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There are isolated problems with current patches, but they are well-known and documented on this site. |
Someone sent me this story:
https://www.businessinsider.com/google-users-locked-out-after-years-2020-10
Years ago I used Thunderbird for my email. But then Gmail got so good I stopped using it. Also, Tbird used lots of disk space.
Is it too risky to have all my email in Google’s cloud? Should I go back to Tbird?
You should worry about getting locked out of any service you use, not just Google.
Just backup regularly.
You should worry about getting locked out of any service you use, not just Google. Just backup regularly.
Good advice! Thanks.
“Any day now, I shall be released…”
But how do I back up my Gmail?
This free program works great. https://www.mailstore.com/en/products/mailstore-home/
Never Say Never
1 – What am I missing? I don’t see how a local backup will help if the remote service is lopped off. And if one has a local copy of that which is stored on the remote, why have the remote?
2 – Is there a question as to how to configure Thunderbird for Gmail?
Search [ gmail thunderbird ].
3 – ‘Thunderbird uses lots of disk space.’ So do Firefox, and Chrome, and … .
But, really it is the mail folders/files that take up space. In TB it is not hard to move them elsewhere, out of ‘active visibility’. But yes, data, whether paper in a file cabinet, or bits on a storage medium, do have to live somewhere.
4 – (edit addition) – Re.: Backing up Gmail – IF one uses Thunderbird, download all the Gmails, and stash them into appropriately-named TB mail folders.
I have a few clients that prefer to use a web browser to access their email. Why? I have no clue, but they do. Yes, any local storage will take up space but that’s the price for keeping copies of your data. I would never trust any online service to handle my important data. Won’t even get into what I think of Google, MS and others regarding privacy and tracking.
Never Say Never
1 – What am I missing? I don’t see how a local backup will help if the remote service is lopped off.
Er… that’s how this works.
If you can access the local copy, you can work with that, and use a replacement service (if you have one) to continue correspondence.
(I have a bunch of email accounts that I can use interchangeably… there’s Gmail, there’s outlook.com, there’s … another free-for-personal-use account… there’s my mailbox at the local ISP… a school alumni association that has a mailbox included in the membership fee… and that’s not counting any work accounts. And since I have them all set up in my mail application of choice, I can take incoming mail from any mailbox and reply to that out of any of the *other* mailboxes.)
But even just working out of offline copy on my laptop and queuing outgoing mail until I get online again is quite workable.
And if one has a local copy of that which is stored on the remote, why have the remote?
Because email isn’t a peer-to-peer system and my PC isn’t a publicly reachable mail server.
Years ago I used Thunderbird for my email. But then Gmail got so good I stopped using it. Also, Tbird used lots of disk space.
Is it too risky to have all my email in Google’s cloud? Should I go back to Tbird?
It depends on how you define “risk”. If you mean a risk of losing your emails, then you are likely very safe with having all of your emails in Google’s cloud. If, however, you mean a risk of losing your privacy, then you should avoid Google like the plague. Google makes most of their money on harvesting as much personal information as they can, then monetizing that information. In other words, whenever you are using any of their products, it is as if there is a Google employee looking over your shoulder and taking notes.
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