Microsoft has restored its Hotmail service in China, ending an outage that lasted more than two weeks. The problem was resolved just days before a planned visit by the last Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, who had visited Beijing and oversaw some of Microsoft’s business there.
The intermittent disruptions prevented many users from accessing their accounts which caused them frustration as they had no way to communicate with friends or family members during this period.” I’m furious,” one Chinese person said, speaking on condition anonymity because he fears repercussions if his identity becomes known online but wanted the issue made public anyway.
The Chinese Hotmail user started using Google’s rival Gmail service when her account was not accessible. She was pleased to have access restored on Friday but says that she won’t give up on Mail – or Gmail for that matter! The woman said, “I will continue to use both.” Speculations about what caused this problem ranged from technical difficulties with carrier networks in China (according to Microsoft) to interference by the government; however, these were unsubstantiated rumors making it difficult for anyone who wants real answers as opposed to whatsoever speculation can be dealt with at least partly before understanding all factors involved.
The Chinese government has been blocking access to Web sites for years. Unfortunately, these actions are rarely confirmed in public, so it’s hard to say if you’re able or unable- depending on when your computer is from China when trying this site out!
Online services like Hotmail have had connectivity problems time after time because much of their traffic goes through servers outside the country, making these difficulties more noticeable than other countries’ networks being blocked by ISPs (Internet service providers).
Microsoft faced a moral dilemma when they discovered that hackers had broken in and stolen sensitive information from their customers. The Chinese government was targeting Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur separatists living abroad, international leaders within China’s minority communities; Anyone who opposed them or spoke out against human rights violations carried out by the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The first public suspicions about attacks against these opponents came after security firm Trend Micro announced an email containing malware-laced attachments sent to someone in Taiwan back in 2011.
Microsoft is providing email services for free, but it’s not without its drawbacks. A previously undetected flaw in Microsoft’s webpages allowed hackers to take advantage and hijack the user’s incoming Mail on behalf of themselves; former employees say that some interceptions began July 2009 and compromised emails from top Uighur leaders across China as well Tibetan officials like Dalai Lama – all while also intercepting diplomats outside mainland China working at embassies or consulates within Japan (Japanese and Africa/Malaysia).
Microsoft officials did not dispute that most of the attacks came from China but said some were coming from other countries. They refused to provide further detail and instead released an empty promise about their new security measures, announced in late September. In 2011 when hackers targeted Office 365 accounts with ease through phishing tactics for user names and passwords, customers received a message telling them it was likely due “to footholds being established” by then within sure victims’ machines – Reuters reports.
Microsoft has come under fire for failing to warn customers of suspected government hacking. The company said it had believed the fastest way to restore security on their accounts was through password resets. Still, some users are now apprehensive about possible risks due to Microsoft’s failure notifying them beforehand that this could happen or if they were hacked previously by another party who may have applied fictitious credentials during an intrusion attempt without being detected.
“Unrest in Xinjiang, the Chinese region bordering Kazakhstan that is home to many Uighurs, has cost hundreds of lives. Beijing blames Islamist militants while human rights groups say harsh controls on religion and culture have led this violence.”
Reuters interviewed five of Microsoft’s Hotmail hacking victims identified as part of the Msopfizer incident in an investigation into password resets more than a few years ago. Most had forgotten about their account until they read the Reuters article; none viewed these actions like indicators anyone else accessed emails or looked through any personal messages – let alone what was extracted from them by outsiders during cyberattacks!
One victim was Tseten Norbu of Nepal, a former president and leader in the Tibetan Youth Congress. A second man lost all his contacts when Microsoft investigators discovered they were forwarded from an account belonging to Peter Hickman-a diplomat who arranged speeches by international figures for many years at Washington’s Willard Hotel.
Love your email? Don’t worry, Hotmail is still open for business. However, some countries have banned access to specific websites and services like Facebook or Google maps in an effort toward regulating social media usage among youth who are considered likely candidates as future dissidents against their governments with increased monitoring capabilities via internet-based technologies on smartphones being just one example of how surveillance might be carried out by authorities looking down upon its citizens from every angle possible; not only would you need a secure VPN connection if traveling abroad but even using another service provider locally could place yourself outside limits imposed by government oppression so make sure before signing up anywhere near any prohibited zones where this type of content isn’t welcome at all times!
Gmail has been reported to be inaccessible in China. The most popular free email service is 163.com which only offers Chinese language access (although it may be available through VPNs).
A few other emails like Yahoo and Hotmail seem accessible with an intermittent slow down experienced when accessing them from mainland China; however, these issues should not affect your day-to-day communication unless you send large files or use Outlook Web Access on Microsoft Office 365 Education Edition.
The Outlook may be blocked in China, but there are conflicting reports of the accuracy here. Although Microsoft has a good working relationship with the Chinese government and their email services aren’t permanently banned like other countries were at one point (in fact, they still work pretty well), some users say that they can connect outside mainland Asia as long as you use an address from Hong Kong instead; if this doesn’t help then your best bet would probably just be jumping through hoops or sending out mass emails until someone fixes whatever went wrong along these lines. Hopefully, before things get worse than ever!
Gmail is blocked in mainland China, which means that the moment you try to open your email on a computer or phone inside of China – even if it’s only a few kilometers away from Hong Kong and Macau, where internet access isn’t limited by government censorship, you’ll find yourself disconnected.
I am Jefferson A. Davis, an ex-security officer and now a successful businessman. I have worked in the field of safety and security for years. I have seen a lot of different things in my time as a security professional, but one thing that never changes is people's desire to be safe and secure. After retirement I have been running my business for more than 8 years, and it has met with much success. For this reason, I decided to start writing so that others can be benefited from business blogs and learn about their various options when it comes to being safe and secure.
