MSN Explorer – Security Enhancements

July 15, 2013 7 Comments

Summary:

  • Security Enhancements to MSN Explorer will start to roll-out at the end of July 2013.
  • Changes will require (1) Password input/verification upon every access/sign-in; (2) Minimum operating system (XPSp3 or later); Minimum version of MSN Explorer (10.5 or later)

Notification:

Dear MSN Member

Security enhancements are coming to your MSN Explorer sign-in experience which will require that:

  1. You must enter your password on every sign-in. Make sure you know your password.
  2. You are using the latest version of MSN Explorer which is version 10.50:
    • You must upgrade to the latest MSN Explorer version. The latest versions start with 10.50. Verify that you are running MSN 10.5 by doing the following:
      1. Launch MSN Explorer
      2. Click Help & Settings
      3. Click on About MSN
      4. If the version shown starts with 10.50, then you are running the latest version.
    • See the FAQ for instructions on upgrading if you are not on the current version.
  3. You must verify you are running a supported operating system version:
    • Click Start, and then click Run.
    • In the Open box, type winver.exe, and then click OK. The version number is displayed in the About Windows box.

If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8:

    • Your operating system is supported.

If you are running Windows XP, Windows XP Service Pack 1 or Windows XP Service Pack 2:

    • You must upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 3. Follow the directions on this site.

If you are running Windows 98, Windows ME or Windows 2000:

    • These operating systems are no longer supported by MSN Explorer.
    • For information on alternatives and saving your information please refer to the FAQ.

The update will start rolling out at the end of July. We appreciate your patience as we work to keep your online experience as safe as possible. If you have questions on these changes you can refer to the FAQ or contact MSN Product Support at 1-800-386-5550.

Sincerely,
Your MSN Explorer Team

Comments:

  • MSN Explorer Sign-in Changes FAQ’s – https://membercenter.msn.com/SignupChangeFAQ.aspx
  • MSN Explorer Versions prior to 10.5 will no longer work
  • Windows XP Sp3, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 will be the only supported operating systems
  • Enhanced ant-phishing capabilities will be deployed by adding McAfee® SiteAdvisor® technology to MSN Explorer

Revisions:

July 15, 2013: Original Draft and Original Publish Date

Filed under MSN Tagged with , , ,

MSN Phasing out Chat and E-mail Support For Subscription Plans

March 22, 2012 2 Comments

 

Summary:

Effective April 30, 2012 MSN will phase out support via Chat and e-mail for MSN subscription (fee-based) customers

 

Subscriber Notification:

  • Email notice of March 19, 2012

MSN_SupportEnd_00

Current Options Impacted:

MSN_SupportEnd_01    MSN_SupportEnd_02

 

Comments:

  • Support can be obtained now and in the future in the MSN Solution Center – http://answers.msn.com  MSN_SupportAnswersMsnCom_01
  • This change impacts MSN Subscribers (fee based) using MSN Dial-Up or Premium Internet Software Plans
  • The Chat and E-Mail Support options at https://support.msn.com will no longer be available
  • The notification does not mention removal of ‘Customer Service Phone Support’ which is expected to remain available for billing, cancellation etc. purposes

Revisions:
March 19, 2012: Original Draft Date
March 22, 2012: Original Publish Date

Filed under MSN Tagged with , , , , ,

MSN Hotmail and Hotmail Plus POP3/SMTP Access

March 12, 2010

Summary:    This entry has been updated and superseded by the following blog entry covering updated and additional information.

Hotmail and MSN Accounts POP3/SMTP Access

https://liveunplugged.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/hotmail-and-msn-accounts-pop3smtp-access/

Revisions:

March 12, 2010: Original blog entry content removed and ‘Summary’ revised to reflect changes and availability of updated link/content

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MSN 10 Information

November 30, 2009

Summary:

  • Information about MSN version(10.0) was posted on November 24, 2009 in the Microsoft Public Newsgroup – Microsoft.Public.Msn.Discussion (see  ‘More Information’ section below)
  • MSN software was formerly referred to as MSN Explorer

  

Reference:

<qp>Greetings,
MSN Explorer Version 10 (MSN 10) has been released for MSN retail customers in the United States.  International and partner versions are still in the development process. If you are currently running MSN 9.6, then you will be automatically updated to MSN 10 within the upcoming weeks.  For new installs, please go to http://membercenter.msn.com and click the Download Now link. MSN 10 runs on the following versions of Windows – 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP (32 bit only), Vista (32 bit /64 bit) and Windows 7 (32 bit/64 bit).

New features in MSN 10:
– Integrated e-mail spell checker for XP, Vista and Windows 7.
– Quick Web Access (QWA) allows you to surf the web while MSN 10 completes the sign-in process.  For new installs, QWA is enabled by default.  Customers who receive MSN 10 through the auto-update process will not have this enabled by default.  QWA can be easily enabled/disabled from the sign in screen.
– New video player for the dashboard.  Add the player by clicking the username at the top of the dashboard and choosing Video.  This option is not enabled by default.
– The search buttons have been updated to Bing.

Items that have been removed or changed:
– The “Encarta” button has been changed to “Reference” and includes a dictionary, thesaurus and translations.
– The calendar task list has been removed from the dashboard since it was part of  the former MSN Calendar service.
– Search box on the dashboard has been moved to a fixed position at the top of the dashboard.
– Messenger is no longer a requirement for signing into MSN Explorer.  If Messenger is installed, MSN Explorer will work with it in the same manner as before and show your contacts and their online status.

Notable bug fixes:
– The main cause for ‘Error 235’ while installing/uninstalling has been addressed. Note: this error code may still display if a firewall or anti-virus is preventing MSN Explorer from accessing the internet.
– New windows not displaying the navigation bar has been fixed
– Unable to download certain file types such as .csv or .pdf has been fixed
Behind the scenes changes:
Previously, in order to add or remove features from the dashboard or navigation bar it was necessary to release an entirely new version of MSN Explorer.  With MSN 10, we now have the ability to update the dashboard and
the navigation bar  without requiring a full update of MSN Explorer.  Now that we have enabled this functionality, you can expect additional new features to be delivered to MSN 10 over the next year.
Thank you,
Berit Benson
Community Leader, MSN Internet Access/MSN Explorer

This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights.</qp>

 

More Information:

 

Known Issues:

  • Unable to delete Dashboard Bing History (by design last 5 items are retained).  See the following link for discussion on a work-around and a beta tool currently being evaluated.  ->   ‘ How to delete dashboard Bing history ‘
  • Partner Versions(e.g. Qwest) [at the time of this publication] are not available for download or distribution and still in the development process.

 

 Revisions:

 Nov 28, 2009:  Original Draft Date

Nov 30, 2009:  Original Publish Date

Jan 15, 2010:   Updated for Known Issues, embedded Hyperlinks, and Tags

Dec 31, 2010:  Updated ‘More Information’ section to search MSN content on Google Groups

 

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, How-To, Help, MSN Explorer, accounts, Windows Live

Filed under MSN Tagged with , , ,

MSN 9.6 Information

June 24, 2008

 

Summary:

  • Information about MSN version(9.6) was posted on June 20th in the Microsoft Public Newsgroup – Microsoft.Public.Msn.Discussion
  • MSN software was formerly referred to as MSN Explorer

 

Reference:

 

  • The posting source was Berit Benson,Community Leader – MSN Internet Access

<qp>

Greetings, This week, we started rolling out MSN 9.6 to a subset of MSN Premium and Dial-up customers in the United States. Customers who live outside the United States or have their MSN subscription through Qwest, Verizon or Bell Canada will be upgraded later this summer.

What has changed: Email storage space has been increased to 10GB for the primary account and 5GB for secondary accounts.

MSN 9.6 uses a new protocol (DeltaSync) to exchange email with Hotmail. This change is entirely behind the scenes so the look and feel of MSN Mail will stay the same. The very first time you open your mail in MSN 9.6, it may take a little longer than normal to display your messages. After this initial session, your email experience should be the same as it was before.

Family Safety from Windows Live One Care (FSS) is replacing MSN Parental Controls. For more information about FSS, please visit: https://fss.live.com/Default.aspx

Thank you,
Berit Benson
Community Leader – MSN Internet Access

— This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

</qp>

 

More Information:

 

 

 

Revisions:

June 24, 2008: Original Published Date

Jan 10, 2010: Republished for archival purpose

 

Filed under MSN