The Hidden Danger of Microsoft Accounts in Windows 8

The Hidden Danger of Microsoft Accounts in Windows 8

2013-04-28 14:36:30 / Posted by Michael Eric to Windows Tips
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Microsoft tries to make its users to sign in Windows 8 with Microsoft an account which is previously known as Windows Live ID, Microsoft Passport, and Microsoft Wallet, among other names.

Sign in to Windows 8 with your Microsoft account; you can sync personal settings to any PC running Windows 8 that you sign in to, download apps from the Windows Store and get into your SkyDrive data with just a click.

You have to sign up for a Microsoft account if you want to use included apps like the Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging, and SkyDrive apps. It's definitely to your advantage to set up a Microsoft Account and use your Hotmail or Live email address.

As Microsoft account can be the Hotmail account or Windows Live ID you've ever registered, it seems the security of the Microsoft account is dependent on an email address as your But what if the email account is hacked that was used to create a windows 8 account, can the hacker get access to the services that are associated with the account? The hacker can lock out the legitimate user by resetting the email password. Can the hacker create a new password for the windows account by using the "forgot password" option? What should a user do to prevent this from happening?

There must be hidden dangers of Windows 8 Microsoft account. Lots of people complained that they are locked out of their Hotmail accounts. Most of them are careless with the password for example reusing their Hotmail password on other sites or typing it on a machine of dubious pedigree. Some scammer grabs the password, logs on to Hotmail, and commandeers the account. Within minutes, every address in the Hotmail contact list receives a message that says, "Help I've been mugged, send $500 via Western Union." Invariably the scammers change the password, so they can use the account while the owner's wondering why he or she can't get in.

If your hotmail account which you used for Microsoft account gets hijacked and the password changed, when you try to log on to your PC, it will prompt you "You're signed in to this PC with your old password. Sign in again with your current password, or reset it." But If you try to reset your password, you can't because clicking on the Reset link doesn't do anything.

So in order to prevent this from happening, you must be careful with your email address and create a local account as an alternative way to log on to your computer. And remember to set strong password for your Microsoft account and local account which can be hard to be hacked. If you yourself forgot Windows 8 password, don't worry; a piece of third party software such as SmartKey Windows 8 password recovery will reset your lost password without any efforts.

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