Laura UnBound wrote:

Hes old and pretty much computer illiterate.

One of the best decisions I ever made was to stop trying to provide IT support to my parents. My dad half understands computers, but his knowledge is comprised of random computer facts, some of which date back to the Apple IIc, and none of which are relevant anymore. Fortunately both parents have move to Apple, which is best for them.

Chuckarelei wrote:
They said someone has hacked my account. Told me to fill out a bunch of forms to recover/reset my account. Then they came back and told me that info I provided was not good enough to verify I am the rightful account owner. Now they told me to sign up for a new account.

Darn it all!  My free e-mail account is locked because of security reasons, and I can't prove that I am the rightful owner. 

Geez.  What, exactly, do you want?  Do you want Microsoft to pay you?  Do you want less security on your e-mail account?

AdelaideJohn1967 wrote:
What about US semiconductor companies on the cheap making chips in china only the chinese add malware to the chips, especially defense contractors?

I think he has some extra ones.

Robb Mann wrote:
Fortunately both parents have move to Apple, which is best for them.

every computer illiterate (not calling your parents that) should have an apple. that's who they're made for.

WIP wrote:
As a 'Working photographer' from which I assume you're a professional photographer why are you using hotmail !

Because Hotmail seemed to be more stable at the time. With my broadband service, I had TCI, then it was sold to @home. They promised they wouldn't change a thing. NOT! later they changed it to AT&T. So I had my email domain changed couple times, not a way for business. Hotmail seemed there was no reason to be changed (which is wrong now, as Microsucks is trying to get everyone change to Outlook).

By the way, the @at&t.com I mention above. Now it is @comcast.com. I won't be surprised that it may get changed to @xfinity.com later down the road.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
Darn it all!  My free e-mail account is locked because of security reasons, and I can't prove that I am the rightful owner. 
Geez.  What, exactly, do you want?  Do you want Microsoft to pay you?  Do you want less security on your e-mail account?

I have proved that I am the rightful owner. I am pissed that they just have a automatic robot reply which I have no way of communicating with them.

What security? If I the right owner can't get access. then the so called security is not security.

By the way, have you not complained about Mayhem? What do you expect? it's a free service to you. ???

GK photo wrote:

every computer illiterate (not calling your parents that) should have an apple. that's who they're made for.

You're like the bizarro world WFP.  It's kinda cute what a nice pair you two make.

Looknsee Photography wrote:

Darn it all!  My free e-mail account is locked because of security reasons, and I can't prove that I am the rightful owner. 

Geez.  What, exactly, do you want?  Do you want Microsoft to pay you?  Do you want less security on your e-mail account?

It's not free.  People pay for it by being sold to advertisers.

Just like I pay for my MM membership by being a repeated ad impression.

Looknsee Photography wrote:

Darn it all!  My free e-mail account is locked because of security reasons, and I can't prove that I am the rightful owner. 

Geez.  What, exactly, do you want?  Do you want Microsoft to pay you?  Do you want less security on your e-mail account?

Its not really free.   Its paid for by allowing sponsored ads in your inbox.   It was just easier for someone at MSFT
to suggest open a new account.   This next part isn't for you.   Windows 9 is available for download as a ISO right now for  curious users.   This is a beta version.   The official version also beta from MSFT should come out near the end of September and I will post a link.   Hopefully it corrects some of the problems with Windows 8 as well as the funky updates.  Their has been some speculation that it will be free.   This isn't to knock Windows 8 but I have a devil of a time getting 8.1 to install and work.   The update disabled my sound.   Not too difficult to fix but a bit of a pain.

Fotticelli wrote:
Four years ago I bought a MacBook and I hated it. Windows 7 was so much more elegant and classy. No cheesy jumping and exploding OS X icons.

You know the bounce and zoom animations are configurable and can be disabled, right?

Looknsee Photography wrote:
Darn it all!  My free e-mail account is locked because of security reasons, and I can't prove that I am the rightful owner. 
Geez.  What, exactly, do you want?  Do you want Microsoft to pay you?  Do you want less security on your e-mail account?

Chuckarelei wrote:
I have proved that I am the rightful owner. I am pissed that they just have a automatic robot reply which I have no way of communicating with them.

What security? If I the right owner can't get access. then the so called security is not security.

By the way, have you not complained about Mayhem? What do you expect? it's a free service to you. ???

You say you've proved that you are the rightful owner, but you've also reported that Microsoft says that you haven't.  Seems to me that we have conflicting data, and as a card carrying skeptic, I can't say which of you is or is not right.

No, I don't remember complaining about MM -- I try not to start my own rants, since I believe that rants are a waste of time.

Wye wrote:
It's not free.  People pay for it by being sold to advertisers.

Just like I pay for my MM membership by being a repeated ad impression.

Adblock Plus works wonders, here, on Facebook, and probably lots of other places.



Note:  if I were to rant, I'd rant about the commercialization of the Internet, and how so-called "free" applications are free in exchange for deluging me with unwanted ads.  Facebook is the worst -- they are essentially spy devices.  Second behind Facebook is every "free" e-mail service.  And don't get me started on "play for free" games.  As an old school computer scientist, I'm shocked by how much people will sacrifice their privacy for convenience and/or "free" functionality.  Finally, please don't talk to me about on-line backup strategies.

Looknsee Photography wrote:

Adblock Plus works wonders, here, on Facebook, and probably lots of other places.

I wasn't complaining about the ads. I pay for what I use.  If I'm not paying money then I'll pay by being an ad impression.  People who use ad blockers are trying to get something for nothing.

I was merely pointing out your error in saying that he shouldn't complain since it's free.  It's not.. he's paying for it and has every right to complain

Chuckarelei wrote:
You really are a piece of shit. anything that you touch, you manage to fuck it up. Hotmail has been fine until you put your hands on it. Now you block my email and I have no way to get into it. If any of you are using hotmail, i strongly recommend you to transfer all your contacts and get yahoo or gmail. what a FUCKED-UP company that is.

>:[

I'm just amazed what took you so long to realize this.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
You say you've proved that you are the rightful owner, but you've also reported that Microsoft says that you haven't.  Seems to me that we have conflicting data, and as a card carrying skeptic, I can't say which of you is or is not right.

No, I don't remember complaining about MM -- I try not to start my own rants, since I believe that rants are a waste of time.

.

I answered everyone of the questions. The other side is an auto bot response. And you can't figure out who's words is correct? And by the way, when I registered for hotmail before Microsucks took it over, it did not ask me for my profession, my birthday, nor my real legal name. Those are all part of the questions the bot asked. Do you still think there is conflicting data?!

Oh yes, you have whine and bitch about MM. many of us have seen, heard and can vouch for that. Even though you think they are not complaints, but they are and you have.

Wye wrote:
I was merely pointing out your error in saying that he shouldn't complain since it's free.  It's not.. he's paying for it and has every right to complain

Depends on your definition of "free".  In particular, don't all these e-mail sites, like hotmail, g-mail, etc., advertise their services as "free"?

I also note that Microsoft is interested in phasing out hotmail in favor of outlook.com.

Looknsee Photography wrote:

Depends on your definition of "free".  In particular, don't all these e-mail sites, like hotmail, g-mail, etc., advertise their services as "free"?

How they advertise doesnt change the fact that people are still paying. And also doesn't change the fact that your position that it's (supposedly) free and thus the OP has no right to complain about it is dead wrong (since it is, in fact, not free)

Chuckarelei wrote:
I answered everyone of the questions. The other side is an auto bot response. And you can't figure out who's words is correct? And by the way, when I registered for hotmail before Microsucks took it over, it did not ask me for my profession, my birthday, nor my real legal name. Those are all part of the questions the bot asked. Do you still think there is conflicting data?!

So you say, but with all due respect, we don't know what happened, and we don't know why their robots failed to identify you are the legitimate owner of the site.  Perhaps it didn't identify you as the owner because when you signed up, you didn't provide answers for the questions you answered.  We just don't know.  We have no reason to believe or not to believe you.  Sorry, I'm just skeptical.

Chuckarelei wrote:
Oh yes, you have whine and bitch about MM. many of us have seen, heard and can vouch for that. Even though you think they are not complaints, but they are and you have.

Now you are trying to make it personal.  Any further attacks will be forwarded to the moderators.  But to my knowledge, I have not "whined" or "bitched" about MM on any kind of regular basis.  The fact that you think I do just makes the rest of your rant seem less credible. 

But bottom line:  if you want to make personal attacks on another MM member, expect to be reported.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
Depends on your definition of "free".  In particular, don't all these e-mail sites, like hotmail, g-mail, etc., advertise their services as "free"?

Wye wrote:
How they advertise doesnt change the fact that people are still paying. And also doesn't change the fact that your position that it's (supposedly) free and thus the OP has no right to complain about it is dead wrong (since it is, in fact, not free)

{Sigh}

I'm beginning to think you just like fighting.  "Free" is how they advertise the service. 

Further, I didn't say the OP has no right to complain.  Rather, I implied that the OP is getting the service he signed up for.  I further implied that I'm not clear on what actually happened, and by nature, I'm too skeptical to take one antagonist's word for what happened.

The OP can complain all he wants.  Some people may be sympathetic; others not so much.  In general, taking complaints to an MM forum is not likely to help resolve his issue.  At the very least, complain to the service provider, not an unrelated forum.

Wye wrote:

You're like the bizarro world WFP.  It's kinda cute what a nice pair you two make.

Hey!

Looknsee Photography wrote:
{Sigh}

I'm beginning to think you just like fighting.  "Free" is how they advertise the service. 

Further, I didn't say the OP has no right to complain.  Rather, I implied that the OP is getting the service he signed up for.  I further implied that I'm not clear on what actually happened, and by nature, I'm too skeptical to take one antagonist's word for what happened.

The OP can complain all he wants.  Some people may be sympathetic; others not so much.  In general, taking complaints to an MM forum is not likely to help resolve his issue.  At the very least, complain to the service provider, not an unrelated forum.

Maybe by sharing his story, someone here will have a suggestion that will help.

Your posts only make him feel worse. I'm not sure why you contribute?

Looknsee Photography wrote:
{Sigh}

What Fun Productions wrote:
Maybe by sharing his story, someone here will have a suggestion that will help.

Your posts only make him feel worse. I'm not sure why you contribute?

Fair enough.  I'll try one more time.

Let's remind ourselves what the OP said in his second posting in this thread:

Chuckarelei wrote:
They said someone has hacked my account. Told me to fill out a bunch of forms to recover/reset my account. Then they came back and told me that info I provided was not good enough to verify I am the rightful account owner. Now they told me to sign up for a new account.

According to the (fictional) Hacker's Handbook, the very first thing you should do when you steal someone's identity is to redirect (auto-forward) the victim's e-mail.  If the victim stops receiving e-mail, it is possible that he won't be aware that he has been hacked for days or even weeks.  Microsoft has detected (rightly or wrongly) that someone has hacked or is attempting to hack the OP's e-mail account, and as a service to the OP, Microsoft has shut down his e-mail to prevent further identity theft and to prevent the OP's e-mail from falling into unauthorized hands.  Further, Microsoft was/is being very careful about not turning the e-mail account over to the first person to claim the account.  I'm guessing it is safe to assume that somehow the OP was not able to satisfy Microsoft that he is the true owner of the account.

Some (including me) might say that Microsoft is being helpful in protecting the OP's identity.  I don't know about you, but I would be very upset about someone else having access to my e-mail accounts -- I use e-mail for both very personal & business purposes.

If I were the OP, I'd do the following:
...  I'd call Microsoft's service center, even if it costs me some $$$.
...  I'd look for some way to backup my e-mail & contacts regularly.
...  I'd call my bank to put an alert on my bank accounts.
...  For some period of time, I'd review my bank transactions daily.
...  I'd change all my passwords for every on-line site that I use.
...  As the OP suggested in his first post, changing his e-mail provider
     wouldn't be a bad idea.

I'd stop short of blaming all the OP's woes on Microsoft.  As I asked in my first post, what would you have Microsoft do differently?  If anything, Microsoft is erring on the side of caution by not releasing the suspect account to someone who has failed (in Microsoft's mind) to provide that he is the rightful owner.

What Fun Productions wrote:

Maybe by sharing his story, someone here will have a suggestion that will help.

Your posts only make him feel worse. I'm not sure why you contribute?

Absolutely!   The OP didn't ask to be believed or prove what happened.   He just shared his frustration.   Its not any members place to tell another what they should share or not and as you noted maybe someone will have a helpful suggestion.   Last is why try and make the person feel worse.   Like your new work by the way.

What Fun Productions wrote:
Maybe by sharing his story, someone here will have a suggestion that will help.

Your posts only make him feel worse. I'm not sure why you contribute?

Tony Lawrence wrote:
Absolutely!   The OP didn't ask to be believed or prove what happened.   He just shared his frustration.   Its not any members place to tell another what they should share or not and as you noted maybe someone will have a helpful suggestion.   Last is why try and make the person feel worse.   Like your new work by the way.

So, why tell me what I should & shouldn't share?

And I didn't tell anyone what they should or shouldn't share.  And how come it's okay for an OP to share his frustration about something that happened external to MM, but it's not okay for anyone to be frustrated when they dump on these forums.  Hey, you post of the forums -- not everyone is going to be sympathetic.

No one has asked the OP to prove anything.  I could argue that by starting the thread & by advising people to switch their e-mail service providers, the OP is indeed asking to be believed.

Besides, I'm not trying to "make the person feel worse" -- I'm trying to make him feel better about the service he got from Microsoft, who appears to be protecting his e-mail.

I communicate clearly -- if you want to attack me, please attempt to do so based on what I say & not what you think I'm saying.

Looknsee Photography wrote:

What Fun Productions wrote:
Maybe by sharing his story, someone here will have a suggestion that will help.

Your posts only make him feel worse. I'm not sure why you contribute?

So, why tell me what I should & shouldn't share?

And I didn't tell anyone what they should or shouldn't share.  And how come it's okay for an OP to share his frustration about something that happened external to MM, but it's not okay for anyone to be frustrated when they dump on these forums.  Hey, you post of the forums -- not everyone is going to be sympathetic.

Besides, I'm not trying to "make the person feel worse" -- I'm trying to make him feel better about the service he got from Microsoft, who appears to be protecting his e-mail.

You have a right to share your opinions and you do.   You have a right to be unpleasant with that opinion.   I also do that at times and too be frank I shouldn't.   You said he shouldn't rant.   Why?  He was irritated about something and he told us.   Offer positive suggestions.   Maybe share what happened to you if similar and what you did.   Otherwise you're being a troll.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
I'm trying to make him feel better about the service he got from Microsoft, who appears to be protecting his e-mail.

Tony Lawrence wrote:
You have a right to share your opinions and you do.   You have a right to be unpleasant with that opinion.   I also do that at times and too be frank I shouldn't.   You said he shouldn't rant.   Why?  He was irritated about something and he told us.   Offer positive suggestions.   Maybe share what happened to you if similar and what you did.   Otherwise you're being a troll.

Seems to me that pretty much everyone on this thread, including the OP, is being unpleasant.

I did present several positive suggestions.

You asked why.  I'll remind you of the questions I asked on my first post in this thread:

Looknsee Photography wrote:
What, exactly, do you want?  ...  Do you want less security on your e-mail account?

Want some sharing for something similar?  I had an account that was locked because someone with an IP in Hong Kong was repeatedly trying to log onto my account (didn't get in -- I have fairly strong passwords).  I, too, had to confirm that I was the rightful owner, and in my case, I was able to do so.  If I had failed to confirm my ownership, I would have made a few calls. 

Long ago, I had my identity stolen, and the first thing the thieves did was autoforward my e-mail, so I wouldn't get alerted.  I did notice right away (as soon as the first fraudulent charge was placed on my credit card), and within one or two hours, I was able to freeze all my bank accounts, get new accounts & credit cards, etc. -- all the thieves got was one $50 charge (for video games) before I shut them down, and the bank refunded the $50.  Still, changing all my credit cards & checking accounts was a hassle & a good deal of work.

It bugs me that the OP assumes that his e-mail provider is messing up -- from my perspective, Microsoft is going the extra mile in protecting his e-mail & is helping to prevent his identity from being stolen.  Instead of cooperating, he's just whining & moaning about the inconvenience.

Finally, there are tons of better things for someone to do than to come to these forums & ranting. 

Now, remind us -- what positive suggestions have you made?  Nearly all of the things you accuse me of can be applied to you.

Chuckarelei wrote:
And by the way, when I registered for hotmail before Microsucks took it over,

Have you really been using Hotmail since before Dec 31, 1997? Impressive! I'd be pissed about losing an account I had that long also.

Cherrystone wrote:

Here you go read these

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacked-from … ng-on-you/

http://defensetech.org/2012/05/30/smoki … -infected/

http://www.cnet.com/news/experts-disput … nese-chip/

Caradoc wrote:

You know the bounce and zoom animations are configurable and can be disabled, right?

No I didn't. I will google. Thanks.

I moved the dock to the right edge of the screen and that stopped the jumping.