Hotmail, the free email service owned by Microsoft, will
remain free despite not-so-widespread rumors to the contrary.
A Hotmail user who registered the name "admin@hotmail.com" sent out official-sounding email to an indeterminate number of people earlier this
week telling users that "The trial period for your free Hotmail Service is
rapidly coming to a close."
It goes on to tout Hotmail's features and tells users the
accounts will cost $10 per year. It then requests that the user send an
email to "admin@hotmail.com" for an account form.
"Payments will be accepted by certified cheque, money order, or credit cards
only," it states.
Hotmail pulled the account yesterday as soon as the staff found out about
it, said Randy Delucchi, Hotmail's director of customer service.
Delucchi said he wasn't sure how many people got the email message, but added he was
sure it "wasn't very widespread at all," because Hotmail has implemented
antispam measures that prevent email from being sent to more than 25 people at a time.
Spammers generally like to send email to thousands of people at once.
This is not the first time people have used free email to try to scam their
fellow Netizens.
In December, someone used Yahoo's
free email to send out an official-looking letter telling users they had won a modem from Yahoo and would have to supply their names, addresses, and telephone numbers as well as a credit card number to pay for shipping.
Today I got an eamil from manzarsalim@hotmail.com saying I needed to confirm my account and asking for my password. I replied giving him the password 3141592653, pi.
Web giant is spending $120 million to beef up its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, according to filings with the city reviewed by the San Jose Mercury News.
The Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 could make its debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, according to a leaked promotional image.
Tor's "obfsproxy" technology would make encrypted data look innocuous and let it dodge government censors. That could help citizens in Iran reach blocked sites as antigovernment protests reportedly loom.
MIT creates a simulation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Spacewar. A relic of the early days of minicomputers, it was one of the first computer video games and set the stage for many others, including Asteroids.
George Lucas has just released his version of "Star Wars" in 3D, but c'mon--the guy believes Greedo shot first. Why not make your own Star Wars world? In the first installment of a Crave series, a crack team of crafters fight the power and turn paper bags into the Rebel Alliance's Admiral Ackbar. It's a sack!
