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How to Avoid the Microsoft Hotmail Junk Mail Plague

Is Microsoft Hotmail finally shaking its reputation for "Who Do You Want to 'Spam' Today?"

by Joshua Feinberg

Earlier this year, privacy advocates exposed how Microsoft Hotmail was in cahoots with InfoSpace, populating the InfoSpace "Internet White Pages" with Microsoft Hotmail e-mail addresses.

Since Microsoft boasts of having over 100 million registered Microsoft Hotmail users, it only stands to reason that InfoSpace's cataloging of even a fraction of this Microsoft Hotmail population could be quite a valuable commodity.

The trouble was that "spammers", those insidious purveyors of Internet junk mail, figured out a way to easily look up Microsoft Hotmail e-mail addresses on InfoSpace and "harvest" the Microsoft Hotmail e-mail addresses at the rate of about 100 at a time.

Are Microsoft Hotmail and InfoSpace still leaking your personal data?

The secretive financial arrangements between the Microsoft MSN division and InfoSpace never seemed to surface in the press.

However, most industry pundits speculated that once the Microsoft Hotmail "spam catalyst" was publicized, Microsoft and InfoSpace would surely "fix" the loophole. Pleasing those of us who detest Microsoft Hotmail e-mail Inboxes clogged with "spam", the InfoSpace e-mail address disclosure problem does appear to be fixed.

Earlier today, I went to both the InfoSpace and Microsoft Hotmail E-mail Search directories to run a test. I queried for a list of anyone with the last name "Feinberg" in "New Jersey", and in the "U.S.".

While I got back a list of first and last names, including cities and the domain names of the where their e-mail addresses reside, I could not get their full e-mail addresses. So while I could view everything in the e-mail addresses to the right of the @ sign, I couldn't assemble a complete list of Microsoft Hotmail e-mail addresses.

Note: Both InfoSpace and Microsoft Hotmail allow you to send a message through a form that carefully cloaks each recipient's e-mail address.

My unscientific test shows signs of improvement

A few weeks ago when I started researching this article, I opened a new Microsoft Hotmail account.

I have another Microsoft Hotmail account, that I've had for years, which was already "contaminated" with dozens of daily "spam" messages.

But I wanted to see how someone who recently signed up for Microsoft Hotmail fared with unsolicited commercial e-mail. I found both good and bad news.

Just as before, Microsoft tries its best to extract demographic information. To get past the Country/Region, State, and Zip Code fields on sign-up, you'll need to supply a valid geographic combination. This means you cannot fill in all 9's for the Zip Code or AnyTown, USA.

Date of birth (Birthday) is also a required field with Microsoft Hotmail. And it won't take just any old date. Microsoft Hotmail's field validation did however finally acquiesce to a date of birth before the twentieth century.

In addition, Occupation is a mandatory Microsoft Hotmail field. But since the Occupation field has a drop-down list, it's easier to "placate" the registration process, while still retaining a certain degree of anonymity. Personally, I was hoping to see some less mundane Occupations, such as Astronaut, Race Car Driver, or perhaps Chief Software Architect.

While still on the subject of Microsoft Hotmail mandated fields, Microsoft Hotmail's registration also requires that you enter both your Time Zone and Gender.

Tip: As an owner of a free e-zine that bends over backwards to assuage people's privacy concerns, we only capture one required field: your e-mail address. However, in Microsoft's case, Microsoft Hotmail is telling you in no uncertain terms that you must share personal demographic data if you want to use Microsoft Hotmail.

"Opt out" required - don't miss your opportunity

Just before clicking the Sign-up button, you'll find two selections that have most privacy advocates up in arms.

Under the bizarrely chosen, but "classic-Microsoft" heading Services, you'll see two checkboxes, which are enabled by default.

One is for the Microsoft Hotmail Member Directory. The other is for the Internet White Pages, which is presumably the same database that's residing at InfoSpace.

If you don't want to be listed in one or both of the directories, uncheck these boxes. Also, if you're reading this article on paper, take out a yellow highlighter and run it over the previous sentence. Circle it and draw some arrows. Do whatever it takes to make sure you remember to "uncheck these boxes".

I'd like to order a Microsoft Hotmail account, a cup of Java, and hold the "spam" please

Microsoft Hotmail's default selection with these directories ignites the classic "opt in" vs. "opt out" debate. Microsoft Hotmail is again flexing its muscle, requiring you to change the default selection and "opt out", if you don't want your listing in these directories.

But, how many people do you know that run Wizards and "blindly" accept all default selections? That's what I thought...and apparently so did Microsoft.

Since I was closely reading each instruction during the Microsoft Hotmail sign-up process, something that a novice user might inadvertently gloss over, I did uncheck these two boxes; opting out of both directories. But even with these precautions, was my new Microsoft Hotmail e-mail address safe from "spam"?

So far, so good

Over two weeks have passed since I set up this Microsoft Hotmail e-mail address and I'm pleasantly surprised.

As "advertised" or "promised", the new Microsoft Hotmail e-mail address I created hasn't appeared in either the InfoSpace White Pages or Microsoft Hotmail Member Directory.

Even more important, I haven't received a single piece of unsolicited commercial e-mail, aside from Microsoft Hotmail's "Welcome" message when I first signed up.

So my newly created Microsoft Hotmail e-mail address seems to be off the radar screens of "spammers" - at least for now!

How Microsoft Hotmail tries to help you from drowning in junk mail

Over the course of some upgrades this year, Microsoft Hotmail has introduced new tools to help their users manage "spam" in a somewhat automated fashion.

In addition to the Junk Mail folder, set up by default with new accounts, there are several "spam" control features you can configure under Microsoft Hotmail Options.

For example, the Microsoft Hotmail Junk Mail Filter offers four settings that control the sensitivity of filtering --- allowing possibilities ranging from filter disabled to only receive "exclusive" messages from recipients that I've predefined.

Under Microsoft Hotmail Junk Mail Deletion, you configure whether suspected junk messages are deleted immediately or held briefly for your review.

Microsoft Hotmail's Safe List option allows you to enter crucial e-mail addresses, such as those of your clients, vendors, spouse, kids, or boss, that should never be flagged as Microsoft Hotmail Junk Mail.

And finally Microsoft Hotmail Block Sender is very similar to what the phone company provides with Phone Number Block. You can configure e-mail addresses that are explicitly barred from sending messages to your Microsoft Hotmail account.

Note: With any automated filtering mechanism, whether it's in Microsoft Hotmail, Microsoft Outlook or another e-mail program, the filtering technology is nowhere near perfect. There will inevitably be junk messages that still land in your Inbox. Worse yet, there will be occasional valid messages, even some really critical ones, which end up in the Junk Mail folder. For maximum "safety", you should configure delayed Microsoft Hotmail Junk Mail Deletion. Then skim through the From and Subject lines in the Microsoft Hotmail Junk Mail folder a few times a week.

The Bottom Line

Some people sign up for Microsoft Hotmail accounts as a backup to their primary company e-mail account used for "official" business. Many also set up Microsoft Hotmail accounts, or similar free e-mail accounts such as Yahoo! Mail, for keeping their personal correspondence separate from potentially monitored business messages.

Regardless of the reasons, take some of the registration precautions listed in this article to keep your Microsoft Hotmail Inbox free of "spam". While it may be too late if your Microsoft Hotmail e-mail address is already listed in directories that have been "harvested", at least the next Microsoft Hotmail e-mail address you create should bring you a "cleaner" Inbox.

How have you fared with Microsoft Hotmail Junk Mail?

Drop me a line.

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About the Author: Joshua Feinberg is an internationally recognized small business technology expert, consultant, columnist, author, keynote speaker, and trainer. He is a published Microsoft Press author, as well as the creator of and two-year veteran writer of the Microsoft Direct Access "VAPVoice: Notes From the Field" column. Learn what your highly paid computer consultant doesn't want you to know! Subscribe to Joshua Feinberg's FREE bi-weekly Smallbiztechtalk.com "Tips" e-zine and receive two FREE mini-reports by e-mail.

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