Free email accounts

[big_teee]

I have a few free email accounts, and my Outlook was blocked today pending mobile phone number verification.
I was trying to send email, and said for security of my account had to be blocked and verified.
I would have to give a cell phone number so they could text the security code to it.
I'm retired and don't carry a cell phone.
My wife has one, but it is none of there business what her number is.
So for right now my Outlook account is blocked.
Sounds like more of the NSA and big Brother Business to me.
So I turned around and opened another free account with HushMail.
It was real easy and non invasive.
I still have my yahooMail, but it gets so much spam.
Anyone else have any similar cell phone text experiences for security purposes?
Also what is the best free email?
I guess I've tried nearly all but gmail.
T

[g1]

The blocking is not normal. Something is triggering the block, making the service think your account has been hacked or is trying to send spam or something.
Contact support and they should be able to get you back up without a mobile phone number.
See info about possible block triggers here:
Errors sending an email message in Outlook.com - Microsoft Windows Help

[big_teee]

I read the errors sending an email message in outlook.
I only used this account to round robbin with one other person.
Maybe that constitutes to many sent messages.
Don't know if I can pass the outlook smell test or not.
I sent a report, but so far no response.
Hushmail has no stipulations and yahoo mail has never cared how much mail you send.
T

[Steve A.]

I have a few free email accounts, and my Outlook was blocked today pending mobile phone number verification.

Here is text from the link that g-one sent you:

"To help protect Microsoft Outlook customers from fraud or abuse, we sometimes block accounts from sending email. This usually happens when a message triggers our junk filters or if an account exceeds the daily limit for sending email. Here are the most common errors that you might see and what you can do to fix the problem.

"Your message triggers junk filters

"Email messages get blocked when the content of the message looks like junk email. Occasionally, legitimate email can get marked as junk. If your message is blocked, try the following:

"Change the content of your message to make it look less suspicious, and then try sending it again.

"Go to the Add a phone webpage to verify your account with a mobile phone number. After you enter your phone number, we'll send you a text message with a verification code that you can use to unblock your account. This helps us verify that you're the owner of the account and not a spammer.

"If these steps don't work, contact support for help."

Here is the link for support:

Sign in to your Microsoft account

I have had a similar request (a mobile phone number to text a message to) but it didn't trigger my own privacy alarms because I had already given them that number. I really doubt that Microsoft will be saving the phone number you give them in some sort of dossier but if you are concerned about that you should check with customer support to see if there are other ways to confirm who you are. For starters you could say truthfully that you don't have a mobile phone. Here is that link for support again:

Sign in to your Microsoft account

Good luck!

Steve Ahola

P.S. I'm not familiar with Outlook.com email but if a lot of your friends use that address to contact you might want to keep using it. (I set up fake accounts at gmail.com that I never use unless some questionable site wants an email address for me. If it starts getting spammed I can delete it and open a different one.)

EDIT I didn't see your latest post until I posted this.
I'm sure that the issue is not you sending too many emails so it could be that it found something that triggered one of their filters in a message on that account.

[big_teee]

Here is text from the link that g-one sent you:

"To help protect Microsoft Outlook customers from fraud or abuse, we sometimes block accounts from sending email. This usually happens when a message triggers our junk filters or if an account exceeds the daily limit for sending email. Here are the most common errors that you might see and what you can do to fix the problem.

"Your message triggers junk filters

"Email messages get blocked when the content of the message looks like junk email. Occasionally, legitimate email can get marked as junk. If your message is blocked, try the following:

"Change the content of your message to make it look less suspicious, and then try sending it again.

"Go to the Add a phone webpage to verify your account with a mobile phone number. After you enter your phone number, we'll send you a text message with a verification code that you can use to unblock your account. This helps us verify that you're the owner of the account and not a spammer.

"If these steps don't work, contact support for help."

Here is the link for support:

Sign in to your Microsoft account

I have had a similar request (a mobile phone number to text a message to) but it didn't trigger my own privacy alarms because I had already given them that number. I really doubt that Microsoft will be saving the phone number you give them in some sort of dossier but if you are concerned about that you should check with customer support to see if there are other ways to confirm who you are. For starters you could say truthfully that you don't have a mobile phone. Here is that link for support again:

Sign in to your Microsoft account

Good luck!

Steve Ahola

P.S. I'm not familiar with Outlook.com email but if a lot of your friends use that address to contact you might want to keep using it. (I set up fake accounts at gmail.com that I never use unless some questionable site wants an email address for me. If it starts getting spammed I can delete it and open a different one.)

EDIT I didn't see your latest post until I posted this.
I'm sure that the issue is not you sending too many emails so it could be that it found something that triggered one of their filters in a message on that account.

That is the email I kept getting, then it blocked my account.
I can still get in the account I just can't send any emails, like I am the guilty sender.
T
**This is what I get when I send email.
Please verify your account. We've noticed some unusual activity in your Outlook account. To help protect you, we've temporarily blocked your account.

So how in the hell is blocking me, protecting me?

[Steve A.]

That is the email I kept getting, then it blocked my account.
I can still get in the account I just can't send any emails, like I am the guilty sender.
T
**This is what I get when I send email.
Please verify your account. We've noticed some unusual activity in your Outlook account. To help protect you, we've temporarily blocked your account.

So how in the hell is blocking me, protecting me?

Click on this link and log in. Tell them that you don't have a mobile phone- ask them if there is any other way that you can confirm your identity.

Sign in to your Microsoft account

Yahoo.com mail is notorious for getting hacked. Friends were sent an email saying that they were stuck in London because they lost their wallet and they need 1400 pounds to pay their hotel bill so that they can come home. If you were hacked like that you needed to log on to Yahoo Mail and change your password.

Perhaps something like that is going on with Outlook.com only Microsoft is handling it more proactively. Your email account might gotten hacked (through no fault of yours!) and was being used to send spam or malicious emails. What happens is that a hacker might have hacked into the Outlook database and gotten the password and usernames for many people- perhaps even you.

Steve Ahola

P.S. "So how in the hell is blocking me, protecting me?" They are protecting your reputation so that people aren't receiving bogus emails supposedly from you and cussing out that goddamned Big T for getting them infected with a computer virus!

[Steve A.]

That is the email I kept getting, then it blocked my account.
I can still get in the account I just can't send any emails, like I am the guilty sender.
T
**This is what I get when I send email.
Please verify your account. We've noticed some unusual activity in your Outlook account. To help protect you, we've temporarily blocked your account.

So how in the hell is blocking me, protecting me?

Click on this link and log in. Tell them that you don't have a mobile phone- ask them if there is any other way that you can confirm your identity.

Sign in to your Microsoft account

Yahoo.com mail is notorious for getting hacked. Friends were sent an email saying that they were stuck in London because they lost their wallet and they need 1400 pounds to pay their hotel bill so that they can come home. If you were hacked like that you needed to log on to Yahoo Mail and change your password.

Perhaps something like that is going on with Outlook.com only Microsoft is handling it more proactively. Your email account might gotten hacked (through no fault of yours!) and was being used to send spam or malicious emails. What happens is that a hacker might have hacked into the Outlook database and gotten the password and usernames for many people- perhaps even you.

Steve Ahola

P.S. "So how in the hell is blocking me, protecting me?" They are protecting your reputation so that people aren't receiving bogus emails supposedly from you and cussing out that goddamned Big T for getting them infected with a computer virus!

[big_teee]

MS sent me a code to another email address.
I still can't login with the code.
Not sure I'm putting the code in the right place.
Any help appreciated!
T

[g1]

On the sign in page there is an option for "sign in with a single use code". Is this where they want you to use the code they sent?

[big_teee]

I beat on it some more last night.
I figured out how to generate my own code, and it goes to my yahoo mail.
I put the code in, it accepts the code, but when I try to log on it still says my account is temporarily blocked.
It let me change my password.
Still no go.
I may have to abandon this account.
I really liked the layout of outlook.
I keep sending them email on their automated page, but nothing yet.
For now I'm using the Spam Layden Yahoo, and the new no fuss HushMail.
The hushmail is based in Canada, and it works great, don't like their layout as well.
T

[Steve A.]

I beat on it some more last night.
I figured out how to generate my own code, and it goes to my yahoo mail.
I put the code in, it accepts the code, but when I try to log on it still says my account is temporarily blocked.

Have you been able to get in contact with technical support via email or chat? I would keep bugging them until THEY fix the problem (there could be something that they need to reset regarding your account.)

Good luck!

Steve

P.S. Outlet.com is a web-based email client (like Yahoo Mail)- right? I've been using Mozilla Thunderbird (Firefox's cousin!) which is a desktop email client - they download the messages to my computer - and use a web-based email client only when absolutely necessary because Thunderbird got stuck downloading something. Outlook Express is/was the Microsoft desktop email client.

One downside to a desktop email client is that infected messages may get past your AV program. And they do accumulate unless you delete them.

On the other hand web-based email allows you to access your messages from any of your devices. (I do use Gmail's web-based client with my Android tablets.)

[g1]

Steve: outlook.com (formerly hotmail) is the microsoft webmail. Windows live mail is the desktop client that was once outlook express.
Doesn't really seem logical to me either .
I don't use the desktop client as I don't want to be automatically downloading anything until I choose to (we are ubb). All my mail stays in the virtual p.o. box.

[big_teee]

I waited 24 hours and tried again to reinter newly generated codes and changed password again.
It still says my account is blocked.
I can receive emails, still can't send emails.
So I submitted another problem to MS.
I'm wondering now if because I run Firefox with Adblocker, and do not track enabled if that has anything to do with it?
Since this blockage, I've gotten comfortable with Hushmail, along side my spam ridden Yahoo.
I'm about ready, to Say F Outlook, YOU COPY?
T

[Leo_Gnardo]

I've been using Mozilla Thunderbird (Firefox's cousin!) which is a desktop email client - they download the messages to my computer - and use a web-based email client only when absolutely necessary because Thunderbird got stuck downloading something.

Thunderbird here too, and it was perfect until last July 18 when for no particular reason it stopped sending outgoing email. Support, what's that? Get no help from Mozilla Tbird or from my ISP, another way of playing idiot's delight. So I compose my replies & outgoing on Thurnderbird then copy it over to my ISP's cheezy email program, it eats up time and aggro but it gets the job done. One thing that may or may not have anything to do with it, I've received email AND snail mail from some Napa valley based tech outfit that apparently are trying to shake me down for $$$ and claim they will stop my email if I don't pay. They have nothing to do with my ISP or Mozilla, but who knows maybe they hacked in, interfered with my settings, and may or may not return things to normal if I send $$$. Why these pirates arent' shut down, who knows.

[Steve A.]

Thunderbird here too, and it was perfect until last July 18 when for no particular reason it stopped sending outgoing email. Support, what's that? Get no help from Mozilla Tbird or from my ISP, another way of playing idiot's delight. So I compose my replies & outgoing on Thurnderbird then copy it over to my ISP's cheezy email program, it eats up time and aggro but it gets the job done.

I think that Mozilla has a user community that might be able to help. My own ISP has always been very helpful in setting up my TBird accounts when I switch computers. Too late now but it is a good idea to do screen captures of your ISP settings under Tools | Account Settings. With screen dumps of your current settings your ISP tech support might be able to help you. They should be able to tell you these settings because they are not specific to TBird (their typical cop-out is that they are not familiar with XXX mail client):

Incoming email:
- the Mail Server Type [POP], Name [ca.astound.net] and Port [110]
- Connection security (STARTTLS, SSL/TLS or none) and authentication method

Outgoing email
- Outgoing Server (SMPT) Settings [Astound.net - smtp.astound.net (Default)]
Description
Server Name
Port
User Name
Authentication Method
Connection Security

Note: Text inside square brackets [ ] are the settings for my account just to give you an idea of format and choices. Your settings will undoubtedly be different.

One thing that may or may not have anything to do with it, I've received email AND snail mail from some Napa valley based tech outfit that apparently are trying to shake me down for $$$ and claim they will stop my email if I don't pay. They have nothing to do with my ISP or Mozilla, but who knows maybe they hacked in, interfered with my settings, and may or may not return things to normal if I send $$$. Why these pirates arent' shut down, who knows.

Can you message me the addresses for the company trying to shake you down? Probably best not to post them in the open forum here which shows up in Google searches almost immediately (I remember when it used to take a week to 10 days.)

Steve Ahola