Question for the PC experts

[woodsieboy]

I have been locked out of my Hotmail e mail account for 48 hours,with Microsoft claimimg suspicious activity, when I try to reset it they ask me to enter the e mail account and password, then the last 4 numbers of my mobile to verufy it and they will send me a code, when I request code they say 'not working right now'
Is there a simple alternative to Microsoft please, that I can use with my existing e mail address

 

[Len W]

There are a lot of free email providers out there that you can use, but you won't be able to use them with your current hotmail address if you're unable to sign into hotmail. Make sure you're signing in via the main microsoft site, just in case you received a link from somewhere else as that may not be legit.
Microsoft say you can get help with signing in here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb...-account-475c9b5c-8c25-49f1-9c2d-c64b7072e735
That should walk you through the process of recovering it, as it's only been 48 hours the account will still be live and you should be able to get back into it if you still have access to the phone number you had on the account.
Other providers that offer a good (in some cases better) service include gmail and protonmail. Yahoo is a bit rubbish these days. Best of luck, hope you get it sorted soon!

 

[Woodentop]

As I said elsewhere earlier this week, gmail is good provided your version of whatever mail software you are using can handle 0Auth authentication. It certainly works well with Thunderbird.
Protonmail is also good and VERY secure but it has some idiosyncrasies. One of the most annoying is that if you delete a mail account either accidentally or deliberately you cannot reinstate that address and password until a full year has passed.
Proton also charge for system usage.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Not sure if you've made any progress with your problem but as it seems that you are being locked out of your account with Microsoft, using any other program - Email Client or Web Browser - to get access isn't going to help.

How do you currently access your email?

 

[woodsieboy]

Many thanks for both replies, sadly it seems I have learnt a harsh lesson, and been held captive by Microsoft.

I have used my existing gmail account to try and reset the Hotmail e mail, and despite filling in the on line form for MS they tell me they need more information including any passwords associated with the account for the last 20 years.
The biggest issue I have is that I do not have access to the email addresses of my contacts, and also no access to the archived e mails, surely there must be a way to access them?
So now seriously considering replacing PC with Chromebook as windows 10 will not be supported after October anyway, and setting up alternative g mail addresses for different parts of my life, eg banking, caravan, car, family etc, hopefully this information will help somebody else on here before MS decide to interfere in their lives.
Also the sheer frustration of dealing with what is clearly AI and them telling me that 'this sytem is not working right now' when it is them that have blocked my account and are unable to give a specific reason, quoting 'suspected' unauthorised activity, nakes me realise how stupid I have been to rely on them, perhaps think myself lucky it didn't happen last week when I was in France
I am done with Microsoft

 

[Sam Vimes]

I can understand your frustration.

Switching to something like a Gmail address isn't really going to be any better as you can still get locked out.

What's not clear is what caused you to be locked out in the first place. Presumably it was working one day then the next wasn't.

Some things to consider for the future.

Hind sight is always 20/20 and backups of your passwords - using a Password Manager for preference - and backing up locally things like contacts and other online data is really essential.

I'm not that familiar with Hotmail but understand that its really Outlook.com these days. When I set up my Outlook account there were options to include a secondary email address for recovery and also the ability to use an Authenticator App as well as my mobile phone number. This gives me at least three other ways to log in, in the event that one doesn't work.

As for archived emails, well, there are two methods of setting up email accounts. IMAP and POP.

With IMAP, which is promoted as the popular choice because it lets you access your email from differrent devices, the emails are held on the server of whoever handles your email.

With POP, emails are downloaded to the device on which you use to get your emails. At that point you can back them up locally.

As for choosing Microsoft, Google, Apple, BTInternet or similar organisations you will always be reliant on their service and find it hard to change to another supplier. This is one reason why I bought my own domain name for the serious stuff because it belongs only to me and I can choose from a number of service providers to handle the emails. Currently I use IONOS but could easily change to another provider and still retatain my existing email address.

In respect of Windows 10 I can't wait for the end of service to happen because I get frustrated by all the updates I don't need or want. It will still run and still be as secure - mostly these days its people who are the weak link in security.

Good luck with whatever route you take - but nothing is perfect.

 

[RogerL]

Microsoft does seem to be locking emails quite frequently these days - whether it's related to the number of phishing reports a user makes I don't know but I do report all spam emails.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Sam
Thank you for the input and suggestions, think I am going to go Chromebox, I already have a Chromebook, and that was still running Hotmail ok for a couple of days after the lockout on windows, so I assumed it would be OK, but then it lost access too.
Now resigned to using g mail and manually contacting the people I need to.

On a positive note I will get rid of historical or dormant contacts that I no longer need

I have always been happy with the Chromebook, and as you I found the constant updates with windows 10 annoying, interestingly I had just agreed to Windows new terms before the lockout, so not sure if it is a coincidence, but I would never know anyway.

I am not paticularly up to speed with computer tech, and use mine mainly for emails, and banking etc, business is taken care of by old offline computer

I do get frustrated by the assumption of Microsoft and the like that they know what is best for me, and would much prefer an opt in/out system for all the guff they keep sending, I use an ad blocker but even that is not 100% effective.
I guess i just need to console myself to not being their target audience along with phone and TV companies

I do have passwords backed up, and they seem OK also bookmarks are still there and available and the PC is synced to the Chromebook, so not as bad as it might have been.

 

[Hutch]

I have been using an AOL email address for well over 25 year with no problems, I also have a Hotmail address for back up and when at work in Nigeria a Yahoo Email address.
All were backups for recovery. Of each other.
I use an Android tablet for most stuff internet wise, I bought Mrs H a very good Chrome book, but she doesn't use it to it's full potential. She cannot get the idea that it's touch screen and a keypad/ mouse usage.
I have an old laptop that runs o Windows EP, or at least I think it still works.

 

[Buckman]

I have the Galaxy Book 4 which is a lot better than the cheapie Chromebook that I had for a couple fo months. I have an email address from Fastmail and have had it for the past +25 years. I pay about £12 a year and no issues. If there is an issue, you get to converse with a real live person. I do use a Gmail address for various forums so no skin off my nose if it gets blocked for whatever reason.

 

[Guzzilazz]

This isn't really an email problem, it's exacerbated by your Hotmail account likely being hijacked. It's taken me a few years (from a background of a senior role in IT) to realise how important Two Factor Authentication (2FA). Sending codes to your mobile phone or using an Authenticator app to access such codes is vital. If someone tries to access your account you will get a message via the phone (either text or authenticator app). That means you can prevent the login and stop them changing your password. For example, if someone tries to access my Hotmail account, I will get a message offering me 3 numbers or deny access. If it's me I will tap the number and I'm in, if it's not, I will deny and then go into the account and change my password.

One of the tools to support all this is good security software and a Password Management tool. I've just generated a password from the tool... 9zZ&@9r@#IPl76VG. Difficult to hack, and stored under 256bit key encryption. The PW for the tool is a long complex phrase with characters changed to numbers etc. E.g. MyC4r4van!54B4!leyC4br3r4 or... MyCaravanisaBaileyCabrera

 

[otherclive]

This isn't really an email problem, it's exacerbated by your Hotmail account likely being hijacked. It's taken me a few years (from a background of a senior role in IT) to realise how important Two Factor Authentication (2FA). Sending codes to your mobile phone or using an Authenticator app to access such codes is vital. If someone tries to access your account you will get a message via the phone (either text or authenticator app). That means you can prevent the login and stop them changing your password. For example, if someone tries to access my Hotmail account, I will get a message offering me 3 numbers or deny access. If it's me I will tap the number and I'm in, if it's not, I will deny and then go into the account and change my password.

One of the tools to support all this is good security software and a Password Management tool. I've just generated a password from the tool... 9zZ&@9r@#IPl76VG. Difficult to hack, and stored under 256bit key encryption. The PW for the tool is a long complex phrase with characters changed to numbers etc. E.g. MyC4r4van!54B4!leyC4br3r4 or... MyCaravanisaBaileyCabrera

What do you need to access your long complex password on the penultimate line which then gets you in to the password manager?

 

[Sam Vimes]

Memory 😁

Three memorable words separated by a symbol is an affective password and hard to crack.

These days passwords are not so much cracked as stolen in which case it doesn't matter how complex they are.

An important fact is not to use the same password across multiple services and if impossible even have different usernames.

If one gets into the wrong hands then only one service will be compromised.

Getting deeper into security Passkeys are now being used on some services, which are not stored by the service provider so can't be stolen as they're not stored and can't be intercepted.

 

[woodsieboy]

So this morning I tried again to recover my Hotmail, stil no joy, and something more complicated must be going on at MS as when I entered password, which was correct, MS said incorrect password.
As I needed to send some e mails I switched to gmail. which seems to be working fine on my existing desk top via chrome.
So for now I am living dangerously, rebuilding my e mail contact list by text and phone, and if I can continue using the existing windows 10 desktop as in effect a Chromebook, I can wait until it all settles down and then look to replace it.
Many thanks for all the help and support from those who contributed, it is much appreciated, and confirms once again how useful and helpful this forum can be

 

[Sam Vimes]

You seem to be going forward and I suspect this is an obvious suggestion but did you actually see what you were entering for your password.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Sam
Yes I saw the password and it was exactly as it should have been, now moving forward as you say, just getting used to using gmail, I am hopeful by this time next week I will have manged to reconnect with the people I need to, bound to miss some incomig emails, probably the premium bond win!