My iChat can't connect to connect to Gtalk suddenly

thanks so much..this really helped...you are very knowledgable...

You are welcome.

9:03 pm Saturday; January 10, 2015

just one more thing though...I received an email from google which says -

If you made this change

Please be aware that it is now easier for an attacker to break into your account. You can make your account safer again by undoing this change at https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps then switching to apps made by Google such as Gmail to access your account.

...should I be worried?

thanks,

Hi,

Not so much worried as aware.

SSL was reliable for many years before the recent issues were discovered.

Apple makes you change your Password for your Apple ID fairly regularly but Google do not.

It would make sense to get into the habit of changing frequently even if not regularly.

Obviously there are now reports all the time of big companies being attacked and Data "Stolen", but I have not had an issue with Google Mail or the use of the ID in iChat or Messages for at least 10 years.

Being attacked/Hacked in the general sense is a matter of several factors:-

How "Attractive" you might be to such an action.

How "malicious" some of your contacts might be.

The ease of access to your computers that other may have.

The difficulty of your passwords.

Care and attention to details are your best friends in these circumstances.

8:15 pm Sunday; January 11, 2015

Hello Ralph

I'm having issues with getting Messages on OS X to work on my MBP 2011.

Basically I hadn't used it for a while and when I went back to it, it refused to log on. I tried to remove the Google accounts and re add them, however it says that it was unable to verify account name or password. I then tried 2 step verification and this worked to add account but the 'Jabber' would still not connect. I tried the different port thing you suggested before but makes no difference. I then disabled 2 step and ensured the less secure apps was enabled and now I cant add the account.

I would be really grateful for some help if you have time?

Regards

Andrew

Hi,

The other thing - which has been needed since iChat 3 had Jabber added - is to make sure you use the "right" Google Mail ID.

The Mail App seems to allow you to set the name as either username@gmail.com or username@googlemail.com

For the Messages app these are two different IDs

Log in to your Google Mail Account in a Web Browser and double check you are using the "right" format to the ID.

The Servers (Jabber) fro the Talk features seem much more fussy than the Mail ones.

8:45 pm Thursday; February 19, 2015

Hi Ralph,

I'm having the same problem and have tried all the fixes but Chrome is telling me that the Less Secure Apps setting is not available for Google Apps accounts. Your thoughts?

Thanks

Hi,

This is the second time recently that I have seen a post with a Google Apps Account rather than an Google Mail or Google+ ID being used with Google Talk and having this issue of not being able to change some of the settings in Messages > Preferences > Accounts regarding the Google account.

I don't have such an account and I am not sure how the Messages and Internet accounts pan manage to treat this differently. (it acts like it is under Parental Control)

IT seems that you cannot set it to not use SSL, nor untick the "Enable this Account" box to be able to change the server settings.

This includes not being about to change the port ( GoogleTalk account can use port 443 whilst still using SSL)

They can also have trouble with the Less Secure App Setting made at Google (Which needs 2 Step Verification turned off).

I am not sure what the answer is going to be.

8:10 pm Monday; June 1, 2015

ok. thanks for the response.