The only notification is that it is locked for unusual activity. The “help” page states these as:

1. Receiving, deleting, or downloading large amounts of mail via POP or IMAP in a short period of time. If you’re getting the error message, ‘Lockdown in Sector 4,’ you should be able to access Gmail again after waiting 24 hours.
2. Sending a large number of undeliverable messages (messages that bounce back).
3. Using file-sharing or file-storage software, browser extensions, or third party software that automatically logs in to your account.
4. Leaving multiple instances of Gmail open.
5. Browser-related issues. Please note that if you find your browser continually reloading while attempting to access your Inbox, it’s probably a browser issue, and it may be necessary to clear your browser’s cache and cookies.

I’m pretty sure that I have not violated any of these. In fact since the last time it got locked I made sure that I kept Gmail closed as much as possible, since I thought 4 or 5 above could be a possible problem.

Anyway, I’m pretty irritated with the whole deal and am planning to make the move to either Windows Live Mail or Yahoo! Mail. I plan on continuing to use Google Talk to chat with those I know as well as all the other services of Google.

So, what do you suggest I shift to? Windows Live Mail or Yahoo! Mail or should I create yet another Gmail account?