FC: More Hotmail problems; why not to trust Web mail

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[A comedy of errors. A roughly 12 hour lag from the time when the Hotmail
backdoor was first reported to the time the servers were pulled for the
first non-fix is hardly doing well by users. In fact, MS sent out a press
release about the problem before actually fixing it. Hushmail, anyone?
--Declan]


http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/21490.html

                     Hotmail Accounts Still Exposed
                     by Declan McCullagh and by James Glave 

                     8:05 a.m.  30.Aug.99.PDT
                     No sooner was one catastrophic security
                     flaw closed Monday -- one that exposed
                     millions of Hotmail accounts to prying
                     eyes -- when another one appeared. 

                     The net result: As of 2 p.m. PDT, Hotmail
                     account holders remain in jeopardy of
                     having their email messages read, as well
                     as being impersonated in email. 
 
                     [...]

http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21498.html

                     Want Security? Forget Web Mail
                     by Declan McCullagh 

                     12:50 p.m.  30.Aug.99.PDT
                     By now you've likely heard of Microsoft's
                     devastating Hotmail security gaffe, which
                     exposed the naked contents of millions of
                     personal email accounts for the perusal of
                     the world's voyeurs. 

                     Well, get ready for the disturbing verdict
                     from security experts: These sorts of
                     security holes -- gaping maws, really --
                     are inevitable. 

                     [...]


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