How My Google Account (Gmail/Blogger/Youtube) Got Hacked and How I Recovered It!

***pls be warned this is a very lengthy and long-winded post. 

I woke up one morning and I found that my Gmail was hacked.

This was what I saw when I checked my email. 
My heart sank. 

The hacker obviously changed my password of my Gmail. Not only that, the hacker also changed my recovery phone, secret question, recovery email.
He/she also added in security key and backup codes.

Although my Gmail is my secondary email, I was still worried because my Blogger (this blog - www.tanshuyin.com) and YouTube account are linked with the same Google account.

Although I had neglected my blog for awhile now, but my blog had so many years of hard work/sweat.
I really did not want to lose access to it! 

There was no way for me to recover my Google account. I tried all ways, kept pressing 'Try Another Way' but I couldn't answer any of the questions after the hacker changed ALL my recovery options.

The hacker changed one of my recovery email to this/his I presumed.

And this was when I realized there isn't any Google Customer Support, no email addresses that I can send to, basically no human customer support!

Some of the emails I found on Google either didn't work or they did not reply me. 

I was really anxious and worried on how I to recover my Google account. 

I saw that some people who got hacked posted on the Google Help Communities and got help there. So I also tried posting there hoping to get there, but no one replied to my post thread. 😔

So I tried posting again the following week, as I believed my earlier post had been 'lost' between the thousands of posts every week.

And to my dismay, my 2nd post got çlosed off for comments due to 'duplicate posting'.

I tried a few times several weeks later but it was always the same. I am being flagged for duplicate posting although I'd tried re-wording my post and all. Well, I only tried posted there again because there was no reply!

I also online chatted/emailed the GoogleOne Account customer service for help (as I have a Google Cloud paid account), as I realized Google only has customer support for paid accounts/stuff.

 

The customer service I got was lousy. He was no help at all and told me 1000x that the only way I could get my account back was to keep on trying the Account Recovery Page.
Obviously, I tried that 1000x before I asked for help. 
I could not answer any of the questions because the hacker changed ALL my recovery options. It was so frustrating talking to them! 

Meanwhile, I also 'stalked' some of the Youtubers/bloggers who shared how they got their account back and sent Facebook and Instagram private messages to them, hoping they will reply me. 

I also tweeted for help to @teamyoutube and some of the other individuals I found online. (when I usually don't use Twitter!)

Most of them ignored me (maybe my messages ended up in their spam?🤷), but a few of them replied.

I began to lose hope after about 1 month+ of no real help and nothing much I could do!😢

Then, one of them replied me saying that I needed to set my Twitter account to public, if not then @teamyoutube could not see my direct messages sent to them if my account is private! (sorry, I did not know coz I don't use Twitter much!)

This help was the first light at the very dark tunnel of mine. Thank u @subversiveasset. 
I quickly changed my Twitter account to public and sent another direct message to @teamyoutube.

I was really happy when @teamyoutube finally replied to me, and that was how I got the ball rolling!

Phew.....

After some verification, @Teamyoutube sent my email for me to access a special form that had me connect with the Google specialist team. 
I received the email within the hour and I was really happy that I finally had hope that I could recover back my account!

From there, I answered questions after questions for Google to verify that I am actually the owner of my account. I also needed to send proof if possible.
They asked me for my Youtube channel URL (which I did not know or have initially), asked me about my Youtube videos contents, IP addresses, etc.
I just answered as accurately and as much as I could and then prayed for the best!

After 24 hours or so, I got my Gmail account recovered! Yay!
I almost danced with joy!💃

This also got back my access to my blog, so double yay! 💃💃

But not all was well yet.
My Youtube channel was still down. 

The hacker actually hacked my Gmail account to take over my Youtube Channel. They privatised all my previous videos (thank goodness they did not delete it!) and renamed my channel to 'Tesla News'.

I assumed they posted many shit videos which got them flagged and taken down for violating Youtube's impersonation policy. 🤣

I appealed stating that my account was being hacked.

Now all I could do was to wait for a favourable response from them. 

And about 24 hours later, I got a message from them saying that my Youtube account has been recovered! 💃💃💃

After I got back my account, besides changing my password, and re-added 2-step verification, and also added security codes etc.
As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy!

The feeling of getting back my account after 1 month+ was like a big and heavy stone lifted from my heart! It was such a great feeling...!

I really want to thank my hubs as he was the one who helped me as much as he could and asked me not to give up.

Also special thanks to @subversiveasset for replying my fb messages. 

And super super thanks to @teamyoutube. Without this team, I would not have got the ball rolling to the recovery of my account. 

I am super thankful and very grateful to all!

So all of you reading this, please go strengthened and protect your account. You don't want to go through what I went through..... 

And now that I've got my Google account back, I have decided to REVIVE this blog of mine. 

I won't be posting frequent posts but I decided not to let it 'die'! 

And so this post is the first post of the revival of this blog.......:)

So all, Thank you for reading my revival blog post! 😄

Review: Thomas & Friends™ TrackMaster™ Boat and Sea Set

27 July 2019 - Vern @ 4yo

I cut down on product reviews a lot.
Main reason is that I just don't have the time to blog about it. #stilllotsofbacklogblogposts
But then I was pretty happy when the agency representative of Thomas & Friends™ in Malaysia contacted me to do a review.
Why? Because all 3 kids of mine are big fans of Thomas & Friends™!


FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND PRODUCT

I received the Thomas & Friends™ Trackmaster™ Boat & Sea Set sometime in a big and sturdy brown box.

Upon opening it, the whole box set was inside.
I'm glad they used the brown box to cushion it during delivery so the whole original box was in pristine condition.

 

This is the front and back of how the Thomas & Friends™ Trackmaster™ Boat & Sea Set looks like.
The front has clear images and words of the name of the set.
It also states that it is a motirized action set.

Behind it shows the already assembled set, together with a kid, so parents can roughly gauge the size of the set.

 

The highlight of the set, which is Thomas the Tank Engine and the rolling boat is strapped firmly on the corner of the set so the kid kinda get to have a peek on what it is. 

As my 3+yo Vern was turning 4yo soon on the 14th July, I kept the set hidden and only gave it to him on his birthday as his birthday present. :)
This is him with his 4 birthday presents together with his Thomas & Friends™ Trackmaster™ Boat & Sea Set!

FIXING AND TRYING OUT THE SET

As I mentioned, all my 3 kids are fans of Thomas & Friends™ and so all 3 were also excited to help their brother to fix the set.

I like how everytime we fix a Thomas & Friends™ railway set, my kids get to learn a lot from it.

They would read the instructions together and try to fix it up together.

  

Watch how the big brother Shern let his small brother Vern to help to fix the tracks.

And look at how all three of them were grinning happily when they managed to get it right!

And this is how the whole thing looks like when it is all done.

The star of the set, Thomas the Tank Engine on the Rolling Boat.

WHAT DO WE THINK ABOUT IT?

First let me tell you all what is this set all about.

This Boat and Sea set is a unique concept launched by Fisher-Price based on this new sea theme. 

This set consists of a motorized Thomas the Tank Engine, a Rolling Boat, "Water Tracks" to be used by the boat, and the usual railway tracks and two docks.

What I like is that the Rolling Boat is powered to sail from one dock to the next dock. And like how the original ship sails in the ocean, this Rolling Boat also runs on the to and fro concept. 

During play, my kids experience how Thomas the Tank Engine will move from its railway tracks on land onto the floor of the ship and help the Rolling Boat to power to sail across the oceans to different places.

Look at the short clip on how it works. 

Love how happy Vern was and how in awe he was with it!

After awhile, Shern and Khye who is 10yo and almost 7yo got bored with it. They only got excited while helping to fix the set.

So I guess this set is more suitable for younger kids from probably 3-6+yo.

But Vern on the other hand was fixated with it for quite some time. 

He did not get bored watching the train goes round and round.

I guess he did not get bored because he had a play in it as he needs to transfer the Rolling Boat from one dock to the other.

But me on the other hand prefers to buy my kids non-motorized toys. Because I want them to roll the trains on the tracks themselves to improve their motor skills and to let their imagination runs wild while making up stories as they play.

But maybe because I don't buy them motorized toys, Vern is very fascinated with it and was exclaiming "wahhhh...whoah...as he watches the train goes round the tracks and onto the boat and the water tracks! :)

See how Vern is still playing with all his Thomas & Friends™ sets!

He already has the Thomas & Friends™ Take-n-Play Tidmouth Shet Set, the Take-n-Play Sodor Search and Rescue Centre, the Take-n-Play Rescue From Misty Island Set passed me down from his brothers.

And now he has the TrackMaster™ Boat and Sea Set to add on to his Thomas & Friends™ sets!

TO PURCHASE

Thomas & Friends™ TrackMaster™ Boat and Sea Set can be found in all major malls and Toys 'R' Us nationwide.

For more information, please view www.facebook.com/sea.thomasandfriends 

* Disclosure: I received the Thomas & Friends™ TrackMaster™ Boat and Sea Set mentioned above for review purpose, but no monetary incentive was received. All text and opinions are of my own and represents my honest opinion of the product(s).

Khye's 6yo SOLAR SYSTEM Birthday Cake

Khye's 6yo SOLAR SYSTEM Birthday Cake - 2 September 2018

I just realized I forgot to blog about Khye's birthday last year! (Ooopss...coz I whisked off to Iceland straight after his birthday was over!)
Khye celebrated his 6yo birthday last September.

So here it is.....the first part of his birthday celebration.
Let's start off with his cake.

He wanted a Solar System-themed party and so I had the planets and the sun cake toppers all printed out.

I ordered Chocolate Indulgence cake from Secret Recipe.
I told them I wanted it plain.

I put on the planet toppers and the yellow sun.
Added the number '6' gold candle.
Added some stars on the sides of the cake.
Simple cake deco.

Then I felt it was a little off as it was missing Khye's name.
So I added in 'Yiu-Khye' on the yellow sun.
Ahhhh....it was much better, much more complete, don't you all think so?

Ta da.....an awesome One-of-a-kind SOLAR SYSTEM Birthday Cake for Khye!

Click below to get inspirations from all the birthday cakes I've decorated for my kids' birthdays!

(Click to view Shern's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th birthday cakes)

(Click to view Khye's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th birthday cakes)
(Click to view Vern's 1st, 2nd & 3rd birthday cake)

Khye's Reading Journey @ 6yo

Khye @ 6yo @ 23 Jan 2019

Just wanna share how Khye started his reading journey.

Khye loves books since young. But then we would need to read to him which I sometimes couldn’t do it all the time (esp when I’m attending to Vern or doing housework etc).
So I was really happy and glad when he joined his brother Shern and started reading independently at about 5yo last year.

What we do always is to let him choose whatever books he likes to read.
As long as it is not a book using bad language etc we are fine with it.
So Khye started off with comic books.

He started off by reading Dog Man series and Hilo. He loves them as they are funny and silly (my boys love silly stuff!) and that was how he learned to read full books independently.
He read all the books in this Dog Man series.

 

He also loves Usborn’s Lift the Flap books of Questions and Answers about How Things Work and Why and such.
This series i super like and super encourage coz he gets to broaden his general knowledge.

Then he moved on to read the Captain Underpants series.....all about a superhero who wears only an underpants (I told you my 5yo likes silly stories haha). These books are semi-comic books with some pages of comics and some words.
He finished reading all the books in this series.

Then about 1/2 year ago at 5.5yo he started reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He started to resonate with Greg on his struggles to fit into middle school. I’m not sure if he gets all the jokes but well....he laughed when he reads it so i guess so. 😏
And yes, he finished the whole Wimpy Kid series too.

Then at 6yo he started Geronimo Stilton books. Those paper backs thin ones.
There are hundreds of titles in the various series that he is still devouring them one by one even until today.

Recently, he started reading the hard cover Geronimo Stilton’s Kingdom of Fantasy series. These has more words and is about 300+ pages per book.
It takes him only 2-3 days to finish one book (after school until dinner time 😅)

He also reads random books on topics he likes....like book about Space or about Minecraft 😌

 

Or these Time for Kids X Why Z series which we got from Big Bad Wolf. He loves them. Not too many words and easy to read.

Shern on the other hand finished reading all of these books and is reading other books as well. He reads even more than Khye.

I’m really glad my kids love reading.
It really helps when they get to choose what they want to read.
What we can do is to buy/borrow books for them so the books are easily accessible to them.

What we do at home is no screentime on weekdays/school days.
They can do whatever they like after on schooldays after finishing their homework, as long as no screentime (which means no tv, computer or phone).

They can play with their toys or boardgames or draw/paint or even just laze around.
But more often they choose to read (when screentime is not allowed).
And once they started reading, they are very engrossed into their book....lost in their own little adventure.

It’s a good hobby and one I enjoyed most when I was a little girl. So I am glad I am passing this hobby of mine to my kids.
May they also love reading as much as I do even to adulthood!


P/s - This post is not to boast or anything.
But I hope this post can help some of you there to choose books for your little ones to encourage them to read (that is if your little ones love silly stories like Captain Underpants like my 2 boys 😬😌)

Khye's Kindy's Graduation & Concert 2018 Welcome Speech

Khye giving a Welcome Speech in his Grad & Concert 2018 - 29 Sep 2018

Khye had been chosen to give the Welcome Speech in his Kindy's Graduation and Concert 2018.

There were 3 student (4 because of twins) representative for the Welcome Speech.

One will be giving a speech in Bahasa Malaysia. And the twins will be giving a speech in Chinese.

As for Khye, his speech will be in English.

We were extremely proud parents to say the least.

Khye wrote the speech together with his headmistress, who guided him on the grammar and structure of his speech. 

I felt that it was a really great experience for Khye.

He learnt to write a speech, and then to memorize it and to practise it again and again.

He now understands what "Practise Makes Perfect" means. ;)

Khye's name in the Program sheet. 

Just 3 days before the concert day, Khye developed quite a bad cough. 

We brought him to see his paed and also let him rest at home. 

Luckily he was all well again and could attend his concert and graduation with a smiling face.

Khye spent 3 years in this Kindy and he obviously was looking forward to this and to enjoy the concert with his friends. 

And now time for his much practised speech.

I was so glad he was so brave enough to speak in front of a thousand audience.

Yes, you heard me right.

One THOUSAND audience consists of daddies, mummies, ah kongs, ah mas, geges, jie-jies, mei-meis, didis. Hahaha.

I love how gungho he was.

He told me his headmistress told him to "talk like a soldier", thus his serious face. Hahaha.

Here are some photos of him while giving his gungho speech.

 

 

Anyway, so proud of him.

And so I really need to blog this down so that I can just refer here to see how proud I was of my 6yo! :)

Vern's 3yo BABY SHARK Themed Birthday Party

Vern's 3yo BABY SHARK Birthday Party - 22 July 2018

As I now have 3 kids and 3 birthday parties to plan, I get more and more slack.

For this party, I planned and prepped the deco just a week before. *gulp*

And now the posting of the party. 3 mths late. *erm, sorry guys*

And also thanks to my dearest friend Josie for the jpg of the sharks. 

Made some cupcakes and food toppers and a frame, birthday cake topper, and the compulsary bunting. That was about all.

And last minute, I made the mini golden brown with the "3" for the birthday boy!

As for the awesome one-of-a-kind BABY SHARK Birthday Cake for Vern, click to read all about it.

And look at our ad-hoc Baby Shark Video Invitation. lol.

Prepping of the dessert table was on the morning itself, and we got everything ready by the time the guests started arriving at 12noon.

I always felt that the bunting (except the cake!) is the most important deco of the whole place. It sets the mood.  

A few closed up of the decos I made.

 

 

 

 

A dish broughy by one of the guest....our good friend Linda and Saiful. ;)

My kids' favourite food. 

One of our little family of 5.

3 of us. 

 

Birthday boy. 

 

Vern proudly showing that he is 3 years old with his fingers. 

 

The 3 brothers *brothers are forever*

With Ah Kong & Pho-pho

With Ah Kong & Ah-Ma

With gramps and Min-yee & Yee-Pho

With mummy & daddy included in it.

Min-yee wanted a photo with him alone.

With our very good friends Justin & family.

With our good friends Linda & Saiful & family. 

With the Mah-s.

With the Cheong-s kaufus and kaumous and yee-yees.

Singing of the birthday song.

A short clip of the birthday song.

Make a wish.
One. Two. Three. Blow.

Cake-cutting. 

Presents. :)

Thank you all for coming and thank you for the presents and angpows.

***Please click below to view their previous birthday party posts:

*Shern -
1st TRUCK themed Birthday Party
2nd Red and Blue TRAIN themed Birthday Party
3rd COLOURFUL themed Birthday Party
4th PIRATE themed Birthday Party - Part 1, Part 2
5th TRAIN themed Birthday Party - Part 1, Part 2
6th LEGO Themed Birthday Party
7th HOTWHEELS Themed Birthday Party
8th DONUT Themed Birthday Party
9th MOVIE themed Birthday Party


*Khye
Fullmon OWL themed Party
1st SUNSHINE themed Birthday Party
2nd MICKEY themed Birthday Party
3rd ALPHABET themed Birthday Party
4th Somewhere Over The RAINBOW themed Birthday Party
5th POPSICLE themed Birthday Party


*Vern 
1st KOALA themed Birthday Party
2nd SEA TURTLE themed Birthday Party
3rd BABY SHARK themed Birthday Party