Hotmail
Now boasting more than 110 million subscribers, Microsoft's free e-mail service, Hotmail, has gotten too big for its britches. It can't adequately block spam, and its virus checker, based on McAfee VirusScan, doesn't always snag dangerous bugs. Sure, Hotmail is now the only free e-mailer to support Outlook Express and Outlook 2002 (Yahoo just started charging for this service). But if you don't use either one of those services, you'll do better with the more comprehensive Yahoo Mail.Sign out, go straight to ninemsn
Hotmail unveiled a new look last year, and we still don't like it. The interface's brighter colors and curved edges clearly mimic those of MSN Explorer and Windows XP, but the service's home page is essentially a billboard for ninemsn. In fact, when you sign out, your browser automatically, and irritatingly, displays the ninemsn.com.au home page. Ads dominate the home page, and the type is smaller and too hard to read easily.
Packed with features
Even so, Hotmail comes chock-full of features. You can sort messages in your in-box by clicking the From, Subject, Date, or Size column headings; search for received messages by looking for words or phrase in the message text; and create event reminders. A quick-pick list holds as many as five addresses that you frequently use. Plus, Hotmail comes in 12 tongues, including Japanese, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish, and collects mail from as many as four POP3 accounts. It scans attachments for viruses; and sets your account to automatically end your session after a specified number of hours to keep your account secure on a shared computer.
Hotmail also integrates with Outlook 2002 so that you can read and reply to Hotmail from within the client, which is especially handy now that Microsoft limits the number of messages you can store online.
Chinks in the armour
Still, Hotmail's flaws are many. It won't import addresses from a desktop e-mailer--not even Microsoft's own Outlook Express or Outlook--to your online address book, so you'll have to manually re-create a list of recipients within Hotmail.
Worse, Hotmail has recently implemented policy changes to enforce a 2MB storage limit; Yahoo Mail offers twice as much space. When your mailbox nears the max, Hotmail automatically bounces your messages back to the sender. You'll want to keep an eye on the new storage meter that appears on the left side on the screen once you log on. Further, if you don't sign in at least once every 30 days (previously, it was once every 45 days), Hotmail deletes everything in your account.
Spammers have wised up
Last year, we applauded Hotmail's new and sorely needed antispam tools. But spammers have wised up, it seems, and our Hotmail accounts are again jammed with junk. In our tests, even after we set the Junk Mail Filter to the second most intensive level for 10 days (the strictest level accepts mail only from people in your address book), Hotmail let more than 35 percent of all spam through to our in-box. No wonder Hotmail's standard 2MB accounts fill up so fast. And although Hotmail scans both incoming and outgoing attachments for viruses, the system isn't foolproof. In our tests, the dreaded w32.Klez.E@mm virus snuck through.
Hotmail offers online-only tech support, and its help file is searchable. We found answers to most of our questions at the Web site, which is a good thing, since there's no phone support. Nor is there a way to contact help via e-mail, except to report a bug.
Only Outlook and Outlook Express
Longtime Hotmail users should consider switching to Yahoo Mail, if only to get out from under the deluge of spam. However, if you use Outlook Express or Outlook 2002, stick around: Hotmail is the only service that integrates with those programs for free.
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