Image-insertion bug locks people out of Gmail when using Firefox
Image-insertion bug locks people out of Gmail
A solution to the problem has eluded Google for months
By Juan Carlos Perez
September 26, 2013 09:13 AM ET
IDG News Service - Beware Gmail users: Inserting images
into the body of an email message can get you temporarily banned from your
account.
The disconcerting bug has been affecting unsuspecting
Gmail users for months, and it's apparently tied to the use of Gmail's
spanking-new message-compose interface. Google introduced that interface late
last year and made it the default for everybody this year, saying it's faster,
simpler and altogether better than the old basic HTML interface.
Google has acknowledged the problem but hasn't been able
to stamp it out.
The bug is listed in the Gmail Known Issues page and is
the focus of several discussion forum threads in Google Groups, including this
long one with more than 250 posts.
"I'm scared to continue to rely on Gmail now. I use
it for a lot of time-sensitive messages, both personal and for a not-for-profit
organization that I work closely with. I cannot afford to be arbitrarily locked
out of my account through no fault of my own due to a bug that Google has
acknowledged but has left unresolved for months," an affected user wrote
in mid-August in a discussion thread, echoing the frustration of many others.
On the Gmail Known Issues page, Google explains that the
bug is triggered under certain scenarios involving "inline images" --
images inserted into the body of email messages.
For example, it hits Firefox users who insert images into
messages while composing or replying to email. It also strikes users of any
browser when they try to do this with large images. Another trigger is to work
"over time" on a draft message that contains many images and
attachments.
There are no details as to how large an inserted file
needs to be to trigger the bug, nor what amount of time is too long when
drafting a message with images and attachments.
When the bug is activated, Google locks people out of
their account citing "unusual usage" and telling them it has detected
"unusually high levels of activity." It can take up to 24 hours for
Google to lift the lockout and restore affected users' access to their
accounts.
"Individuals locked out of their preferred email
inbox due to buggy code are likely to lose confidence in the mail system. But
changing email systems is less-than-convenient for the user, so frustration
levels can go sky-high," said Gartner analyst Matthew Cain. "I
suspect Google will move the bug fix up the priority list as the social media
hue and cry grows around this issue."
To reduce the risk of tripping over this issue, Google
recommends that people use "a browser other than Firefox" when
composing an email with images in its message body. They should also avoid
using the "drag and drop" method for inserting large images into
messages, and instead add them as attachments by clicking on the paper clip
icon.
"We're working hard to resolve this issue," the
Google support note reads.
Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise
communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology
breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at
@JuanCPerezIDG.
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