Microsoft Outlook.Com: A Getting-Started Guide

PCWorld - Hotmail users and newbies are flocking in droves to Outlook.com, Microsoft’s latest Webmail overhaul that will eventually replace Hotmail. Less than 24 hours after Microsoft rolled out Outlook.com, one million people were already using the service, according to an official tweet from Microsoft. The new Outlook continues Microsoft’s overhaul of all its Web properties to the new touch-centric Metro feel -- the same look that’s coming to the Windows 8 Start Screen and is already on Windows Phone.

[RELATED: Analysts: At First Pass, Outlook.com Looks Underwhelming]

Launched in 1996, and bought by Microsoft in 1997, Hotmail was one of the earliest free Webmail services and became the first e-mail address for millions of people, perhaps rivaled only by AOL Mail. But what was once new and exciting in the late 1990s became stagnant and less innovative by the early 2000s. Around 2004, Google’s Gmail was the hot new e-mail service, while Hotmail appeared dated. That lack of trendiness, however, did not cause Hotmail to bleed users. In fact, it was only recently that Gmail finally surpassed Hotmail, reaching 425 million active users in June, while Hotmail’s last reported user base hovered around 360 million.

Microsoft’s Outlook.com overhaul comes just in time to help Hotmail/Outlook try to regain its position as the world’s top Webmail service. It’s not clear when Hotmail will be completely absorbed into the new Outlook.com, so longtime Hotmail users resistant to change can stick with the older Webmail service for now.

But if you’re interested in getting started with Outlook.com today, here’s what you need to know whether you’re a Hotmail veteran or new to Microsoft Webmail.



If you already have a Hotmail address or Microsoft account, just sign in to Outlook.com using your current credentials and you will automatically switch over to the new look. New users can also sign up for an account at the Outlook.com start page.

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Metro-style Hotmail turns up in leaked screenshots

Engadget - It certainly wouldn't come as much of a surprise that Microsoft would finally bring Hotmail into the Metro fold, but until now we haven't had much evidence that such a change was actually in the works. If a set of leaked screenshots obtained by WinFuture are any indication, however, it looks like the nearly sixteen-year-old email service could soon be getting one of its biggest redesigns to date.   

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Hotmail Forcing Stronger Passwords

PCMag.Com - Attention Hotmail users: if your Hotmail password is "123456," it won't be for much longer.

Microsoft said Thursday that the company has added a pair of security features designed to cut down on the number of people whose accounts have been hacked, or who could be compromised in the future. The first, known as "My friend has been hacked!", has already rolled out; the second, a feature to ban common passwords, will arrive soon.

Recognizing that a friend was hacked is something that users can somewhat easily do, but machines may have a more difficult time. Generally, when an account is hijacked, it is either used for spam or to solicit money through a social engineering scheme. A suspicious user may call the friend to double-check. If a hack is discovered, the frind must then begin a process to take back his or her account.

The new program helps prevent that malicious account from poisoning others, and can also help facilitate the takeback process.

"When you report that your friend's account has been compromised, Hotmail takes that report and combines it with the other information from the compromise detection engine to determine if the account in question has in fact been hijacked," Dick Craddock, the group program manager for Hotmail, wrote in a blog post. "It turns out that the report that comes from you can be one of the strongest 'signals' to the detection engine, since you may be the first to notice the compromise. So, when you help out this way, it makes a big difference!"    More