Someone had come up with a way to access Hotmail accounts without passwords. This someone had exploited a security weakness that appeared over the weekend when Microsoft upgraded its Hotmail servers. Though the 'security flaw' in question is particular to Hotmail, there are endless security flaws with free web-based emails. Javascripts for logging into Hotmail and other free email services are widely available and can be used with a programming language called Perl to steal usernames and passwords. But it's definitely not in suing free email providers like Microsoft for Hotmail or AOL for Netscape Webmail .
Most freebies come with paragraphs and paragraphs of disclaimers.
The solution may lie in self-help. Using free web-based email accounts that provide better security or are less prone to 'security flaws'. These email services will be discussed in my next column. 2000 SPH AsiaOne Ltd. All rights reserved.