Keep Getting Junk Mail from Microsoft

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the issue of receiving persistent junk emails from Microsoft-related addresses while using Hotmail. Participants explore potential solutions for blocking these emails, the legitimacy of the senders, and the implications of unsubscribing from such communications.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant reports receiving junk emails from Microsoft-related addresses and questions how to effectively block them.
  • Another suggests looking for unsubscribe links and using filter options to delete emails from specific addresses.
  • Concerns are raised about the safety of clicking unsubscribe links if the emails are not genuinely from Microsoft.
  • Participants discuss the legitimacy of the email addresses, with some asserting that the presence of the ".microsoft" domain indicates authenticity, while others express skepticism.
  • There is a debate about whether the emails could be from retailers of Microsoft products rather than Microsoft itself.
  • Some participants note that the emails do not request money or contain suspicious links, which may imply they are legitimate communications.
  • Technical discussions arise regarding the structure of domain names and the implications of subdomains, with some clarifying how domain ownership works.
  • One participant reflects on the trade-off of receiving junk mail as part of using a free service like Hotmail.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the legitimacy of the emails and the best methods to handle them. There is no consensus on whether the emails are genuinely from Microsoft or if they are potentially misleading communications.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss the implications of domain names and the potential for spoofing, highlighting the complexity of determining the authenticity of email sources. The conversation also touches on the broader context of using free services and the associated drawbacks.

WWGD
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Hi, hope this is the right forum for this:

I use Hotmail in my Windows 8 PC. My problem is that I keep getting junk from Microsoft; from Bing, from MSN Rewards, etc. I have selected these messages (within Hotmail, in the drop menu) and reported them as junk many times now, but the junk filter does not seem to be working ; I keep receiving Microsoft-related e-mail . What can I do to block Microsoft -related e-mails for good?
 
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If they are really from Microsoft, have you tried looking for an unsubscribe link on the bottom? I don't use hotmail but do they have a filter option to automatically delete emails from certain addresses?
 
If they really are from microsoft you can opt out of them but be careful ... if they are NOT from microsoft selecting "unsubscribe" is just as dangerous as any other click in the body of such an email.
 
Thanks, both , I have instead repeatedly tagged the messages as junk. These are messages about changes/updates to Bing, adds for Office 365, Xboxes , etc. with sending addresses like:

microsoft@e.microsoft.com
bingrewards@e.microsoft.com

I assume this is genuine Microsoft, since I think they own the .microsoft domain.
 
WWGD said:
Thanks, both , I have instead repeatedly tagged the messages as junk. These are messages about changes/updates to Bing, adds for Office 365, Xboxes , etc. with sending addresses like:

microsoft@e.microsoft.com
bingrewards@e.microsoft.com

I assume this is genuine Microsoft, since I think they own the .microsoft domain.

and what makes you think that the domain e.microsoft.com IS microsoft.com ? I would certainly not assume that at all !
 
phinds said:
and what makes you think that the domain e.microsoft.com IS microsoft.com ? I would certainly not assume that at all !

Well, but it is also because of the products they advertise, all Microsoft products: tablets, Xboxes, Office, etc.

P.S: Interesting how the spellchecker corrects the spelling of Microsoft. Wonder if the same is the case
for other corporations.
 
WWGD said:
Well, but it is also because of the products they advertise, all Microsoft products: tablets, Xboxes, Office, etc.

P.S: Interesting how the spellchecker corrects the spelling of Microsoft. Wonder if the same is the case
for other corporations.

You are missing my point. The "e dot" means it probably has nothing to do with Microsoft. I can put up a domain called phinds.microsoft.com Would you assume that is Microsoft or not? Why? Because "phinds" is longer than "e" ?

It MIGHT be Microsoft, but I'd bet against it.
 
Well, maybe they are just retailers of Microsoft products. But I keep junking them and they keep reappearing.
 
WWGD said:
Well, maybe they are just retailers of Microsoft products.
Why would you think that?

But I keep junking them and they keep reappearing.
Doesn't that give you a clue?
 
  • #10
phinds said:
Why would you think that?

QUOTE]

Because they are not viruses ( I opened them at school, where they have Norton's antivirus) , and they
advertise Microsoft products. They don't ask you to reply, nor do they give you links to
click on (other than the link to the privacy statement, which links to an actual privacy statement* --see below), they don't ask you for money, so it does not seem like a scam.

And at the end of each message, there is the text:

Microsoft respects your privacy. Please view our online http://e.microsoft.com/Key-373101.C.JfyP.F.K2.-.nDXKJ4y (** Mine: which links to an actual privacy statement **).

To set your contact preferences for Microsoft communications, click here. These settings will not affect any mandatory service communications that are considered part of certain Microsoft services.

Microsoft Office
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA
98052 USA

*
Bing and MSN Privacy Statement
This privacy statement applies to Bing and MSN websites, services, products and applications that collect data and display these terms. It does not apply to other Microsoft products and services that do not link to the Bing and MSN Privacy Statement.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #11
phinds said:
Why would you think that?

Doesn't that give you a clue?

They don't ask you to click anywhere, no request for money, and no suggested links other than two:
1) for their privacy statement, which links to an actual Microsoft privacy statement, and,
2) Terms of Service: Links to a page with actual terms of service for Microsoft
 
  • #12
WWGD said:
They don't ask you to click anywhere, no request for money, and no suggested links other than two:
1) for their privacy statement, which links to an actual Microsoft privacy statement, and,
2) Terms of Service: Links to a page with actual terms of service for Microsoft

Well, then it sounds like it IS microsoft, even though I would have bet against it. On the other hand, copying those pages is easy. Do ANY of the links actually point to a url that starts with "microsoft.", not "<something>.microsoft" ?
 
  • #13
phinds said:
I can put up a domain called phinds.microsoft.com

And how are you going to do it? I can be missing some fine points, but technically that would be a subdomain of microsoft.com, and to be able to use it in any practical way you need access to microsoft.com DNS. Sure, you may be good/lucky enough to hack it, but other than that - I don't see how.

I have never used hotmail so can't say with any certainty, but if it is a free service, owned by Microsoft, junk mail form them is probably just a price you pay for the "free" service. Live with it.
 
  • #14
Borek said:
And how are you going to do it? I can be missing some fine points, but technically that would be a subdomain of microsoft.com, and to be able to use it in any practical way you need access to microsoft.com DNS. Sure, you may be good/lucky enough to hack it, but other than that - I don't see how.

I have never used hotmail so can't say with any certainty, but if it is a free service, owned by Microsoft, junk mail form them is probably just a price you pay for the "free" service. Live with it.
Well, I thought I earned the free e-mail when I (as many others ) served as a guinea pig for
many years for Microsoft's bug-ridden operating systems, put out early in order to be the first one out in the market. I am too poor to afford a Mac , and not computer-savvy-enough to run Linux or related.
 
Last edited:
  • #15
Borek said:
And how are you going to do it? I can be missing some fine points, but technically that would be a subdomain of microsoft.com, and to be able to use it in any practical way you need access to microsoft.com DNS. Sure, you may be good/lucky enough to hack it, but other than that - I don't see how.

I have never used hotmail so can't say with any certainty, but if it is a free service, owned by Microsoft, junk mail form them is probably just a price you pay for the "free" service. Live with it.

OK, maybe I have that backwards. Maybe it's Microsoft.phinds.com that I could do. I was thinking that the root is first, but are you saying whatever comes LAST in the URL (before the ".com" is the root? Now that I think about it, I guess that's right. I had a subsite for my son and as I recall it was robert.phinds.com, not phinds.robert.com --- that would all mean that e.microsoft DOES belong to Microsoft.
 
  • #16
phinds said:
Maybe it's Microsoft.phinds.com that I could do.

Yes, that's the way it works.
 
  • #17
Borek said:
Yes, that's the way it works.

Yes, this absolutely makes sense now that I actually THINK about it. "phinds.com" IS the root, clearly.
 
  • #18
Borek said:
I have never used hotmail so can't say with any certainty, but if it is a free service, owned by Microsoft, junk mail form them is probably just a price you pay for the "free" service. Live with it.
This.
 
  • #19
Mark44 said:
This.
WWGD said:
Well, I thought I earned the free e-mail when I (as many others ) served as a guinea pig for
many years for Microsoft's bug-ridden operating systems, put out early in order to be the first one out in the market. I am too poor to afford a Mac , and not computer-savvy-enough to run Linux or related.

This.That.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #20
Hey, could you guys stop with the "this" and throw in a "that" every now and then?
 
  • #22
Mark44 said:
Fixed it for you...

Better, thanks :p
 
  • #23
phinds said:
Hey, could you guys stop with the "this" and throw in a "that" every now and then?

How about a 'these' , 'those' and/or 'there'?
 
  • #24
Mark44 said:
Fixed it for you...

There.
 

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