Moderators Dragos Posted September 29, 2010 Moderators Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 Microsoft on Monday added new security features to its Windows Live Hotmail Web mail service to help users regain control of hijacked accounts.Citing a trend of spammers seizing legitimate accounts, Microsoft said it was kicking off new techniques to sniff out compromised Hotmail accounts, as well as giving users more ways to reclaim inboxes snatched by criminals.Microsoft first touted the features last May , before it rolled out a massive Hotmail upgrade.Rather than rely on an alternate e-mail address and a single secret question-answer pair for resetting an account password, Hotmail now lets a user set one or more "trusted PCs" or a mobile phone as proof that she is the real owner of the account, said Dan Lewis, a senior product manager with the Hotmail team."On other services, if a spammer has [an account's] password, he can change the [password reset] proofs," said Lewis. "But recognizing that more accounts are being targeted for comprising, we're not going on the assumption that you only need one proof to reset the password."In one of the most famous abuses of a password reset feature, University of Tennessee student David C. Kernell got control of the Yahoo Mail account of former Gov. Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential election by answering a single security question .Kernell was later convicted on a federal felony charge and a federal misdemeanor charge.Instead, Hotmail users can now tag multiple PCs -- Lewis wasn't sure of how many, only that more than one was possible -- as a proof. Users locked out of their account by a hijacker can regain control simply by logging in from one of the previously-set trusted machines.To use a PC as proof, users must have installed Windows Live Essentials , a suite of for-free applications Microsoft offers for download.Users can also enter a mobile number as another proof. That phone will then receive an unlocking code via a text message when the user asks for a password reset."People will always be able to get their account back," said Lewis. "Spammers are not going to be able to hack into their cell phone or their trusted PC."With those proofs in place, more users will be able to reset their passwords without help from Microsoft support. "Medium-term, people will have a better self-service recovery path," Lewis said.Microsoft boosts Hotmail password reset security | ITworld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flubber Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 [...] "People will always be able to get their account back," said Lewis. "Spammers are not going to be able to hack into their cell phone or their trusted PC." [...]Cele mai stupide cuvinte care le-am citit vreodata in viata mea!Iar pe langa asta, spammerii nu fac hack-uri ci phishing! In special inginerie sociala. Tu fiind cel ce vorbeste pentru Microsoft, automat ii si, infatisezi imaginea, cum sa spui asemenea prostii? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Dragos Posted September 29, 2010 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 (edited) Cele mai stupide cuvinte care le-am citit vreodata in viata mea!Iar pe langa asta, spammerii nu fac hack-uri ci phishing! In special inginerie sociala. Tu fiind cel ce vorbeste pentru Microsoft, automat ii si, infatisezi imaginea, cum sa spui asemenea prostii?Este un motiv in plus pentru a nu (mai) folosi produsele Microsoft. Edited September 29, 2010 by Dragos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
