delete my phone number! ya, right.
i have left a few "anonymous" comments on some of your blogs and then just decided to stop. strangely enough, i left a comment on my friend Craig's blog - he uses wordpress - and that comment went through fine. with my proper google profile and pic and everything.
if i don't hear something from google by tomorrow, i am copying this blog over to wordpress. i hope that you will all follow as i so enjoy all of you. i started this blog just to document our daily lives...but i must say....the conversations that happen in the comments are very addicting and i love having you all in my life.
this really sucks. has this ever happened to any of you?
kymber out. and hoping that you all have had a fine monday!
EDITED TO ADD: my profile pic on the right hand side of the blog has been blocked as have several pics from the most recent post below this one entitled "misty skies, lots of food and butterflies".
please, can anyone help? have i been reported for something? my last post was pretty innocuous??? what is going on???still haven't heard back from google and starting to get really P*ssed!!!!
EDITED AGAIN TO ADD - ALL PREVIOUS POSTS HAVE ALL OF THE PICS BLOCKED - WHAT IS GOING ON? can anyone please tell me what is going on? this is nerve-wracking and i really hate feeling like i have done something wrong. arghghghghghghgh!
EDITED AGAIN TO ADD - my pictures are gone. my beautiful pictures are gone. why? what have i done wrong? i loved those pictures and now i am crying my face off - i don't know what to do?:!?!?!?!? can someone please help? i sent another email to google help. i still haven't heard anything back.
i am going into hyper-vigilance right now. why is this happening? we aren't overly political or religious on our blog? please someone please tell me what is going on??????
somebody is screwing with the system delibertly
ReplyDeleteprobally homeland security
Wildflower
Wildflower - that is what i think too...based on the fact that i served 10 yrs in military intelligence and yes - i served and was trained by many US civilian and military agencies - was the chip in my head not enough????
Deletesomeone is monkeying around...i cannot believe that someone reported our blog or something?
thank you so much for your comment. i am going nuts. my beautiful pics are gone. and my nerves are shot. thank you soo much!
get a grip on yourself
Deletechip or no chip; apparently everbody is going to be screwed with
another sign that it is going to be rougher as it all goes to hell
maybe switching to another blog system might help
and good time to run a full security sweep of your systems
hope everything turns out better
Wildflower
If you log in, in the same day using different accounts from the same IP setting, it can send up a "suspicious" activity (multiple attempts to log in or attempts on the same day from multiple locations can as well.) Another thing is some commercial paid ads, but I don't think you have any of those.
ReplyDeleteThat's all I know. I've never heard of anyone having pictures blocked.
I don't know anyone who has been blocked for content. If so, there would be all KINDS Of people blocked, not pictures of flowers and sky and food and your hubby. Defense and Security don't have the people to read all the blogs out there and your content would not be on anyone's radar from anything I have ever read her.
Your best bet is to make nice with them and call and find out what happened. By using their service you lost the ability to be totally anonymous, so giving up a phone number may be the price you pay.
Wordpress, small print but when you use them they OWN your content. It's no longer yours. Since my stuff has been picked up by a magazine or two, I can't do that.
I have dropped a line to Borepatch, computer God, former squirrel and good friend. I'll see if he has any ideas.
THAT is exactly what jambaloney said when i first told hime. but buddy - who on earth would steal my password??? for what??? jambaloney says that someone wants access to my gmail account through the blog - oh come on - no one on earth is that bored?!!?!?!? and i already have a chip or two in my head from NSA so it is not them. this just really bothers me.
ReplyDeletethank you so much for your comment...i am so distressed right now that comments from my friends just make it better. i am still signed in as jambaloney as my account is still frozen. i didn't realize just how much this little place in the blogosphere meant to me - and now i am blocked? ick. ugh. i am starting to cry again. thank you buddy! i really appreciate your taking the time to comment!
Regarding the black box with the triangle where your photos were.
ReplyDeleteAll photos that you upload via blogger are stored in Picasa
1) Have you made any changes to Picasa Settings/Permissions?
2) Did you upload the photos yourself or did someone else upload them?
3) When was the last time that the images displayed correctly?
4) Did you remove them from Picasa?
5) Have you made any changes to any of your Google/Blogger accounts?
6) Have you used/removed them from Google+
7) If you go to your Picasa Albums (https://picasaweb.google.com/home) Do you see the photos?
8) Have your deleted them from your Phone/Tablet? (if so, they are gone for good and will have to be uploaded again).
Strange things happen on Blogger. Some is by accident, I'm sure, some - I think not. Usually it straightens itself out after a day or two.
ReplyDeletethanks, Mr. Smythe. i think someone tried to hack my account and google blocked them. so i guess it is a good thing.
DeleteBrigid - we have the same fixed IP through our internet provider for over a year and a half - so that can't be the problem but thank you for the suggestion - i really appreciate it - as i feel that i am gonna go nuts soon! i don't know what is going on at all...and you would think that the NSA chip in my head would be enough - bahahahahah!
ReplyDeletei can't believe i lost all of my beautiful pics - i still have them on my camera thingy - but this blog put them in perspective and helped me keep track of what we do day to day...i really liked that. i loved that. and now they are blocked - and no one will tell me why??? oh how my heart aches...i hate aching...aching makes me nuts.
thank you Brigid for your comment and your help and advice and thank you for contacting the computer God...i hope he has some answers. i have to be honest and say that yes - i am mad enough to contact my friend Duke and ask him to help me blow up stuff - i am raging - my beautiful pics are gone???? but really, i am just bawling because i don't think i did anything wrong. i served my country. i fulfilled my duty. and i thought that this was a place where i could share my hopes and dreams - and this is making me lose faith. how could my beautiful pics be blocked?
thank you for the info about wordpress as well, thank you for taking the time to comment. jambaloney is searching the interwebs for some kind of answer - i just can't believe that they have blocked me?!?!?!!? jambaloney says it' s not personal - my beautiful pics are gone - i am crying like a fool - how can this not be personal????
thank you again for bothering to respond. it means the world.
I'm so sorry Kymber but I don't know what's happened. One of the reasons I left Blogger was all the screwey things that happened to my blog, but never anything like this! I believe what Brigid said about Wordpress, but I don't ever plan on publishing any of my writings there. The ease of use and lack of problems is worth the trade in my opinion. And there again, Blogger is Google (as is your Gmail), and Google is... well, pretty much evil. I hope you can get this all sorted out, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Glaciers move faster than Google's "customer service", if you can even find a human to help you...
ReplyDeletethanks Craig buddy - it means the world.... i can't even type right now i am so upset...this is cutting me to the quick and the core. i have to leave the internet right now...a place of such solace for an intraverted person like me. thank you so much for coming here - i pleaded for your help and believe me - i really appreciate it!
Deletei hope that this gets fixed/addressed soon. i don't want to deal with any more evil in my life. thank you so much, Mayberry. thank you so much!
Did you change any of the settings on the phone that has the pictures. That can affect it I have been told.
ReplyDeleteemail addy's and passwords get hacked all the time, usually by folks wanting to use them the to SPAM someone else. I once in a while get emails from people I know with links I KNOW they wouldn't send without a personal note. When contacted they found they'd be hijacked just so someone could send SPAM or something witha virus. There's some bored, nasty people out there.
Change all your passwords, if you have that capability. Both of you. That might alone clear it up. The pictures, check the questions I sent and see if any of those fit. Any changes to your Picasso account, which is tied in to Google can do that.
thanks so much for all of your help Brigid - i really, really appreciate it!
DeleteI was going to offer up a little of what everyone has said. Sometimes it just goes away. And yes, if you log in multiple times on different sign ins and/or miss your password from different IP's that can cause issues. I have given Google my cell phone, as someone said, they already have everything else, ha. As for the pics, I got a Picasa warning once, I was running out of storage room so I had to buy extra (5.00 worth, ha).
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, it will all get worked out. And we'll all be right here waiting for you!
thanks 1st Man. i think that you are right, that someone tried to get into the account logging in multiple times and google blocked them. it is the principle of giving google my phone number that i hate - because they DO already have everything else - bahahahahahaha! thanks again buddy!
DeleteOne more thought that just hit me: they have bots that scan all the blogs and such. I'm wondering if maybe they picked up on your mentions of nudity, and that is why all your pictures are blocked. There is an option on the dashboard to make your blog "adult only". Try switching to that just to see if your pictures come back. If they do, then you know what the problem is. Just a thought anyway...
ReplyDeleteCraig i sure do hope that isn't the case - else how else am i ever going to be able to post?!?!?!?!?!? we are always nekkid - it's who we are!!!!
Deletenaked, nude, bare, nude, naked....let's see if that gets me blocked again - baahahahahahahah! thanks so much buddy!
Kymber, Sometimes, things disappear from Blogger, and in a day or so everything is rectified. I am told this happens when maintenance on the site is done internally. I don't know that wordpress has a better reputation. I STARTED with them. Good luck with this, my friend. Please e-mail me. It is time that you had my actual phone numbers anyway.
ReplyDeletethanks Jane, hon. i think my account was being hacked and google blocked my account. everything seems back to norm now tho. i am sending an email in 5!
DeleteYour pictures are starting to come back. I called Borepatch. Got his machine but he'll look at your blog and comment or call me back if he has anything to add.
ReplyDeleteCraig -that's great advice! Though I've gotten away with Food "porn" for years.
thanks Brigid - i really, really appreciate your help!
DeleteEverything looks fine from my browser. Hope all is well now.
ReplyDeletethanks PP! everything is fine again - thank goodness!
DeleteBack on the air, WOOT!
ReplyDeletethanks Craig buddy - WOOT!
DeleteOh I hope it works out for you! Email me when things get straightened out.
ReplyDeletethanks Phelan! email coming in 5!
DeleteFor what it's worth, I'd recommend you move off of Blogger and onto Wordpress. Several reasons:
ReplyDelete1. You seem like you feel abused by Google. Can't really argue with you there.
2. Google's customer service isn't helpful at all. While I don't see the "give us your phone number" as completely malicious (there's actually some security benefit in having this sort of out-of-band communications channel), it seems entirely ineffective in practice.
3. It seems very easy to migrate your blog from blogspot to wordpress.
If you believe (as I do) that Google is a 14th level Sith Lord, then you have nothing to lose except a (hopefully short term) bit of traffic.
I'd make the move myself if I had been through what you've been through.
Borepatch - thanks so much for taking the time to come and help - i really appreciate it!
Delete1) i DID feel abused by google - i thought i had done something wrong and no one would tell me what that was???? but after doing a lot of research, it seems that this happens quite regularly when people's accounts are being hacked. google has a program in place that you can only log in a certain number of times before it locks your account - it is for your own protection but it certainly doesn't feel like it when you get blocked!!! i just wish they could have sent an email or some kind of response so that i wouldn't freak out the way i did. which leads into your number 2...
2) boy did you ever get that right!!! apparently, according to a couple of different people who have been through this, the best time to contact google is at night. i originally contacted them in the afternoon, did the account re-set thing, sent several email and i still haven't heard a word. jambaloney contacted them again, even though they specifically say not to, at about midnight and 5 seconds later i get the call?!?!?!?!!? i hate giving them my phone number on the principle of the thing - they already have access to my entire life can i please keep my phone number to myself - bahahahahahah!
3) i think that based on some comments here and from stuff i have read on the interwebs, i think i am just going to stay put here until jambaloney makes me my own website.
thank you so much for taking the time to help out someone that you don't even know. you are a very good friend to Brigid and i am glad that she has you!
Oh sis I am so sorry you have had all this damn stress today ! The pics are back - so hopefully it's over.
ReplyDeleteLove Always ! xoxoxo
ugh Sis. i couldn't believe how upset this made me. like i was really, really, really upset!!! i will send you an email. i love you hon! xoxoxxo
DeleteHi Kymber. I found out about your blog from reading Mystic Mud. I am in Chicago, IL. It is 8/20 at 9:10 p.m. I can read all of your blog entries just fine. I can see all of your pictures just fine. If there was something blocked, then how come I can see everything just fine? I don't think you have lost all of your photos. They are still there. I am including a Google help page that I found. You can read that other people posting there are also having maintenance issues same as you. One guy has had his account down for two days & can't get any help from Google. Or, the agents are rude & stupid. Anyway, here's the website:
ReplyDeletehttp://contacthelp.com/directory/Internet/Web+Sites/Google?ListingID=142
Maybe you can read all of the comments there & find a solution to your issues. Also, here is a Google corporate page:
http://www.corporateofficeheadquarters.com/2011/01/google-corporate-office.html
Also, here is a webpage with the Google executives. Larry Page is apparently the guy in charge of day to day operations. Sounds like he needs a fire under his butt. Google doesn't have an 800 number, so you have to use forums, email to get answers. Bummer.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Hi Lorrie! thank you so much for taking the time to try and help me - anyone who reads Mystic Mud is an automatic friend of mine - i love her!!! everything is back to normal here, thank goodness, but thank you for sharing all of this information so that people can use it in the future. if this ever happens to anyone i know, i will definitely share your information with them. thanks so much Lorrie!
DeleteKymber via Jambaloney,
ReplyDeleteI just got back on the computer and I see pictures.
OMG, I can't believe your going through this blogger/google mess.
I'm not real familiar with blogger but I had that screen that wanted a telephone number. I continued to skip it, received that funny screen message and rebooted my computer and everything worked fine for me. This was about 2 weeks ago.
thanks so much Sweet Sandy! everything seems fine again!!!
DeleteKymber,
ReplyDeleteYour blog is displaying properly when I view it. Your pictures are all present.
thanks again hon...i have been un-blocked - HALLELUJAH!
DeleteBorepatch has chimed in (Thanks T!) I see everything fine on my end as well, the pictures, slowly all came back up.
ReplyDeletethanks so much Brigid! i was very glad that Borepatch came over to help! he is a good friend to you and i am very glad that you have him! thank you for all that you did to try and help me!
DeleteLooks like it was just ANOTHER one of those infamous Blogger glitches. They can drive ya nuts! Or drive you to Wordpress, bwaaaaahahahahahaaa!!!!!
ReplyDeleteyep. but i guess i should be thankful as if someone really was trying to hack my account - google blocked them from being able to do so. thanks google. but it would have been nice if someone could have contacted me!!!!
DeleteKymber,
ReplyDeleteI would backup my blog. You can do it through blogs control panel. Click on settings tab, notice a blog tools section, click on that tab. It will open another window and you will see an option to import blog, export blog and delete blog. click on the export blog. This will allow you to save a copy of the entire contents of your blog to your computer. A drop down windown will allow you to pick where you want to save the file.
thanks Sandy! i will definitely be doing this regularly!!!
DeleteThis backup information came from a friends blog. Mike Yukon’s blog --- Living Prepared ---
DeleteMike has generously provided a post explaining in detail on how to backup your blog. I recommend doing a backup weekly to prevent material loss. Lord knows, we’ve worked hard creating and sharing material and don’t want to see it disappear. Please go checkout Mike’s instructions; I’ve posted them here for your convenience.
http://livingprepared.blogspot.com/2012/04/for-blog-owners-how-to-back-up-your.html
kymber,
ReplyDeleteyor blog looks the same. You have been phfished or however you spell it. Do not give out your phone number to anyone on the internet. I refuse to give mine to hotmail and have learned how to get around it.
Obviously, you said "naked" one too many times, just kidding. No one reported you. You were targeted because you were there. It has nothing to do with the chips in your head.
Do not go to wordpress. It has changed for the worse. Their upgrades mean they own you. I know people who ran back to blogger from wordpress.
One time, I got a message that something was wrong on my blog. I forgot what I was supposed to do, but I sent a nasty message to blogger...yeah, like anyone listened. After a few days, all wss well.
Have j put you on with him as an author. Then, you both use the same password. Actually, I never sign out. When I do, I am so irritated having to sign back in. I have put a person on as an author and given her my sign-in information, so she is me as far as changing anything in my blog. However, she can sign her name to any blog if she ever wrote one. No one rights but me. She cleared up a huge glitch.
Can you see your pictures? I can.
PracticalP - you are correct as usual. someone was trying to hack my account so google blocked them. but jeez - could someone not have sent an email or something. they have an alternate email that isn't gmail - i gave it to them when i sent the original request, i sent them several emails at their contact us page (ya right!) - all i wanted was for someone to tell me why i had been blocked!!!!!
Deleteya - i won't switch to wordpress based on what you and others have said. i will stay here until jambaloney makes a website for me. thanks PP!
Why did someone do this to you? Because he/she can. Wordpress is not nice. You have to pay for so many features. Really, if you ever read Ornery Bastard from my blog list, you know he cusses a blue streak, using every vulgar term in the universe. I think he makes up some,too!
ReplyDeleteHe went to wp and came right back. Ask him.
PP - yep - it is just some idiot trying to hack my account - there's tons of them out there! and no - i won't be going to wordpress. thanks again for all of your help!
Deletekymber - I, too, can see your pics. So you are "still there" :)
ReplyDeleteI follow a blog called The Real Blogger Status (Chuck at http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/) He's a guy who responds to questions posed on the Blogger Help forum. Why not check out his blog for any entries which may deal with your problem.
But, yeah - all your pics will be on Picasa. Check out Jambaloney's Picasa site and see if your pics are there too?
Don't panic :) Given how many blogs Blogger has on their server, I reckon they will have to do maintenance now and then - and some hiccups may occur. For weeks I couldn't post a comment on anyone's blog, then it sorted itself out. As long as you have notified Blogger (via their forum) then it should resolve itself shortly.
Oh, and by the way, I tend to make a copy of the pics I take and which I am going to use on my blog. Then I reduce down those (copied) pics and save them to dashboard. When I have finished uploading them to Blogger I shove them in a file named "Ecofootprint" on a separate hard drive. I, too, don't want to lose the memories of our journey :)
Dani - thanks so much for your help! everything is back to normal(?) again. and yes - i will now start backing up the blog as losing the journey is something that i never want to experience. thanks for understanding! and thank you for your help!
DeleteI have never had that issue.What a pain! I can see your posts and photos fine. Hope everything gets straightened out :)
ReplyDeletethanks Donna - all is right in the world again!
Delete