Odd email problem

[AFriendlyFace]

Hi everyone,

 

I just thought I'd pose a question to those more technologically savvy than myself.

 

Recently, for about the last two weeks I would say, I've been noticing a very odd problem with one of my email accounts.

 

I have several email accounts including an exceedingly old MSN account (back before broadband was common and MSN was actually my dial-up ISP) and a much more recent hotmail account. Anyway obviously I now log into both using the hotmail page. Well there's no issue at all with the hotmail account I only mention it as a relevant contrast. However, every time I first attempt to log into the MSN account it tells me my password is incorrect and to try again. I then type my password again and it logs me on.

 

At first I was barely cognizant of this occurrence. I assumed that I'd made a typo while typing too quickly. Then I noticed that I always seemed to "make a typo" on my first attempt, yet never on my 2nd. So for the past week I've been very carefully typing my password just as it's supposed to be. It still tells me it's incorrect on the first try, then I type the identical password again and it happily logs me in on the 2nd attempt. It hasn't logged me in a single time on the first try since I've noticed this happening.

 

So anyone know why (or have a theory)? My password is not incorrect, I'm not mistyping it, and I'm not doing anything at all different the 2nd time.

 

I don't particularly care since it's not that big a deal to just re-type it. However, I am very curious, and I'm also concerned that this could be the beginning of a more serious problem.

 

The only thing I've been able to guess is that perhaps the MSN account is too old? Or maybe I have some sort of very odd virus?

 

**shrugs**

 

 

Take care all and thanks for any info/suggestions,

Kevin

[Benji]

Hi everyone,

 

I just thought I'd pose a question to those more technologically savvy than myself.

 

Recently, for about the last two weeks I would say, I've been noticing a very odd problem with one of my email accounts.

 

I have several email accounts including an exceedingly old MSN account (back before broadband was common and MSN was actually my dial-up ISP) and a much more recent hotmail account. Anyway obviously I now log into both using the hotmail page. Well there's no issue at all with the hotmail account I only mention it as a relevant contrast. However, every time I first attempt to log into the MSN account it tells me my password is incorrect and to try again. I then type my password again and it logs me on.

 

At first I was barely cognizant of this occurrence. I assumed that I'd made a typo while typing too quickly. Then I noticed that I always seemed to "make a typo" on my first attempt, yet never on my 2nd. So for the past week I've been very carefully typing my password just as it's supposed to be. It still tells me it's incorrect on the first try, then I type the identical password again and it happily logs me in on the 2nd attempt. It hasn't logged me in a single time on the first try since I've noticed this happening.

 

So anyone know why (or have a theory)? My password is not incorrect, I'm not mistyping it, and I'm not doing anything at all different the 2nd time.

 

I don't particularly care since it's not that big a deal to just re-type it. However, I am very curious, and I'm also concerned that this could be the beginning of a more serious problem.

 

The only thing I've been able to guess is that perhaps the MSN account is too old? Or maybe I have some sort of very odd virus?

 

**shrugs**

 

 

Take care all and thanks for any info/suggestions,

Kevin

 

 

.........It's the goverment, the 1st time you log in your actually logging them in first!

[AFriendlyFace]

.........It's the goverment, the 1st time you log in your actually logging them in first!

 

You succeeded in scaring me...till I realized that I don't mind if the government has access to my coupon offers, ads about penile enlargement, and links to straight porn

[Graeme]

I'm guessing here, but since MSN and Hotmail are owned by the same people, they may be trying to integrate the two security systems and are having teething problems. I'm assuming that you're accessing both of these on the same computer and they are probably using the same cookies.

 

As a test, try logging into MSN twice in a row -- does it still show the same behaviour, or is it only after you have logged into your Hotmail account?

[AFriendlyFace]

I'm guessing here, but since MSN and Hotmail are owned by the same people, they may be trying to integrate the two security systems and are having teething problems. I'm assuming that you're accessing both of these on the same computer and they are probably using the same cookies.

That sounds like a good theory.

As a test, try logging into MSN twice in a row -- does it still show the same behaviour, or is it only after you have logged into your Hotmail account?

I'm a tad confused I think. Logging into MSN how? You mean logging in then logging out of the email address twice in a row? Using the messenger (which is actually linked to the hotmail account ) or logging on to MSN as a browser (which I don't think I've done in a good 6 or 7 years).

 

EDIT:

 

I just tried logging out of the email account and then logging back in again and it still did the same thing.

Edited February 8, 2008 by AFriendlyFace

[Graeme]

I just tried logging out of the email account and then logging back in again and it still did the same thing.

Oh, well, it was worth a try. I don't know what you mean by an MSN email account. The only email account I have with MSN is a hotmail account. Actually, I have a couple -- one quite old -- but I only regularly check one.

[AFriendlyFace]

Oh, well, it was worth a try. I don't know what you mean by an MSN email account. The only email account I have with MSN is a hotmail account. Actually, I have a couple -- one quite old -- but I only regularly check one.

It ends in "@msn.com" I believe the only way you could have one of these is if you'd at one point had MSN as an ISP

[rknapp]

Indeed this is a very weird problem, and Graeme's theory is plausible being that MSN and Hotmail are both owned and operated by Microsoft. I don't have a solution for you other than e-mailing MSN (not Hotmail or Microsoft) and asking them your question. I say MSN because I have no idea if the companies share tech support, so if they don't then the MSN tech support would be better off in answering this question.

 

Personally I have Hotmail only to log in to MSN messenger (infrequently since the schools method for sharing their single internet connection with the residential areas and the main campus is to cut off residents almost entirely while classes are in session). I other use just my school email, which is forwarded to my Gmail account, which is forwarded to Thunderbird on my computer.