For the second time yesterday, I awoke to find my Gmail account locked. This is the second time that this has happened.

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?