This one time I couldn’t access the Google products that I use all day, every day:
- Gmail
- I have 14 email addresses piped into my Gmail account
- Google Search
- This is the bedrock of my existence!
- Google Analytics
- I look after 40+ websites and couldn’t access any data
- Google Docs
- Google Adwords
- Google Adsense
- Picasa Web Albums
- Google Maps
- YouTube
It all started 2 weeks ago when I got a static IP address from Telecom (for free as part of the 40GB Total Home package). Almost immediately I noticed that I couldn’t access YouTube, but this didn’t ring alarm bells because I thought it was just a bug or they had high traffic at that moment. But when I couldn’t access my Gmail account a week later, that’s when I got really worried. And then when I noticed I couldn’t access anything else owned by Google I spotted the pattern.
I couldn’t access any of these Google services but other websites in NZ and overseas worked fine.
It was so bad that if I visited a website that used Google Maps, I couldn’t see the map but I could see the rest of the website.
I couldn’t run my business. Email is my core function. It is how I communicate.
I was cut off.
Alone.
🙁
I tried clearing browser cache, tried 3 different browsers: Firefox, IE, Chrome. All with no improvement.
After 3 days of waiting for the problem to disappear on it’s own, I conducted a few Google searches via my iPhone (I turned off WiFi so I was using Vodafone 3G) and I began to suspect that my static IP address was the problem.
After a 60 minute phonecall with Telecom (on a Sunday) with 3 different people (2 in Malaysia + 1 New Zealander) who all suggested clearing the cache and trying different browsers, the last one agreed that a black-listed static IP address was probably the problem. He told me to go to www.telecom.co.nz/staticip to request a new one. I did so.
12 hours later I got an email regarding the request that asked “have you tried a different browser?”.
… *cough*
aaarrrrghhhhh!!!!
Yes, that made me furious.
But I held my temper and simply replied “yes, of course I have. Please change my static IP address immediately.”
4 more hours later, it was done. I was assigned a new IP address and all Google’s services are available to me again, hooray!
Why did Google block my IP address in the first place?
Perhaps the computer assigned my first IP address was used for automated Google searches or spamming and was black listed by Google? Perhaps my computer is infected with Malware and automated searches were being conducted without me being aware of it? I don’t know.
Will Google block my IP address again?
I bloody hope not. But if it does, I know what to do next: I’ll go to http://www.telecom.co.nz/staticip and request yet another one.
What have I learned from this?
This experience has reminded me just how dependent I am, and my business is, on Google’s free products/services.
Perhaps I should purchase a single Google share (about US$520 each at the moment), so at least I can justify my sense of entitlement.
Google is crap thats why. I think they single out users on their search/sites because Chrome blocks me on some sites while firefox doesn’t. It wouldn’t let me even go to my bank site.. Said connection refused… Sorry but I dont have time for their silly games. Using Bing from now on.
“Bing”? Never heard of it ;P
Google has done the same to me. I am trying to figure out appropriate key words for my retail website – and yes – I have done a lot of key word searches. Why in the hell does google care?
Another tool to use is the Google Keyword Tool rather than doing a million Google searches your self
Google’s keyword research tool is not 100% accurate and hides keywords.
yes, google done the same after i searched in the keyword tool… and not i removed google from my browsers engine, and put bing instead. Bing all the way 🙂
I just got both the IP of my home internet AND iphone banned by G***** this morning – pretty scary – luckily I can reset my IPs right away – but what is the reason ?
– Is it because I use too much of their ressources by downloading and uploading from G-Drive a couple of times per week?
– Is it because I use about 5 accounts from the same IP?
Damn this is not what you expect from a pretty big, pretty well established Company!!
oh no!
bing is owned by google so is youtube and android as well
This is why I use Firefox and Bing+Outlook instead of Google shitty services, to prevent this kind of shit to even happening apart of being a full hater of Google. I use Gmail just for minor stuff and prefer Dailymotions instead of Youtube, when i was studying computing people called me tecno-hipster but they simply suck.
I LOLED so hard when one of my fake G account that i used for illegal marketing was banned for it, i created another one to do it. Gmail is only worth for illegal stuff in the DW.
I only use degoogled phones and emeliorated windows with no google services at all. Do not use any android apps at all, and even left my 3K euro on adsense account for them when completely left them for ewer!
Sounds like the only thing your phone can do is make and take phonecalls? Sounds horrible.