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I just received a notification from Microsoft that my Microsoft account has been blocked because it's been accessed by an IP address that's never accessed it before. I received this notification as a text from a number that has texted me before about Microsoft Live-related stuff, then as an email from [email protected] less than a minute later, so I can be reasonably sure this comes directly from Microsoft. When I traced the problem back, I found out, using speedguide.net, that the IP address, 209.85.212.146, is currently, when I'm asking this question, at Beacon, New York, and that it is allocated to Google. This is backed up by a couple other Google search results for the IP range 209.85.x.x. I think this is Google trying to get my MSN email to show it in my linked Gmail account.

This brings up a couple questions:

Is there another reason Microsoft blocked this address, besides it being a "new" address?

Should I be worried? Could this actually be a Google employee and not an automated script, etc.? Worse, could it be someone pretending to be Google?

If it is indeed from Google getting my email for my linked email address, why didn't Microsoft block the IP addresses Google used before this one? If it is the same address Google used before, why is Microsoft suddenly blocking it?

Why does Google need my username and password to get my email? Why not use a cookie or something?

I changed the password for my Microsoft account some months or years ago, but I never told Google the new password. Now, I still get some MSN emails through both addresses, but not all. If this is why this "breach" happened, because Google has tried my password too many times, why has it taken so long for Google to try it so many times?

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  • Just an update: Google still sometimes tries to access my Microsoft account, usually when I personally initiate it, telling it the (hashed) password, unlike this instance when I never told it the password, but Microsoft never allows it. On the bright side, Microsoft doesn't seem to be outright blocking my account anymore, it just blocks Google. On the dark side, I haven't found a way to get MSN emails in my Gmail account again.
    – trysis
    Commented Apr 19, 2016 at 13:29

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Is there another reason Microsoft blocked this address, besides it being a "new" address?

That's a good question. I'm not sure, and maybe some other members of the community can answer it.

Should I be worried? Could this actually be a Google employee and not an automated script, etc.? Worse, could it be someone pretending to be Google?

It is probably an automated script in Gmail trying to download your Microsoft email. You gave your MSN details to Gmail so it can use POP3 / IMAP to download your MSN email, right?

If it is indeed from Google getting my email for my linked email address, why didn't Microsoft block the IP addresses Google used before this one? If it is the same address Google used before, why is Microsoft suddenly blocking it?

This is another good question. I have a few thoughts about this, but don't want to inaccurately speculate. However, I don't thnk this is a sign of maliciousness.

Why does Google need my username and password to get my email? Why not use a cookie or something?

You use a cookie to log into the authenticated part of a website. Gmail uses POP3 and/or IMAP, which are protocols that are used by desktop mail clients like Microsoft Outlook. It is a lot easier for computers to deal with mail when it comes through a standard like POP3 or IMAP.

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I changed the password for my Microsoft account a while back

My suggestion would be to remove your POP3/IMAP configuration from your accounts and add it back fresh with the correct credentials. If there is a limit on the number of authentication attempts that you can make, Microsoft might have locked Google out for using the wrong (outdated) password too many times.

If you are worried, change your passwords too.

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  • That was a long, long time ago. More like months or years. Just clarified this in my question. Why did it only reach the limit now?
    – trysis
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 23:35
  • @trysis Honestly I don't know. Maybe Google recently rotated to using a new server or IP address in order to make the authentications, and Microsoft's systems got spooked by the new address. Only a guess. So many things can happen, and these services are all automated to my knowledge. You could try asking Microsoft support about it.
    – JHS
    Commented Apr 24, 2014 at 1:07

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