Live/Hotmail Confusion.

[ringway]

I have an AOL account (they are bad) from years ago that still occasionally receives mail. I only check the account when I can remember to do so and yesterday I found an important work related email in there from a client that has only ever used my Yahoo account. He just selected the wrong address - fair enough.

I had a look around and discovered that a live (hotmail) account would manage my emails from Yahoo and AOL - Yay!

However, after registering both accounts with the live account I'm not sure I like the set up and also when I returned to my Yahoo account all of my emails are marked as being read (not highlighted). Nightmare!

I have tried to unregister both accounts from the Live/Hotmail account but cannot find a facility to do this.

Am I missing something? Does anyone prefer Live/Hotmail to Yahoo?

Any help gratefully received.

 

[Spinal]

Microsoft live all the way for me... especially since they have it working with Outlook...

Now I need to run only 2 bits of software to check all my email accounts ... FirstClass and Outlook!

M.

 

[ringway]

Never quite got the hang of outlook although it looks the part. Everytime I have tried to use it I get a message saying something like "you don't have an account" or something like that.

I run the my whole set up on office (access is the key thing for me, and I like it) so I suppose I should try harder to get in to outlook.

 

[Spinal]

I wasn't a large outlook user until I found out it handled all my mobile phone contacts as well as those on the PC... and it allows me to send TXT messages... oh yeah, and the calendar feature that sync's with the mobile is VERY well designed...

Overall its a very comprehensive package...

 

[ringway]

I must look into this.

 

[Phil Thomas]

I must look into this.

Last time I raided a trader in Swaziland, I found I could read all his emails via Outlook without passwords. As they gave all the details of the faked invoices, that was not good news for him. Fine if you've nothing to hide. It was 6 years ago, so things may have changed.

 

[ringway]

Last time I raided a trader in Swaziland, I found I could read all his emails via Outlook without passwords. As they gave all the details of the faked invoices, that was not good news for him. Fine if you've nothing to hide. It was 6 years ago, so things may have changed.

Phil, did you need any special tools/software to do this?

I know that when someone is investigated for tax evasion and the like that even keystrokes can be traced if need be.

I have nothing to hide, just interested in that sort of thing.

 

[Spinal]

If you get hold of someone's machine... there isn't much they can do!

Nowadays, even PGP is "crackable" within a reasonable amount of time with a few graphics cards...

Frankly, if you are able to physically gain access to the machine - all bets are off in my book...

M.

 

[columb]

Try gmail.

Cheers
Chris

 

[stevesey]

Phil, did you need any special tools/software to do this?

No need? Sound's Phil was left and the PC to do some work so could just open Outlook and read the mails. Outlook is secured at the user level so it you leave you PC logged, not locked and unattended you are asking for trouble. Even then default user setup tends to be as local admin - so you can read other people files on the same PC no problem.

Walked into our sales department the other day to find they were all in a meeting and one of them had left his PCs unlocked - so tempting to send an e-mail inviting the whole company out for a beer, "out" them, or asking people to sponsor them having half their head shaved for cancer research.

 

[Phil Thomas]

Phil, did you need any special tools/software to do this?

I know that when someone is investigated for tax evasion and the like that even keystrokes can be traced if need be.

I have nothing to hide, just interested in that sort of thing.

It was a PC. I looked at the bonfire of books in the grounds, then just switched on the computer as being a better bet. Outlook came up, et voila!

I did get a techie to have a look at the hard drive, but but nothing else. (I since got hold of a proramme that will 'rescue' files, but that is not infallible: if the file has been written over it is highly tricky. If not.......).

 

[Phil Thomas]

If you get hold of someone's machine... there isn't much they can do!

Nowadays, even PGP is "crackable" within a reasonable amount of time with a few graphics cards...

Frankly, if you are able to physically gain access to the machine - all bets are off in my book...

M.

Yup.

 

[Phil Thomas]

No need? Sound's Phil was left and the PC to do some work so could just open Outlook and read the mails. Outlook is secured at the user level so it you leave you PC logged, not locked and unattended you are asking for trouble. Even then default user setup tends to be as local admin - so you can read other people files on the same PC no problem.

Walked into our sales department the other day to find they were all in a meeting and one of them had left his PCs unlocked - so tempting to send an e-mail inviting the whole company out for a beer, "out" them, or asking people to sponsor them having half their head shaved for cancer research.

Not quite so sneaky! I simply seized the machine as evidence. It was not password protected, as so many are not. But then there are people who can help you download 'forgotten' passwords. Google something like 'find lost passwords' and take your pick.

Your colleague should be disciplined: no excuses. I have seen the same in other countries using electronic Customs Entry systems, and the potential for misuse is considerable. For example a corrupt colleague can use your name to defraud the revenue, leaving you to carry the can if it is detected. I have seen a grown man cry over that. It is akin to leaving your keys in the car: a determined and skilful thief will get in anyway, but most people won't.

Even major government installations can be vulnerable, often needing a coincidence to let things go wrong. However the activities of hackers show what can be done to even highly classified systems.

Suppose you had sent a large but unjustified invoice to a major client? You could have lost them a customer. Or made them a profit!

Still, even if you make your systems watertight, the opposition will do something else. Like drive a stolen military vehicle through your perimeter fence with thugs armed to the teeth. Something to think about when you fly out of an airport where the country exports gold, diamonds, coltan or whatever. It usually goes by air. Or the passenger beside you might have 4 million dollars worth of diamonds in his pocket. If a baddy knows that you could get caught up in something nasty.

One last thing. I PW protected my laptop, of which I am the administrator. I then set up a guest account for my wife to use it whilst we were abroad. I neglected to PW protect it. Someone else then used this to set themselves up with an administrator account and for gaming purposes set the laptop to broadcast that the laptop was online, my account included! I began to get weird messagers from people I had never heard of. And so on.