MSN Hotmail Reviewer's Comments

MSN Hotmail is finally stepping up their game. They have introduced 1 GB of inbox storage and have adequate spam filtering and virus scanning and cleaning. They are the only free email service we reviewed that included a dictionary and thesaurus in the composer. Unfortunately, some of Hotmail’s additional features like, importing addresses, WYSIWYG HTML composer and tasks and reminders are only compatible with Internet Explorer.

Security:  

Although spam sometimes gets though, MSN Hotmail’s spam filter is sufficient. If you do receive spam you can easily report it to MSN by marking the unwanted mail as junk. You can choose from three levels of junk filtering including, “low,” “enhanced” and “exclusive.” MSN Hotmail also scans all incoming and outgoing mail for viruses; additionally, they block images and restrict downloads until you agree they are safe. Your “black lists” can restrict email addresses and domains.

MSN Hotmail is trying to curb phishing scams. They will block incoming messages from known phishers; however, some unscrupulous messages do penetrate your inbox.

Features Set:  

With MSN Hotmail you can organize your inbox with folders and custom filters. You can sort all your incoming mail into specified folders. You can then sort your mail according to work, family, book club, PTA and more. Additionally, you can search your inbox or various folders if you are looking for a specific message. You can import your address book, but only through Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express.

MSN Hotmail includes a plain text composer with spell check, dictionary, and thesaurus. Unfortunately, Hotmail’s HTML composer is only available when using Internet Explorer as your browser. Additionally, you cannot set up an auto–reply and MSN Hotmail Free email does not support POP3 or IMAP access.

Extras:  

MSN Hotmail includes several additional features to supplement your email account. With MSN Mobile you can check your email, get updates and manage your various MSN accounts. MSN’s instant messenger is a free additional download that will notify you when you receive a new email.

MSN Hotmail provides a few practical features for additional organization. They include a calendar, but the tasks and reminders feature is only available with Internet Explorer.

Support/ Ease of Use:  

We found MSN Hotmail included a comprehensive help section. All of our questions were easily found using the search feature or FAQ section.

We know MSN Hotmail is in the process of updating and reconfiguring many of their features. Although we don’t usually experience many difficulties with their email and IM service, we found that during the time of this review we experienced some login problems.

Summary:  

Hotmail has come a long way in recent years. They provide a decent email service with adequate spam and junk mail filtering. Additionally, MSN Hotmail is the only service we reviewed that included a dictionary and thesaurus. Your MSN Hotmail account will expire after 90 days of inactivity. Since MSN Hotmail is directly associated with Microsoft all of MSN Hotmail’s features may not work in other Internet browsers like Firefox or Opera.