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First-time setup questions

Started by Carnivore, April 07, 2016, 02:11:57 PM

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Carnivore

Quote from: chilirock on April 09, 2016, 09:44:10 AM
Quote from: Carnivore on April 08, 2016, 01:30:30 PM
Thanks for the additional info, chilirock. May I ask why you wanted to keep your Gmail and home phone number separate, in case there's some downside I didn't think of?

I just did not feel comfortable using my primary Gmail account on the ObiTalk portal incase there was some vulnerability or potential to hack that account through the Obi unit or the Obi portal. I treat my primary email account as gold and don't want to use or post those credentials anywhere outside my control. Maybe just overly cautious, but by using a secondary account if it gets hacked, they'll only have my phone-only account info, not phone and my primary email.

That makes good security sense, but I don't think that would work for me because I frequently use GV to make long distance calls from my Android cell phone. I also use Gmail, Hangouts and other Google services on my Android phone, and all of those services are tied to the same login as part of its Google ecosystem. I don't even know if it's possible to use a secondary Google account on an Android phone for GV calls due its tight integration with your main account, so I'll probably port my home number to my primary Gmail account to avoid complications.

I haven't looked into the potential for vulnerabilities/hacks with Obi. Is this something that has already been exploited?

restamp


SteveInWA

Quote from: Carnivore on April 09, 2016, 10:54:22 AM
Quote from: chilirock on April 09, 2016, 09:44:10 AM
Quote from: Carnivore on April 08, 2016, 01:30:30 PM
Thanks for the additional info, chilirock. May I ask why you wanted to keep your Gmail and home phone number separate, in case there's some downside I didn't think of?

I just did not feel comfortable using my primary Gmail account on the ObiTalk portal incase there was some vulnerability or potential to hack that account through the Obi unit or the Obi portal. I treat my primary email account as gold and don't want to use or post those credentials anywhere outside my control. Maybe just overly cautious, but by using a secondary account if it gets hacked, they'll only have my phone-only account info, not phone and my primary email.

That makes good security sense, but I don't think that would work for me because I frequently use GV to make long distance calls from my Android cell phone. I also use Gmail, Hangouts and other Google services on my Android phone, and all of those services are tied to the same login as part of its Google ecosystem. I don't even know if it's possible to use a secondary Google account on an Android phone for GV calls due its tight integration with your main account, so I'll probably port my home number to my primary Gmail account to avoid complications.

I haven't looked into the potential for vulnerabilities/hacks with Obi. Is this something that has already been exploited?

There is no way to "hack" into your Gmail or other services as a consequence of using an OBi device.  The original method used by OBi devices to access your Google account stored your Google user ID and password on the device.  This method was replaced by using OAUTH 2.0 authentication.  The account password is no longer stored on the device.  Instead, a secure token exchange procedure grants access, with your explicit permission, to only certain services, such as Chat and Contacts.

Just set up the device according to Taoman's excellent description.

chilirock

Quote from: Carnivore on April 08, 2016, 01:30:30 PM
I also use Gmail, Hangouts and other Google services on my Android phone, and all of those services are tied to the same login as part of its Google ecosystem. I don't even know if it's possible to use a secondary Google account on an Android phone for GV calls due its tight integration with your main account

It is possible to use multiple accounts simultaneously on an Android and iOS devices. I use an iPhone with Hangouts and GV with multiple Google accounts (my ported home GV number + my personal GV number).

Within Hangouts, it's simple to switch between accounts for texting or calling. Incoming calls and texts work for all signed in accounts. You can also do this on Android, both my son and daughter have Android devices and use Hangouts with GV for texting and calling.

Carnivore

I see that it's possible to transfer an existing Google Voice number to another Gmail account. 

If you do that, can you then create a new GV number on the first account?  Or does Google charge a fee, the same as if you did a straightforward number change on the first account?




SteveInWA

Quote from: Carnivore on April 10, 2016, 11:40:03 AM
I see that it's possible to transfer an existing Google Voice number to another Gmail account. 

If you do that, can you then create a new GV number on the first account?  Or does Google charge a fee, the same as if you did a straightforward number change on the first account?

If you successfully transfer a Google Voice number from existing account "A" to empty (no previous number) account "B", then yes, you can request a new number for account "A", but you will need to submit a new forwarding number, that has not been previously used to claim a Google Voice number.  Again, this is an anti-abuse measure, to prevent scammers from grabbing multiple numbers from Google.