A number of Gmail users have reported that all of their emails and contacts were auto deleted, leaving them with completely empty accounts. Apparently many of them reported that Gmail was open in their Firefox 2.0 browser when the deletions occurred and at least one user reported receiving the following message:
“This is not a mistake. All your emails and contacts have been deleted on purpose. This was a malicious attack and not an error. Have a nice day. =)”
Google has responded by saying that they are actively investigating these issues and they believe they are isolated incidents (around 60 affected users so far.)
If Google’s figures are correct, this problem shouldn’t be all that worrisome. However, to be on the safe side, you should make sure that your browser is up to date – especially if you are using Firefox 2.0 (Click here for information on Firefox 2.0.0.1). You may also want to backup your contact list and your Gmail inbox.
Back up your contact list:
Under the “Trash” link in your navigation bar click on “Contacts.” On the top right hand corner of your contact list you should see an “Export” link that will allow you to save your contact list via a Gmail or Outlook CSV file.
Back up your inbox:
Under “Settings, ” click on “Forwarding and POP.” Select “Enable POP for all mail (even mail that’s already been downloaded)” and then configure your email client. Gmail messages will be downloaded in batches so it may take some time for your messages to be completely archived.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. That is pretty scary, now i know why i didnt sign up for Gmail!
The problem seems to have been cleared up now. I still think that Gmail is the best email program out there – but even Google can screw up now and then. That is why backing up important data is always a good idea.
Our company uses cavalier service as our email and isp. Last week we were told that cavtel email was being switched over to gmail and we needed to set up each individual email through gmail. Also explained to us that we should set it up with IMAP instead of POP which we used originally with cavtel. As of 30 minutes ago two of our email accounts are empty. One was our main email with over 1000 messages on it. GONE. Apparently this problem has NOT been fixed.
(One pissed off soon to be ex-customer)