Shoutbox

Zaher1988,

There is, indeed, a small discrepancy here.  The first email you posted suggests they would restore your original password (as Cookie stated, this may work by swapping a hash, meaning they wouldn't actually know at any point what your password is).  The second message suggests your password would be reset to a new one, which would be emailed to your alternate email address.

I don't know why there are two scenarios -- perhaps they can do it both ways, perhaps one of the support agents made a small mistake describing it.  However, I think they are consistent on things that matter, which are:

1) They will not access your account without your explicit permission, which should be comforting to you.

2) They are not asking for your password. 

The difference between them using special access rights to view your account or change your password, and them asking you for your password, is that the first creates an audit trail and doesn't expose you if you've been silly and used the same password for many accounts at many places.  It also prevents them from keeping your password and accessing your account for who-knows-what purposes outside their job, without your knowledge.

I am not sure why you have as much of a problem with this as you seem to.  Ordinarily, I am first and foremost concerned with individual privacy, but sometimes it is necessary to see the problem to fix it -- and they are doing it right and asking for your consent.  If there is any information stored on your account that you would be uncomfortable with someone seeing, you have the opportunity to delete it before you tell them it is okay with you.

There are times you have to trust professionals who are just doing their job.  That applies as much here as it applies to your doctor. 

I would give my password to MSN support if they needed it to solve a problem that's bugging me a lot. But since they don't actually need your password but only your permission to acccess your account

Support changed my account settings a while back, with my permission. Nothing dodgy about it. True they didn't go into my actual email account but what do you think would happen if a microsoft helpdesk employer would "steal" accounts from their customers and the news got out? Honestly, they're just doing their job and if you are sure that the email is in fact from support and not something else, go for it and get them to solve your problem.

quote:

---

Originally posted by CookieRevised
What's so funny about that?

---

the funny is, they should be able to access, coz my email is on their servers! and they are the administators of these servers, and they should be able to modify any setting remotly.

quote:

---

Originally posted by CookieRevised
There's nothing dodgy or different about it. It is exactly the same as they said before only not with so many words.

---

owwwwww come on, the 1st said i will revert back your original password, the second said i will send you the reseting password to ur alternate email.

quote:

---

Originally posted by CookieRevised
Don't read stuff which isn't there; there is absolutly nothing funny or contradicting about those mails.

---

no comment.

quote:

---

Originally posted by NiteMare
this means they will inform you when they are done, and have reset your password, by e-mailing you at your alternative address, since you won't have access to the main address

---

i know what that means, i was referring to the 2 different stories.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Renee
There is, indeed, a small discrepancy here.  The first email you posted suggests they would restore your original password (as Cookie stated, this may work by swapping a hash, meaning they wouldn't actually know at any point what your password is).  The second message suggests your password would be reset to a new one, which would be emailed to your alternate email address.

---

now this guys understands what is going on

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeptus
1) They will not access your account without your explicit permission, which should be comforting to you.

2) They are not asking for your password. 

---

i knew that, sorry about the title of the thread, little misleading

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeptus
I am not sure why you have as much of a problem with this as you seem to.  Ordinarily, I am first and foremost concerned with individual privacy, but sometimes it is necessary to see the problem to fix it -- and they are doing it right and asking for your consent.  If there is any information stored on your account that you would be uncomfortable with someone seeing, you have the opportunity to delete it before you tell them it is okay with you.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Renee
would give my password to MSN support if they needed it to solve a problem that's bugging me a lot. But since they don't actually need your password but only your permission to acccess your account

---

it is just the period of inactivity (going off) and not able to access my account that conserns me, coz i'm not able to leave it for any while :/, plus to all that, i dont know when exactly they will be working on my issue.

finnally !! do u think my settings are causing the problem mentioned here ? i doubt :/

thx alot

There is nothing contradicting in those two mails...

1) They will reset your password temporarly (as they will put back the old hash after they're done).

2) Whenever you or someone else, resets your password, temporary or not, you recieve a notification on your alternative email address. That's how the system works. And it is that which is described in the second mail.

quote:

---

Originally posted by zaher1988
the funny is, they should be able to access, coz my email is on their servers! and they are the administators of these servers, and they should be able to modify any setting remotly.

---

I know this is a tad different but anyway. On my web server, I can access everything alright. Every single thing except people's emails. I can reset people's passwords and then sign in, but I can't view any of their emails without resetting their password. This is most probably how microsoft work. Otherwise, anyone who could access an ms computer could log in to anyones account, view any email, and do whatever they wanted.

I'm with Cookie and segosa on this one, 100%. I mean, wth? It seems pretty clear cut to me.

Yeah I agree, it seems 100% real. Just send them the confirmation e-mail and see what happens.

I'd send back comfirmation.

Don't give out your password though, ever.

quote:

---

Originally posted by CookieRevised
There is nothing contradicting in those two mails...

1) They will reset your password temporarly (as they will put back the old hash after they're done).

2) Whenever you or someone else, resets your password, temporary or not, you recieve a notification on your alternative email address. That's how the system works. And it is that which is described in the second mail.

---

well it is how the system works, but we can't neglect that the 1st person didn't mention any! and i'm not supposed to wonder how they work.

Anyway listen what happend, they asked back for the list of all the emails i had problems with, along to the confirmation.
I supplied them with everything, though today i got a reply from them, which doesn't mention anything related to reseting my pasword. seems like they didn't do it. they instead forwarded my inquiry to some specialist "[...] We are going to refer your case to a MSN Specialized team".

so i just have to wait now! hope this thing will be fixed soon.

ciao