It’s bad enough for Google that businesses and consumers across the globe are being left without web access to Gmail for hours, but to add insult to injury someone hacked the created a Google Groups page on Gmail (link NSFW) at the worst possible time, adding images that leave nothing to the imagination as well links to adult content elsewhere on the net on top of the page.
Update: per comments, this is not an official Google group but a user-generated one most likely deliberately set up now to take advantage of the fact Google has other things on its mind right now than checking up and moderating new groups on the subject of Gmail. Title edited.
That said, this is the very first result that shows up when you search for ‘Gmail down’ so they might wanna take a look at this quickly.
Update 2: someone at the Googleplex just did and deleted the group, which was up for at least 25 minutes.
Update 3: weird, it dissappeared for a while but now you’re able to access it anyway after a warning message.
Is this the first instance of Google being hacked? How are they not on top of it yet?
Google is made by humans, humans make mistakes. Shit happends.
what ?! , google is made by humans !?!?!
hahaha, true, are they still humans?
Techfilipino
if google were hacked, would they tell about it? quite possibly no. they’re the most closed “high tech” company out there that pretends to be open. so open that it closes it’s employees from other contacts to world so they don’t know that they’re being screwed over.
You moron.
LOL, who uses google to search for real time events anymore???
Guys, that’s not an official Google resource been hacked, it’s an unofficial group set up by users who presumably placed the content there deliberately.
Check facts before posting!
I updated the post.
and what does the title mean?
It means they want to drive traffic to their site with untrue headlines.
I came back today to see if they ever offered an apology to Last.fm. Not sure why I thought that could ever happen. Really need to delete the feed now before I read anymore of their crap.
I can’t nest below your comment, Paul, but that’s the same reason I’m still dropping by.
Maybe we’re just adding all the page views. I’m feeling cynical since there’s still no update on the Last.fm situation (that I know of).
Show us the pr0n already. What’s with this censorship, anyway? Aren’t you hacks at TC supposed to be libertarian, or someshit?
Sclerotic Sclerotic Sclerotic
Google needs to flush out all the dirt and I’d suggest starting with the cash cow – Adwords.
It’s not functioning as it used to.
You can see this post about AdWords+AdSense doing wierd stuff: http://blog.col...th-adsense.html
Techcrunch guys,
is that the real gmail group?
are you checking info before posting?
come on guys..
P.S. check this http://groups.g...Help-Discussion
It seems that no one is hacker proof these days.
Less is more. More is causing troubles for Google.
Who uses Google Groups while there are new alternatives like Grou.ps and Ning now.
Well, they were quick to respond to this one – the group is down…
Indeed, the missing page is still the first result when you do a search by the way. Post updated.
So Gamil is unavailable for a while…big fcuking deal.
All these reports about it make it look like the internet just exploded.
wtf? show us those tits who take down gmail
e-mail me
but they are not something unseen before.
I saw that same group. Did a search for “gmail down”, thought that might be the google support group, but instead I get t*** and a**. That’s not Google’s fault.
No, Google’s fault is the lack of a system status *somewhere* that shows their team is doing something about a problem.
at least gmail users affected by the outage will be pleasantly reassured by this message from Google ….
“We’re sorry…
… but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can’t process your request right now.
I just got that same message too. They are having some MAJOR issues going on at the moment.
Someone forget to delete the extra / again?
It is not an hack : it’s just UGC
That’s some beautiful social engineering. Bow down, motherfucker. It’s by far more clever than you.
I don’t rely anymore only on gmail, it afects my business as a web developer
I’ve created a microsoft live account for backup
We will need to look at the google stocks at 9:30 EST
MORE GOOGLE LAMENESS FROM ANOTHER WASHED UP BLOG.
Techcrunch is sure getting sloppy lately. Where’s Michael when you need him?
interesting…
a user setup a fake Google group and becomes #1 result on Google…
so much for their “fair algorithm” concerning the ranking system on searches…
Beside the fact that my Gmail is working: This must be Google’s latest Silver Bullet in advertising.
it was down for hours? only alf an hour or so for me…
you sleep too much.
now It’s back in business. It seems that Google has the second failure this month the first being when Google labeled the entire Web as malware.
It is back in business but still sending the annoying “oops error code #xxx”. I wonder if anything is compromised and what they will admit to have happened.
GOOG Failing! Yaay
Gmail users, better backup your emails.
Funny, I noticed something similar in December at the Google page creator forum. It’s still there, have a look http://groups.g...ed/topics?pli=1
Group forums just needs to be managed.
Techcrunch guys,
the update is just in the article and not on your homepage..
Ah, fixed that too.
So you guys do correct your mistakes?? Does Erick Schonfeld plan on owning up to his lastfm/RIAA fabricated post? Or does he/you/TechCrunch just expect us to forget that and let it slide?
Newsflash — it isn’t going to slide. You don’t post completely anonymous rumor as fact and carry-on as though nothing has happened. It did. We noticed. It needs to be corrected.
It use to be that I could rely on a techcrunch article to be accurate upon first posting..
Are you guys becoming the insignificant Valleywag?
Q&A
Google Groups are a cesspool of spam and the best part: If you try to report spam linking to such groups, Spamcop will not even forward it to Google’s Abuse address. If on the other hand, you report the Group, which is solely used to peddle porn or Viagra spam, directly to their abuse address, nothing happens. (I’ve had multiple of these Google Groups that simply stayed up for weeks, so basically the spammer can keep sending spam with links to it in safe knowledge that Google does nothing to take his garbage down.)
The end of free services is near?
@ Engago Team
end of free services?!
What the.. same. Hope that’s the last one
and group was up since early 2007 not newly created..
TC q & a please bring Mike Back!
I can still get to the group, I just get a “Banned Content Warning” where you can still proceed to the group.
Gmail Fail Cartoon
http://www.pcdi...rld-ending.html
Simillar thing happened in one of the google groups (some api) and I informed the same to the moderator but no action was taken till I checked it..not sure if its done now.
yeah programs are written by humans..so it happens!
has anyone seen google sync? its probably apple’s me.com killer
How many times are you guys gonna get the facts wrong? You’re like my grandpappy when it comes to tech stuff. Jesus!
Googles email service Gmail is back up after this mornings website crash which happened at around 9.30am GMT left millions unable to log in, send, and receive email.
http://whichweb...site_crash.html
Well,
Gmail was hacked by someone, do you think it was just a hack.
No, But a shame to google guys, someone just shit in their mouth open.
Google had no securtiy up running in their gmail servers.
Wooohoooo!
Techcrunch – full of shit as usual, until they backtrack
Why the hell would somebody want to put those images on a public page.
gmail is best mail server …
Why do people do ANYTHING that they do? I learned to give up LONG ago trying to figure That out as it is pointless.
Robin, I Totally agree with you and Google should bloody well be ASHAMED!!! I mean this should be front page CNN stuff simply because google is so popular now that people don’t say
“search the web or use a Search engine”) 99.5% of people now say “JUST GOOGLE IT”.
I HATE THAT. But I despise this even more. Not only is there major porno on there, I was just introduced to a Narcotics drug store – no script required! I am NOT talking viagra here!
This whole new google groups is either A)
NOT being monitored by ANYONE or B) they simply don’t CARE – which in either case is scary.
I also feel that the use of the word *MF* by some lamer called mother something or other is just another example of the same type of shit.
Calling names like you are all in 4th grade! sheesh – why? What purpose does that serve??
“It seems that no one is hacker proof these days.” Ya, like – DAH. no kidding. Just *maybe* in my life time there really will BE THE *FIRE-SALE* and then what??
Really – then what?