Use Two Browsers, When Working With Multiple Google Accounts

Google has been providing single login access, to (almost all) Google services, for many years.

Properly maintained, we can have one Google account, which lets us access all services, using one login. The single login approach is a convenience, when all of the services, which we use, are part of the same Google account.

The single login approach becomes a challenge, when some of the services, which we use, are part of different Google accounts. As owners of Blogger blogs, there are some scenarios, where we have to deal with two different Google accounts simultaneously.

• Accessing non Blogger applications, like Google Apps.
• Recovering account / blog control.
• Transferring control of a blog.

When we have to deal with two Google accounts, simultaneously, the single login approach becomes a problem.

Frequently, when you request assistance with a problem which involves your Google account, we'll start by advising you to

Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3) - then restart the browser.

This advice is neither ceremonial, nor pedantic - it's practical. And, it solves more problems than you would believe.

That simple advice works - because many problems are caused by the Google account login cookie, which is used to retain login status from application to application, within the various Google services which we may use. This is how Google provides single login to their various services.

That simple advice works best when we care only about the Google service immediately visible - and it requires careful maintenance of cookies filters. In cases where two services - or two Google accounts - are involved, you'd need to switch between account / service, rapidly and repeatedly. Rapidly logging out of one account, to login to another account, is both exhausting and technically unsafe.

Rapidly logging out then back in, to various Google accounts, creates odd symptoms, like the well known monolithic error

You have logged out from another location. Do you want to log in again?

Who among us has been able to correctly answer this simple query properly, without undue rise in blood pressure?

Another problem with clearing cookies, routinely, is that not all browsers allow selective clearing of cookies. Many have observed problems with non Google websites, after solving a Google problem which involves

Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3) - then restart the browser.

Yes, there are websites outside the Googlesphere!

If we need to work with two Google accounts, simultaneously, the only safe technique is to use two browsers, simultaneously. Since the Google login cookie is created separately, in each different browser, use of two browsers lets us maintain two Google sessions, simultaneously, without interaction between the two.

Since no two browsers are alike, we know realistically, that using two different browsers should not be done routinely. Many blog owners have a most favourite, and a least favourite, browser - and won't willingly use a different browser except when absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, many modern browsers, to retain their own customer base, allow for multiple sessions - where cookies and other preferences and settings can be maintained separately. Chrome has the "Incognito Window", and Firefox has "Private Browsing" - both of which let you, temporarily, setup a second browser session, with separate cookies, preferences, and settings.

In most cases, then - and if you are using Chrome or Firefox - when we advise you to

Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3) - then restart the browser.

you should be able to, alternately,

Activate a second browser session, when you are not currently using a second session.

In cases where you are currently using a second browser session, the advice would be more correctly phrased

Close the current second browser session, then start a new second browser session.

This advice would flush all current cookies, preferences, and settings which could possibly involve multiple Google accounts, and avoid various problems with Blogger and non Blogger applications.

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Account / Blog Recovery, With Team Blogs, Requires Well Managed Membership

We've known for a while, about account recovery for team blogs.

We've sent login instructions for the blog at http://mybloggerblog.blogspot.com/ to you and the other blog authors.

Apparently, team ownership recovery has its limits.

I used "Forgot?", and got the advice

Your blog has too many authors to email them all. Please enter your email address into the form below to look up your account information.

The blog has too many contributors. Since some of these contributors' accounts are no longer active, there's no way for me to easily identify the account which has now has the administrator rights.

Like account recovery for a blog with inactive team members, the "Forgot?" wizard won't work well with large membership lists, which are not well maintained.

In this case, the would be owner (former owner?) now has two possibilities.

1. If he was the only administrator, the blog now has no administrators - and any author can now claim ownership of the blog, by using “Forgot?” and providing the proper email address.
2. If the blog still has administrators, the former owner now has to identify an administrator who is active and accessible, and who is willing to restore his account to administrator status.

What to do, now?

Once again, we see the advantage of keeping the membership list well maintained.

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Account / Blog Recovery May Involve Your Friends Email Archives

Recovering ownership of a Blogger account or blog may be a frustrating process.

Recovering control of a long forgotten account or blog starts with having a token sent to the recovery email address. If you don't have access to the recovery email account, you may be able to use the Google Account recovery wizard - if you can at least provide the email address that you used long ago, and a few personal details.

But what if you don't even remember the email address? Blogger won't just tell you what the address was.

In the latter case, you may have to involve your friends - and some detective work.

Now, you hope that when you registered your Blogger account long ago, you provided an email address that you used for real life activity.

When you need to identify the email address used, long ago, for registering your Blogger account, think back. Who did you email, long ago, around that time, for serious discussions?

If you're lucky, one of your friends, carefully searching her / his email archives, can find your email - and provide the email address that you were using.

With help from your friend, and now knowing the email address, that may even help you remember the password that you may have used. If you're lucky, you may be able to use that email address and password, and instantly recover control of the blog. Just don't spend a lot of time guessing, and cause account lock (aka "suspicious activity").

Having recovered the email address, try the Google Account recovery wizard, again. This is your best bet. Without this, you're probably going to need to establish your identity using a court order, issued by a sitting judge.

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Being A Hacking Victim Is Not Always The Fault Of The Account / Blog Owner

Even though being the victim of a hacking attack is not (always) the fault of the account / blog owner, the blog owner may have to bear some of the responsibility.

Since hacking detection is a fuzzy process, it's not always going to be detected immediately. The previous article discusses what happens when Google does detect a hacking attack - and in some cases reacts too diligently.

If Google is not able to detect an attack, in some cases, an attack may be successful.

With some blogs, that are not updated frequently, a hacker may take control, and successfully hijack a blog.

Occasionally we see another report

I just discovered that my blog contains spam - and I can't access the dashboard, to clean the blog!

This may well be a successfully hijacked blog, discovered too late.

Unfortunately, the latter report may also be another devious attempt to steal control of somebody's blog. Blogger Support cannot, reliably, support hacking recovery, on an individual basis.

From what I can tell, Blogger / Google is working on the larger picture - making the automated detection process more reliable. Given this concern, Blogger / Google won't be frequently available to diagnose and return control of individual hijacked blogs - even when the issue is righteous.

In general, blog owners have to support themselves, and learn how to protect themselves. This may be yet one more reason why 2-Step Verification is becoming less optional.

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