Outlook Connector sessions secure?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe Rodriguez
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe Rodriguez

Are Outlook Connector sessions with hotmail accounts secure? Or are the
messages between Outlook and Microsoft Hotmail/Live Mail servers in open
text? The Web client uses HTTPS to secure the communications via SSL, but
I haven't seen any documentation on the Outlook Connector sessions being
secured the same way.
 
Using a basic ip monitor, it shows both http and https connections.

FWIW, if security is important, you should not be using any of the free web
mail services.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.
 
I'm concerned that people's logon credentials to logon are not protected
when signing on, and the Live Mail/hotmail ID is the same as a person's MSN
Live Messenger ID. This would mean that a persons Messenger and e-mail
account could potentially be compromised. I can understand the e-mail
messages being in clear text, but concerned about the user authentication
process not being secured.
Is a person's signon or authentication into Hotmail/Livemail with Outlook
Connector secured so that their ID and Passwords are not easily captured?
Where can documentation on this process be found?


Diane Poremsky said:
Using a basic ip monitor, it shows both http and https connections.

FWIW, if security is important, you should not be using any of the free
web mail services.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


Joe Rodriguez said:
Are Outlook Connector sessions with hotmail accounts secure? Or are the
messages between Outlook and Microsoft Hotmail/Live Mail servers in open
text? The Web client uses HTTPS to secure the communications via SSL,
but I haven't seen any documentation on the Outlook Connector sessions
being secured the same way.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I' not aware of any documentation about it - the easiest way to confirm it
is to use a monitor and look at the traffic.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


Joe Rodriguez said:
I'm concerned that people's logon credentials to logon are not protected
when signing on, and the Live Mail/hotmail ID is the same as a person's
MSN Live Messenger ID. This would mean that a persons Messenger and
e-mail account could potentially be compromised. I can understand the
e-mail messages being in clear text, but concerned about the user
authentication process not being secured.
Is a person's signon or authentication into Hotmail/Livemail with Outlook
Connector secured so that their ID and Passwords are not easily captured?
Where can documentation on this process be found?


Diane Poremsky said:
Using a basic ip monitor, it shows both http and https connections.

FWIW, if security is important, you should not be using any of the free
web mail services.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point
your newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


Joe Rodriguez said:
Are Outlook Connector sessions with hotmail accounts secure? Or are the
messages between Outlook and Microsoft Hotmail/Live Mail servers in open
text? The Web client uses HTTPS to secure the communications via SSL,
but I haven't seen any documentation on the Outlook Connector sessions
being secured the same way.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I'm concerned that people's logon credentials to logon are not protected
when signing on, and the Live Mail/hotmail ID is the same as a person's
MSN Live Messenger ID.
Click to expand...

I'd worry about this only for those other PCs connected to the same LAN you
are. The odds of someone on the general Internet sniffing your credentials
is, in my opinion, vanishingly small, especially considering there are many
other more productive ways to compromise a Hotmail account.
 
Back
Top