Microsoft acquired Hotmail in 1997 and renamed it Windows Live Mail. But for a long time, it was a free web-based email service, and many people remained loyal. That all changed in late August, when Hackers Unite reported a security breach. Microsoft vowed to fix the issue, and the company has yet to do so. So what happened? How did Hotmail get so bad? And how did its co-founders survive the hack?
Microsoft acquired Hotmail in 1997
Hotmail was one of the first internet services, but it wasn’t a revenue generator. The company acquired Hotmail to use as a testing ground for future products and services, and less so as a revenue generator. Its users were viewed as the root of all evil on the internet and the source of jokes and general hatred for years. Even after Microsoft acquired Hotmail, one management consultant suggested that companies should not hire Hotmail users.
In 1997, Hotmail had grown to 10 million subscribers and controlled 25% of the webmail market. Hotmail executives entered negotiations with Microsoft to acquire the service. Although they were initially wary of Microsoft’s intentions, they saw the deal as a validation of their vision and became millionaires. The acquisition cost Microsoft $400 million. Hotmail is still one of the most popular e-mail services, and the company plans to expand it to more countries.
It was renamed “Windows Live Mail”
When you first install Windows Live Mail on your computer, you might wonder how to change its storage location. The default location is %systemdrive%UsersuserAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows Live Mail. However, you can change this location by clicking the Change button, which brings up a small dialog box. Click the Change button and browse to a different location. Windows Live Mail will then prompt you to restart.
While the first version of Windows Live Mail was called “Windows Live Mail,” this renaming is not a sign that the company is discontinuing the service. Microsoft originally planned to kill off the name “Hotmail,” but the name was too confusing. Microsoft is hoping that its new service will appeal to existing Hotmail users. The company has yet to reveal the exact reason why it changed the name. In the meantime, expect a brand new version of Windows Live Mail in the coming weeks!
It was a web-based email service
Before Gmail came along, the Internet didn’t have many free email services. But, in 1996, the Hotmail Corporation launched a service that would make email accessible on the Internet. Developed by Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia, Hotmail was acquired by Microsoft in 1998. It was free to sign up, but paid plans were available based on message storage and attachment capacity. It later changed its name to Windows Live Hotmail and was branded as MSN Hotmail for a while.
Microsoft bought Hotmail in December 1997, and its user base shot up to thirty million by the following February. As Microsoft expanded the service around the world, Hotmail became the leading web-based email service. In February 2010, a study by Salted Services revealed that Hotmail ranked ahead of competitors Yahoo! Mail and Gmail. The study examined the usage of email clients across 250 million recipients and ranked Hotmail as the number one web-based email service.
It was free
When Hotmail was first launched, it was a popular email service that allowed you to use it anywhere in the world. In addition to being free, it also came with an extra email address, which many users appreciated. Hotmail was so popular that Microsoft bought it in 1997, and by the end of 1997, the service had attracted about 8.5 million users worldwide. The service remained free for users, and Microsoft decided to make it available to all.
The idea for Hotmail was originally a simple one, but the idea quickly spread. The founders, Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia, were hardware engineers, and their idea came from the standpoint of the end user. Hotmail’s founders needed a way to get around the company’s firewall. They could have commissioned many software engineers to create the same technology, but they didn’t. The hardware engineers delivered a solid product.
It was hacked
In 2003, Hotmail was hacked, exposing the email passwords of up to 500,000 users. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed the hack and said hackers used phishing techniques to get the passwords. In December 2016, another security breach was revealed. Up to one billion accounts were compromised. Microsoft offered free identity protection and credit monitoring services to customers affected by the breach. Hotmail was down for five hours. In response to the breach, the company has changed its password policies.
As the computer industry flourished during the mid 2000s, the number of people connected to the internet increased. Many joined the online community and started using email. With more users, there were also more potential threats for hackers. The result was more spam, and hackers got savvier. The new rules were designed to protect Hotmail users from these attacks. After all, hackers are just as smart as their victims. However, some users still feel intimidated by the new security measures.
