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Thunderbird obsolete

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by Stans

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It appears that google gmail does not allow thunderbird anymore. I could choose the "less secure apps" option but I do not want other apps that might want to join the party. I saw no option on google to allow just TB and disallow other "less secure apps" . It started when Google alerted me that one of my passwords was compromised. I don't know and probably won't ever know if it was Thunderbird that was compromised, or if something else. I had to delete all the passwords on google and start from scratch. When I deleted my google application passwords, and changed my google password. When I tried to log back in with thunderbird, google would not accept the request from Thunderbird. All thunderbird did was show me a log in page where I could enter my password (which i did correctly thank you very much) but it did not say "rejected by google" or that it was incorrect. It just cleared the entry line and asked again. It took me a lot of time to figure out that google was the problem and not thunderbird. But now I see it is a failing of thunderbird not keeping up with security measures.

My suggestion is that when this happens, thunderbird should alert the user that the log in is not succeeding because google is rejecting it instead of letting the user think that they did something wrong. I say this because it is just frustrating to try to log in and not know why it isn't working.

email is such an important service that I would rather do without all the nice features of thunderbird than have to go through this security breach issue ever again.

thanks to all the people that work on thunderbird, and I hope you can fix it. If it ever gets fixed, I would like to use it again, but for now, it just doesn't make any sense.

It appears that google gmail does not allow thunderbird anymore. I could choose the "less secure apps" option but I do not want other apps that might want to join the party. I saw no option on google to allow just TB and disallow other "less secure apps" . It started when Google alerted me that one of my passwords was compromised. I don't know and probably won't ever know if it was Thunderbird that was compromised, or if something else. I had to delete all the passwords on google and start from scratch. When I deleted my google application passwords, and changed my google password. When I tried to log back in with thunderbird, google would not accept the request from Thunderbird. All thunderbird did was show me a log in page where I could enter my password (which i did correctly thank you very much) but it did not say "rejected by google" or that it was incorrect. It just cleared the entry line and asked again. It took me a lot of time to figure out that google was the problem and not thunderbird. But now I see it is a failing of thunderbird not keeping up with security measures. My suggestion is that when this happens, thunderbird should alert the user that the log in is not succeeding because google is rejecting it instead of letting the user think that they did something wrong. I say this because it is just frustrating to try to log in and not know why it isn't working. email is such an important service that I would rather do without all the nice features of thunderbird than have to go through this security breach issue ever again. thanks to all the people that work on thunderbird, and I hope you can fix it. If it ever gets fixed, I would like to use it again, but for now, it just doesn't make any sense.

Chosen solution

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your response. I found it very informative. You asked if I had had an account with AOL . No, I have never had an account with aol however I started getting emails from someone sending them to myaddress@aol and not myaddress@gmail as I said in my previous rant (me being the recipient of email addressed to an aol account).

Whether I was hacked or not, the result of the changes I made, I have not gotten anymore of those unwanted emails.

For the most part I have been unaware of and unconcerned with internet protocols as long as they don't give me any trouble. It seems like a heavy burden to have to lift to track every change in these protocols and the tools that support them.

That is why I would like to see TB improved upon and continued to be supported. I thought that by giving feedback, (may have seemed a tiny bit like a gripe) perhaps someone else had run into the same problem.

I would like to thank you for your enthusiasm for the product and willingness to help. Frankly, I did not expect to get any replies.

Ron

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What are you talking about? Thunderbird has been at par with Gmail's modern security (using OAuth2) for at least half a decade! In Thunderbird, go to Account Settings and change the Authentication Method entry from Normal Password to OAuth2. When Tbird connects to Gmail servers, you will see the OAuth2 web login page asking for your Gmail credentials. Google is getting rid of the "less secure access" option. If your Google account still shows that option, sooner or later it won't be there anymore.

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Yea, I forgot to say that I have had this account for more than 7 years with GMAIL and I have been using thunderbird the whole time, never having changed a single setting with thunderbird.

The problem started when I changed my password with google account. Google would not accept the request after that.

Besides I think the whole problem started with when I started getting emails addressed TO: not me. but my email_address.aol instead of email_address.gmail. Google thereafter notified me that there was a password compromised. I think it was my gmail account hacked by someone who hacked thunderbird.

But like I said, I have no way of knowing for certain. Judging from your response, it seems like something that is not likely to ever be resolved.

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many7years said

Yea, I forgot to say that I have had this account for more than 7 years with GMAIL and I have been using thunderbird the whole time, never having changed a single setting with thunderbird.

Totally irrelevant. Especially with the many changes Google have made to their authentication requirements. Having made no changes means you probably badly need to.

The problem started when I changed my password with google account. Google would not accept the request after that.
and like just about everyone else you probably also did the security update thing they offered and disabled less secure apps. Just as Google intended you to. Hence locking non oAth password attempts invalid.
Besides I think the whole problem started with when I started getting emails addressed TO: not me. but my email_address.aol instead of email_address.gmail.

Do you have that AOL account? Did you set up the account in Google on the web to get your AOL email?

Google thereafter notified me that there was a password compromised.

I get lots of unexpected login attempt messages from Google and YAhoo. It is always me, but they are just so sensitive to the use of rubbish security like VPN's which are being sold to just about everyone, by some very strangle players like anti virus companies.

I think it was my gmail account hacked by someone who hacked thunderbird.
Utter fiction is what I think when I read that. Thunderbird is sorfware located on a computer that you have physical control of. Has your computer been hacked? it would have to have been for that above statement to be true. If it has been hacked what are you doing on a Thunderbird support forum. Your whole computer needs professional attention to undo whatever hacking has occurred.

Having said that hacked it a word that is grossly overused, usually by folks that blame the gremlins and the unexplained in their computing world on hackers.

But like I said, I have no way of knowing for certain. </blockqote> Yes you do. I can think of at least a dozen reasons your gmail is not working that would be far more likely than any form of hacking.
Judging from your response, it seems like something that is not likely to ever be resolved.

Judging from your response that is entirely likely.

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Chosen Solution

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your response. I found it very informative. You asked if I had had an account with AOL . No, I have never had an account with aol however I started getting emails from someone sending them to myaddress@aol and not myaddress@gmail as I said in my previous rant (me being the recipient of email addressed to an aol account).

Whether I was hacked or not, the result of the changes I made, I have not gotten anymore of those unwanted emails.

For the most part I have been unaware of and unconcerned with internet protocols as long as they don't give me any trouble. It seems like a heavy burden to have to lift to track every change in these protocols and the tools that support them.

That is why I would like to see TB improved upon and continued to be supported. I thought that by giving feedback, (may have seemed a tiny bit like a gripe) perhaps someone else had run into the same problem.

I would like to thank you for your enthusiasm for the product and willingness to help. Frankly, I did not expect to get any replies.

Ron

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many7years said

That is why I would like to see TB improved upon and continued to be supported. I thought that by giving feedback, (may have seemed a tiny bit like a gripe) perhaps someone else had run into the same problem.

Many ran into the same problem and it's not just Gmail that is affected. Pretty much all the major email providers are making these changes to their security by implementing OAuth2 and all these Tbird users have had to do is change Tbird's account settings accordingly. You can simply make that change as advised earlier to restore Tbird's connectivity to your Gmail account or you can keep waiting for a fix. New accounts are automatically configured to use OAuth2 where supported while existing ones are automatically getting changed to OAuth2 where applicable. There is no reason to continue using the old insecure basic authentication (Normal Password) method while Tbird has had native OAuth2 support for years now.