Hotmail accounts 'posted online'

[demoleft]

Source: bbc

Thousands of Hotmail passwords have been hacked and posted online, BBC News has learnt.

Microsoft, which owns the popular web-based e-mail system, said that it was aware of the claims and that it was "investigating the situation".

BBC News has seen a list of more than 10,000 accounts, which technology blog Neowin.net said had been posted online.

The blog suggested the accounts had been hacked or had been collected as part of a phishing scheme.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8291268.stm

---

this is hateful, but as usually part of the risk when you go online.
"investigating the situation" - hope it gets to something effective.

[backtomn]

1. Watch what you say

Remember that your words are not always anonymous or private. People are trying to expose what you say. Be careful.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[demoleft]

4. welcome to DU - the place where if you're afraid of free speech...

...then you're wasting your time!

really, welcome here. :)

[Xipe Totec]

6. duplicate post - deleted n/t

[Soylent Brice]

3. karma for having a hotmail account. n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

5. Hotmail wasn't always owned my Microsoft

They were one of the first free web-based email services. I kept my account with them for a while, but now use gmail.

[Soylent Brice]

8. i'm just being a shithead. i don't know anyone who hasn't had a hotmail account

before, including myself.

i'm just cranky today.

[Grey]

22. Let me introduce my self.

I've never had a hotmail account. Nice to meet you bryce.

Grey

[Soylent Brice]

24. well alrighty then, Gray.

i guess mild and obvious exaggerations aren't allowed here.

have a lovely day.

[Xithras]

13. Many people have no choice.

One small example: Universities across the country have been outsourcing student email functions over the past 5-6 years. Both Google & MS have programs to capture that market, and the two companies today control the lions share of outsourced student email accounts.

At our college, everything from financial aid documentation to registration dates are sent out via email, and they are only sent to the campus account for FERPA reasons. The students are forced to use Windows Live, whether they want to or not.

Plus, you have all the XBox users, Office Online users, etc.

[ngant17]

16. my hotmail account has been so screwed up by Microsoft

that I don't even bother with it anymore. Several cross-linked email addresses are in a state of limbo, I can't get the passwords to reset, and it takes forever just to load their main page, I could just sit and read a book for an hour for it to even start to load or get anything done. Your typical Windoze app.

Anyone who asks for my email address and I know it's some kind of sales pitch or potential spam, they automatically get "hotmailed" so it remains forever in the dead letter file.

For all the other legitimate reasons, gmail and yahoo are my staple addresses these days. Gmail especially, it loads pretty quick.

[Speck Tater]

7. Another reason why the Internet will turn out to be just a passing fad. nt

[demoleft]

9. hmm, i'll stick to the internet and get all the risks it brings. it gives much in return. n/t

[Deja Q]

18. I agree.

After all, it's cheaper to get porn online... :D

[Quantess]

10. Oh yeah, like we'll all go back to television and newspapers.

Any day now, just watch.

[Speck Tater]

11. I was thinking town crier. Television's a fad too. Once the oil is gone, so's the electricity. nt

[Jazzgirl]

20. Definitely not a passing fad.

Wish all you want but it's been around for many years and people depend on it for information, banking, etc. Get used to it. The interface may change but the internet is here to stay.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. "Around 40% of people use the same password for every website they use, he added. "

Fair warning to anyone who does that: change your passwords from time to time, and from site to site.

[Occulus]

23. That isn't really a problem if you use a strong password.

Of course, more than one is still a good idea, but I'd like to see someone crack a password like "#rT^yBJ!%m", especially if it's shadowed (the .passwd file is itself encrypted).

Strong passwords aren't popular, though, because they are really hard to remember. It took me almost a week to memorize mine.

[Gormy Cuss]

26. You'll still have a problem if you use that password everywhere.

I agree though --'strong' passwords, ones that mix letters, numbers, and symbols -- are better than most people's standards, which tend to be things like the dog's name or the kid's birth date.

[sasquuatch55]

14. My account was hijacked by someone in the UK about a month and a half ago...

I live in NY. They emailed all my contacts saying I was in England and was robbed. They asked everyone for money of course. Fortunately the email was written moronically and all my contacts knew it wasn't me.

[onehandle]

15. Hotmail still exists? Still for trolls, spammers, and porn surfing I assume. nt

[AtheistCrusader]

17. Actually it's not bad now.

The spam was getting out of hand for a while, but I receive very little on that account now.

[qanda]

19. I love my hotmail account

I use it more than my google account or my yahoo account. I guess I better change the password now.

[bikebloke]

21. Had my account for so long

I've had my Hotmail account since the Internet was text only - before M$(at least it was in the Seattle library where I first had access). There have been times I've thought of abandoning it - like other accounts. But I've had it so long... :shrug:

[madrchsod]

25. people still use hotmail?

sucks to be them....