Ask Leo! #591 – How I Back Up, Website Pop-ups, Fixing Windows Update and more…

Leo:

You started out well when you described how the only reason you are using Hotmail in a far away place is because you do not have access to your mobile, your computer with POP/IMAC mail etc. Then you miss the point entirely by praising Microsoft for putting these convoluted procedures in place that defeat the whole aim of an internet based email account; that is, for basic communication when you cannot use your normal accounts. Hotmail is essentially useless now so I do not bother with it anymore, but thankfully Yahoo and GMail are for the time being still usable in that role.

I did not praise them for their solution. I pointed out that their (bad) solution is attempting to solve a real and serious problem.

Hotmail was actually useless *before* because it was so often hacked. Ask Leo! used to be swarmed, daily, by questions (an mean comments) from people whose accounts were hacked. Not only did they lose everything, but their reputations were often harmed by the activities of the hackers, and everyone in their contact list was mercilessly spammed. Those complaints are pretty much gone now. So you choose: previously if a person did not set up their security and recovery options correctly they were hacked. Today if a person does not set up their security and recovery options correctly they are inconvenienced while traveling. Either way, the responsibility is on each account user to set up their account properly.

"Sometimes I wish I was also a moron." - While that's a very lofty goal, it can be achieved. Here's how:

1) Extend your right arm with the palm facing upwards.

2) Using your left hand, place a brick into the palm of your right hand.

3) Rapidly bend your right arm until your elbow makes a 90 degree angle and the brick makes contact with your head.

4) Re-extend your right arm and then repeat step #3.

5) Keep on repeating steps #3 and #4 until encryption backdoors start to seem like really, really great idea.