Those who are Hotmail users have seen several changes that have occurred in this email domain over the years. For instance, the email account service was launched in the late nineties, a novel concept at a time when free web based email service was not known. It was made free to all and everyone could simply sign up for an account and access the same from any computer that had a working internet connection. This freed people from the shackles of internet service providers and depending on their service to access an email inbox.
At the time when Hotmail email service was launched, there was not much concern shown about the logging aspects. As a result the following aspects were evident:
- One could login in by creating a password that was convenient for them to remember, short or long and of any combination of alphabets or numerals.
- One could use the option to stay logged in to their account which came of convenience when one was using their personal computer.
- The ease of ad hoc password choices made it easy for computer hackers to get into Hotmail user accounts easily.
- It also led to widespread spam emails being circulated to different Hotmail accounts.
- Privacy and security of the accounts were compromised.
As a result of such concerns, when Hotmail was passed on to Microsoft, there were several changes and measures adopted to make Hotmail accounts more secure. For instance:
- Restrictions were imposed on selecting the right password for an account.
- Additional security questions were added whose answers had to be saved to be used in case one had to ask for password retrieval. This also required one to provide an alternate email address for retrieving lost passwords.
With the above steps passwords were made more stringent to access and accounts were made more secure.
Today, Hotmail has passed through several domain changes. From being a separate and dedicated domain, it was then made part of MSN offerings. It also became integrated under the live domain under which Microsoft integrated all its account services. Later Outlook was brought out as a web based email service, a change from the Windows based email service that Outlook had been over the years. Hotmail domain was integrated under the Outlook domain. Hence, whether one was an Outlook email user or a Hotmail email user, they could log on to the same portal to access their email.
The login steps for Hotmail users are as follows
- They can type in Hotmail.com, live.com or Outlook.com which will provide them the same access to a unified login portal.
- When the main page opens, one can get started by typing in their full Hotmail email address in the username section.
- The next page will prompt them to enter their password. There is also the option to get a security code sent as a text message to one’s registered phone number. This helps to bypass the requirement of keying in a password or remembering the same every time.
- One can choose to remain signed in by checking the appropriate box that is provided. This is a good practice if one uses a personal computer or laptop to access their email inbox.
The above steps specify the login procedure for Hotmail users. Those who have been using Hotmail for a long time will find that the new integrated Outlook domain offers new features in their Hotmail inbox such as:
- They can find the easy segregation feature for emails as well as tabs to access emails of different categories.
- There are different folders and sub folders that can be created and accessed on the left hand side panel of the email inbox.
- Social media account integration is a new and handy feature offered. One can connect their Hotmail account to social media accounts like Facebook and get updates directly to their inbox.
- Microsoft Office related documents, presentations and spreadsheets are easy to access in the new Hotmail inbox. Not only can you create new documents or spreadsheets, but also edit, share and work on such files directly in your inbox interface.
The login details of your Hotmail account have become the unified login details for all Microsoft services. One can access Skype, Xbox and other services with the same login details.
