Hotmail security panic

[henry_crun]

Hotmail have told me to enter a security code within five days. Trouble is they will only send this code to my alternate email, which is so old it has died.

Result - my hotmail will die, and with it all my contacts.

I'm busy downloading all my secure information and addresses, and asking people to bill me by snail mail until I'm sorted.

Trouble is, some accounts are crosslinked to my hotmail account and they will require me to receive security via that soon-to-be defunct route.

Part of me simply wants to give up all on-line life. The other part says wait and slowly rebuild everything based on new accounts.

Oh dearie dearie me.

[TWT]

Henry,same happened to me recently.

They spotted I was in a different country,unusual IP address and that set the alarm bells ringing.They sent the code to an alternate email account I had set up.Took me ages to remember my password for that rarely used account.

If you are travelling you might have to get a trusted person to log into your account from your usual location and look up the alternate account details or change the alternate to another one you set up now

[henry_crun]

Okaaay - I've set up a completely new outlook dot com email account and have been through my 'official' contacts like googoo, paypeeps and orinoco to change my mail address. They all wanted verification via new email and even via phone.

The outlook email gave me a 'welcome' as one of the very first to change, so be aware you guys, it's gonna happen to you soon, be ready and waiting with everything sussed in advance!

[dazdaz1]

Same happened to me about April this year. Can't remember the wording of the pop up window, it seemed to be from msn/hotmail but it was to the effect, is this other email addy attributed to your Orange mail account?

I was given a four digit code to enter after logging in to my hotmail/msn account. After thinking a little Umm I changed my hotmail password. I've noticed no anomalies, nor from friends receiving 'funny' mails from me Originally, I thought it might facebook doing some 'mine sweeping'

Daz

[Keef]

Several friends of mine have had similar problems. Hotmail seems to have been hacked in some deep and mysterious way.

Gmail remains fine, so far.

I use my own domain, which avoids all these problems, for the grand total sum of £4 a year.

[Booglebox]

I use a hosted Exchange provider that is usually used by large businesses. Not cheap at 10 quid / month but fantastic support - for example I can change my password over the phone.

[reynoldsno1]

This has happened to me a number of times with Hotmail - apparently it is of huge concern to them that someone might access an internet based email system from a variety of countries. My account was originally set up in the US, which, of course, is where Microsoft's universe begins and ends. I sorted it out whilst overseas (not the US) and then returned to my home country (not the US), whereupon I received the same hysterical security response all over again.

The only threat to my Hotmail account is, apparently, Microsoft itself.

[occasional]

This "security" is so poorly designed that it looks much more like an attempt to spy on people who move from one country to another, rather than anything to do with protecting accounts.

[OFSO]

Threat is real. Friends with hotmail were hacked this morning. Whether they had bothered to take action when advised last week is doubtful.

[occasional]

advised last week ???

[BOAC]

See post 1?

Hotmail have told me to enter a security code within five days.

- 25/7/2014

[SpringHeeledJack]

One is presently away from the home router and, of course, good old (free) hotmail has decided again to need authorisation as 'you appear to be using a different location etc etc…' and like the OP my alternate address is sadly another hotmail address which (surprise, surprise) is also unavailable due to the security concerns…. Maybe the gods are telling me to leave the comfort of Microsoft's offerings and to go forth. It's very frustrating.



SHJ