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Adding Gmail to Mozilla Thunderbird over IMAP

There are many among us who still prefer to access their emails through an email client. They mention obvious advantages such as one user interface for all email accounts, offline access, local storage etc.  So, in this blog, we shall look at the sequence of steps to add a Gmail address to an email client - Mozilla Thunderbird using IMAP. However, before starting the process, we shall check two very important details: under Gmail settings Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, we need to check if IMAP is set as enabled in the IMAP access section. under the Google Accounts My Account page security tab, we need to check the status for 2-step verification for the account. Note: Having 2-step verification is not a requirement for this process. But, I am a huge advocate of having it enabled on the account for enhanced security. With these two details checked, we can now proceed to open Thunderbird and add this Google account there.  In the Thunderbird home screen, we locate the Email button ...

Emailing Google Contact Groups

There are quite a few threads posted in the Gmail Help Community seeking guidance on ways to email Google Contacts groups or as Google calls them, Contact Labels. So, in this blog, we take a look at the various ways we can do that, namely: Via the Google Contacts web UI. Via the Google Contacts Android app. Via the Gmail Compose autocomplete UI. Via the Gmail Compose Contact picker option. Section 1: Via the Google Contacts web UI. The Google Contacts web UI refers to the https://contacts.google.com/ page for that specific Google account.  In there:  Select the Contact group or label you wish to email from the left panel (shown as  Step 1) Hover over a single contact from the list until the check box to its left appears (shown as Step 2). Thereafter, Click on the check box for that single contact (shown as Step 1) Click on the down arrow next to the Select box above (shown as Step 2)  Select All . This should select all Contacts under that Contact Group or ...

Email Authentication and Handling Unsolicited Emails in Gmail Inbox

We daily receive emails from known and unknown sources. So, it is essential that we understand the risks involved in handling emails in terms of identifying them and thereafter knowing how to best deal with the threats posed by the malicious ones. The Gmail spam and abuse detection algorithm use multiple signals such as Google's internal algorithm, blacklists, and crowdsourcing among other unknown factors Google doesn't make public to identify incoming messages and help the users on this front.  However, the spammers are extremely smart, and they can find ways to escape the algorithm through innovative ways. This is why, even with an effective spam and abuse detection system in place, one needs to be aware of some essential details so as to remain vigilant while handling emails, should there be a false-negative one. Everyone knows about Spam, Spoofed, and Phishing emails (among others) and they are the common types of unsolicited emails we receive in our addresses. Determining...