New and more secure Hotmail to be released this summer.

Despite being the number one web mail in use in the world, Microsoft's Hotmail has always suffered a perception problem in the U.S. where it comes in distant second behind Yahoo mail.
Microsoft has set out to change that with the upcoming release of a new and revamped Hotmail with users' security as the main priority. To prove that point, the new Hotmail will use HTTPS to encrypt all data sent within the system.
To help users against phishing schemes and others impersonators of financial institutions and governments agencies like the IRS, Hotmail will begin showing a safety symbol next to those entities after they have been identified. To protect against password thefts when using a public Wi-Fi, the new Hotmail will offer its users the option to request a temporary one good only for one single use and that will be sent to users in the form of a text message to their cell phones.
Users will also notice a new tool called "personalized spam filtering" that will help reduce the number of e-mail messages marked as spams that in fact aren't. The personalized filter should be able to automatically recognize people people with whom someone communicate with often and keep their messages from being sent to the trash bin. The filter is also designed to let users personalize which sender's messages they want to block or allow.

For more, see NewYorkTimes.com

Microsoft Hotmail Wave 4 to start being rolled out today.

In a post in its Windows Live blog, Microsoft announced today that it has started rolling out Hotmail Wave 4 to its users worldwide. The upgraded service includes a new feature called Sweep whose purpose is to clean-up inboxes, offers an integration with Microsoft's new Office Online Apps among others. Another noticeable feature is a windows showing conversations just like on Gmail.
With the new Hotmail, emphasis was put on integrating users's social network activity with content from such sites as Flickr, Hulu or Pandora. According to AppScout, the new Hotmail offers Instant Messaging and text message via the Web.
The new Hotmail will be rolled out in phases starting today with Microsoft goal to have all accounts upgraded by summer end, still according to AppScout.


For more see AppScout.com