hotmail
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Webmail Password Leaks Extend To Gmail, Yahoo
2:00AM Kevin Purdy | More than 10,000 Hotmail passwords were posted online yesterday, but users of other popular webmail services haven’t been let off the hook. A similar phishing attack exposed another 20,000 user/password combinations, so consider resetting your own login credentials. More »
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8:30AM Angus Kidman | While I suspect most Lifehacker readers long ago abandoned Hotmail for Gmail or other alternatives, lots of us probably still have an ageing Hotmail account lying around used for Windows Live services or IM. So the news that up to 100,000 passwords for Hotmail accounts have been exposed should be a cue to change the password on that account. More »
Hotmail Phishing Attack Exposes Thousands Of Passwords
8:30AM Angus Kidman | While I suspect most Lifehacker readers long ago abandoned Hotmail for Gmail or other alternatives, lots of us probably still have an ageing Hotmail account lying around used for Windows Live services or IM. So the news that up to 100,000 passwords for Hotmail accounts have been exposed should be a cue to change the password on that account. More »
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Gmail Makes Hotmail Switching Easier
10:30PM Kevin Purdy | Been looking to move a friend or relative to Gmail, but they complain the move from Hotmail or their ISP email would be painful? Let ‘em know Gmail now offers an easy switching tool. More »
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Windows Live For Windows Mobile Brings Hotmail, Messenger To Your Phone
12:00AM Kevin Purdy | If you’re a Windows Mobile user and linked into Hotmail or other Windows Live services, Microsoft has released an updated Windows Live app that’s going to make your mobile life a bit more streamlined. More »
Communicate
Use Hotmail From Your Gmail Account
2:00AM Lifehacker US Edition | Microsoft recently announced POP3 support for all Hotmail users, finally freeing your email to be used anywhere—even from the vastly superior Gmail. Over at the How-To Geek site (my other home), the Mysticgeek blog walks through the process of setting up Hotmail access using Gmail’s POP3 checking capability—including sending email using your Hotmail email address directly from Gmail. The setup process is fairly simple and nothing to new to most Lifehacker readers, but it’s a great guide to send to your less tech-savvy friends and relatives to help them consolidate their email into a single inbox. Hit the link for the full walk-through, then check out how to use Gmail’s multiple inboxes to manage multiple addresses, or you can always just use Gmail’s email switching tools. How to Send and Receive Hotmail from Your Gmail Account [Mysticgeek's Realm] More »
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Google Chrome Accesses Hotmail By Pretending It’s Safari
12:20PM Adam Pash | According to weblog Google Blogoscoped, Google Chrome is spoofing its user agent at Hotmail, Microsoft’s popular but much-maligned webmail application. Why? The issue was that Hotmail barred the competitor’s browser from entering by checking the user agent. Some sites do so, often without merit and a lot of backfiring, because they think certain browsers can’t cope with their HTML/JavaScript/stylesheets. Not the case with Chrome here, apparently, which now pretends it’s a Safari browser when encountering *.mail.live.com. If we weren’t the types who give folks the benefit of the doubt, we might suggest that Microsoft’s playing a touch dirty to fend off Google’s competing browser. Then again, as one Microsoft employee says, Hotmail services millions of users—and Chrome is used by such a small percentage of those users—that the bug will be addressed. It’s just not a high priority. Regardless, the Google, Microsoft, and Apple power struggle via Chrome, Hotmail, and Safari is a saucy one. More »
Communicate
9:00AM Angus Kidman | In the Gmail era, Hotmail might feel like a historic relic, but there are still millions of people (my mother included) using it, so it’s good news that Microsoft has finally opened up POP3 access to the service for Australian users (along with a bunch of other countries). While Microsoft’s announcement of the service emphasises using it for mobile phones, it’s a bigger boon for anyone who wants to access their Hotmail account via a PC client such as Outlook or Thunderbird. Microsoft previously charged for making Hotmail available on a PC via its Hotmail Plus service, so it’s good to see market economics prevailing. While Microsoft promotes its Connector software for accessing Hotmail via Outlook, I’ve found it too buggy to be useful, and plain old POP3 seems a better bet. One caveat: the setup requires using a secure connection (which is a good idea but one many home users ignore), so check through the settings guide carefully (note that the information about needing Hotmail Plus is now redundant). Thanks Jason More »
Microsoft Opens Up POP3 Hotmail Access In Australia
9:00AM Angus Kidman | In the Gmail era, Hotmail might feel like a historic relic, but there are still millions of people (my mother included) using it, so it’s good news that Microsoft has finally opened up POP3 access to the service for Australian users (along with a bunch of other countries). While Microsoft’s announcement of the service emphasises using it for mobile phones, it’s a bigger boon for anyone who wants to access their Hotmail account via a PC client such as Outlook or Thunderbird. Microsoft previously charged for making Hotmail available on a PC via its Hotmail Plus service, so it’s good to see market economics prevailing. While Microsoft promotes its Connector software for accessing Hotmail via Outlook, I’ve found it too buggy to be useful, and plain old POP3 seems a better bet. One caveat: the setup requires using a secure connection (which is a good idea but one many home users ignore), so check through the settings guide carefully (note that the information about needing Hotmail Plus is now redundant). Thanks Jason More »
Organise
4:30PM Angus Kidman | Windows only: Previously mentioned synching software Office Outlook Connector has shaken off its beta boots with a new release. Microsoft claims the new version offers greater stability and better synchronisation of mail and contacts, and now synchs exclusively with the Windows Live Calendar free service rather than the paid MSN Calendaring offering. I’m currently in the middle of an Outlook migration so haven’t installed 12.1. If you’ve given it a try, share your take in the comments. If you’ve been testing version 12.0, be sure to follow the slightly fiddly instructions provided by Microsoft to ensure your accounts stay synchronised. Office Outlook Connector is a free download for Windows only, requires Outlook 2003 or 2007.
Microsoft Office Outlook Connector 12.1 [via Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog]
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Office Outlook Connector Leaves Beta, Adds Windows Live Calendars
4:30PM Angus Kidman | Windows only: Previously mentioned synching software Office Outlook Connector has shaken off its beta boots with a new release. Microsoft claims the new version offers greater stability and better synchronisation of mail and contacts, and now synchs exclusively with the Windows Live Calendar free service rather than the paid MSN Calendaring offering. I’m currently in the middle of an Outlook migration so haven’t installed 12.1. If you’ve given it a try, share your take in the comments. If you’ve been testing version 12.0, be sure to follow the slightly fiddly instructions provided by Microsoft to ensure your accounts stay synchronised. Office Outlook Connector is a free download for Windows only, requires Outlook 2003 or 2007.
Microsoft Office Outlook Connector 12.1 [via Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog]
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Communicate
4:19PM Angus Kidman | In the age of Gmail, Microsoft’s Hotmail service has a distinct last-century vibe about it, but Microsoft is still trying to maintain its relevance. A promised list of upgrades announced today in a press release include integration with feed from other social networking, sharing and blogging sites (including Flickr, Twitter and Wordpress), and access to Gmail and other external accounts via Hotmail. The social networking options are also being added to Live Messenger, though it should be noted that the big three — Facebook, MySpace and Bebo — aren’t part of the deal. (A bunch of other Live features were also mentioned in the announcement, but most of these are already available as separate downloads.)
The new features are scheduled to be rolled out to Australian users between now and February 2009; they haven’t shown up in my Hotmail account as yet, and frankly I’m reluctant to reinstall Live Messenger while I’m on the road because of the hideous effect it has on system start-up times. But if you’ve seen the new-look Hotmail, tell us how it rolls in the comments. More »
Hotmail Plans Everything-But-Kitchen-Sink Upgrade For Aussie Users
4:19PM Angus Kidman | In the age of Gmail, Microsoft’s Hotmail service has a distinct last-century vibe about it, but Microsoft is still trying to maintain its relevance. A promised list of upgrades announced today in a press release include integration with feed from other social networking, sharing and blogging sites (including Flickr, Twitter and Wordpress), and access to Gmail and other external accounts via Hotmail. The social networking options are also being added to Live Messenger, though it should be noted that the big three — Facebook, MySpace and Bebo — aren’t part of the deal. (A bunch of other Live features were also mentioned in the announcement, but most of these are already available as separate downloads.)
The new features are scheduled to be rolled out to Australian users between now and February 2009; they haven’t shown up in my Hotmail account as yet, and frankly I’m reluctant to reinstall Live Messenger while I’m on the road because of the hideous effect it has on system start-up times. But if you’ve seen the new-look Hotmail, tell us how it rolls in the comments. More »
Fix
