Microsoft may have just dropped the last straw

G

GoodEnuff

Senior Member
I use Microsoft's Hotmail for my email. This morning, when logging in to it, the login procedure had changed. Instead of using a password, you now must solve a puzzle (I hate those things), give the last four digits of your phone number, a code is texted to your phone, you enter the code and are finally signed in. PITA! No notice was sent about this change. It just happened. Did a search for this and they have also established a default that you will remain logged in unless you manually log out.

I have also noticed that so much of what one sees when doing a search on something that so much is just a way to sell you something. The news is so crazy, what do you believe? Did we bomb that Iranian school or was it an Iranian screw up? Was the refueling plane shot down or did it crash for some other reason? The list is long.

I am this close to quitting the internet, email, etc., altogether. Except maybe SF, lol.
 
I switched away from MS Outlook because of the nonstop glitches. Known issues would go for months, sometimes the best bet was someone would figure out a workaround.
I'm using Thunderbird now, it's free and it's good. It has it's own idiosyncrasies but working with Copilot I now have it working quite nicely.
 
GoodEnuff said:
I use Microsoft's Hotmail for my email. This morning, when logging in to it, the login procedure had changed. Instead of using a password, you now must solve a puzzle (I hate those things), give the last four digits of your phone number, a code is texted to your phone, you enter the code and are finally signed in. PITA! No notice was sent about this change. It just happened. Did a search for this and they have also established a default that you will remain logged in unless you manually log out.
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Hmmmm... I have not had to do any of that.

yet.

Hotmail is my throwaway email. It is not used for shooping other for important things. Just on those occasions when you HAVE to enter an email to do something.
 
GoodEnuff said:
you will remain logged in unless you manually log out.
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That's what I do - I just never log out. Sometimes, I get a notice to start using a passkey, but I select cancel. As long as I do that, and I stay logged in, it's working okay. That could change, because I had a host of problems with it back when I was logging in and out. This is a big concern with me because Hotmail is tied to my SSA account.
 
I've had a Hotmail account since 1996. Never any seriously annoying issues yet. I do remain signed in at all times both on my phone and my laptop.

The phone used to sign me out on occasion but signing back in was the usual email address and password.

I never heard of the steps that are described in the OP.

I have two factor authentication on my bank account where they automatically call me with a 6 digit code to sign in.

So I wonder if having Two factor Auth. on your Hotmail would simplify things relative to solving puzzles???
 
mixed metaphors is what drew my attention... j/s.

Regardless of all that... I agree that many of the recent changes in "Logins" that
I've seen for several different accounts is changing and they all seem to be a PITA!

I can only surmise that it's being done industry-wide because there's some threat
that all these organizations are aware of... threats that demand the organization to
cover their collective backsides.
but IDK...
 
Ted01 said:
mixed metaphors is what drew my attention... j/s.
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Same-same.

As for mail managing, I use Thunderbird on my desktop and Outlook on my laptop. Both have issues when it comes to Microsoft emails, but I've had those addresses for so long that I'm loath to give them up.
I soldier through as best I can.

Generally speaking, I have no problem with secondary verification or authentication processes, but do find the "click on the crosswalks in these pictures" game a little tedious.
 
OldFeller said:
I wonder if having Two factor Auth. on your Hotmail would simplify things relative to solving puzzles???
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On my Hotmail, they arbitrarily use two factor authorization, even though I tried to opt out in settings. If and when I have occasionally logged out, I could not get back in without them requiring me to enter a 6 digit code they texted me.

I don't get it why email providers have suddenly become so focused on our security. If I am willing to simply log in with a password, and somehow that puts me at risk, the risk should be all my own choosing, therefore of no concern to them, unless they fear they could be sued for it - and that may be the issue.
 
Honestly, I get the frustration here. It feels like everything is getting more complicated for “security,” but no one really explains it beforehand. That login flow with puzzles and codes would annoy me too, especially out of nowhere
 
It appears that passkeys are the next big revolution in online security, the shiny new thing that will change our lives. I looked into it, but the setup instructions may as well have been written in Latin. So, I backed away slowly before I accidentally locked myself out of every important account I own. Moreover, not many sites are set up to accept passkeys yet. At this point, I’m just hoping to find a site that explains the whole thing to me with the patience and clarity normally reserved for a particularly distractible six‑year‑old.
 
Nathan said:
About "passkeys": seems to be be some kind of fad in the IT world. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Someone please tell me- how is a 4 or 6 digit passkey more secure than a pass-phase(password) that has numbers, letters and special characters(!@#$%&*-)...View attachment 495120
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Not sure I believe this from CoPilot ...

Bottom line​

Microsoft didn’t downgrade security — they changed the model.

  • Password = travels over the internet, can be phished
  • PIN = stays on the device, protected by TPM, lockout enforced
If you want maximum security, you can absolutely switch to:

  • A 6‑digit or 10‑digit PIN
  • An alphanumeric PIN
  • Windows Hello with biometrics
  • Device encryption
 
OldFeller said:
I've had a Hotmail account since 1996. Never any seriously annoying issues yet. I do remain signed in at all times both on my phone and my laptop.

The phone used to sign me out on occasion but signing back in was the usual email address and password.

I never heard of the steps that are described in the OP.

I have two factor authentication on my bank account where they automatically call me with a 6 digit code to sign in.

So I wonder if having Two factor Auth. on your Hotmail would simplify things relative to solving puzzles???
Click to expand...
i have two factor authentication and i don't gotta go through all that either.
 
Lawrence00 said:
Not sure I believe this from CoPilot ...

Bottom line​

Microsoft didn’t downgrade security — they changed the model.

  • Password = travels over the internet, can be phished
  • PIN = stays on the device, protected by TPM, lockout enforced
Click to expand...
The part in red I understand, but do you, or does anyone know how one can log in to their account if the device fails, is dropped and broken, etc., and has to be replaced with a new device? It's unlikely we will keep the same device indefinitely.
 
GoodEnuff said:
I am this close to quitting the internet, email, etc., altogether. Except maybe SF, lol.
Click to expand...
Technology and the twenty-first century have passed me by. We are currently in the throws of a house move, the legal people for our house buyer sent a questionaire which was mostly answered by our own legal eagles, but there were five questions that I had to answer.

The writing pad, fountain pen and ink all came out. The questions answered, I photocopied my reply to give our sales agent a copy. My wife called into the agent's office with the reply. "Did he e-mail it?" she was asked. "Don't be silly," my wife replied, adding it's gone by Royal Mail. The agent smiled and said: "Beautiful handwriting though." Returning the smile my wife commented, "You won't believe how many times his handwriting has opened a closed door."
 
MACKTEXAS said:
The part in red I understand, but do you, or does anyone know how one can log in to their account if the device fails, is dropped and broken, etc., and has to be replaced with a new device? It's unlikely we will keep the same device indefinitely.
Click to expand...
Looks like the Microsoft "Account" saves us

1000016035.jpg
 
MarciKS said:
i frankly think that's bs. but regardless if they're using ai to steal passwords it won't matter.
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Well I think there's a lot of BS out there, when it comes to IT security. These companies would have the user believe that the weak link in security is at the user / device level. The reality is, is that users personal data is compromised in large scale data breaches, where proper security(database encryption, for one) has not been invested in.
 
Nathan said:
Well I think there's a lot of BS out there, when it comes to IT security. These companies would have the user believe that the weak link in security is at the user / device level. The reality is, is that users personal data is compromised in large scale data breaches, where proper security(database encryption, for one) has not been invested in.
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yup. i've had one incident i caused myself. the rest have all been caused by data breaches from OTHER websites from other entities.
 
Artemis II astronauts are having trouble with their Microsoft products...

Shortly after the Artemis II launch on April 1, 2026, Mission Commander Reid Wiseman reported a relatable tech glitch: he had "two Microsoft Outlooks" on his device, and neither of them were working. :ROFLMAO:​
​
The Resolution: Ground engineers at NASA's Mission Control in Houston were able to remotely connect to the tablet to troubleshoot the Optimus software and successfully get Outlook running again.​

That's pretty amazing. Customer support people on earth were able to remotely connect to the computer in outer space!

NASA’s "Help Desk" is next-level. Since the Microsoft Surface Pro tablets are connected to the spacecraft's local Wi-Fi, Mission Control in Houston can "remote in" just like an IT person on Earth would—only the signal has to travel through a network of massive satellite dishes (the Deep Space Network) to reach them.​
 
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