Outlook.com Security vs other providers

mf1941 · 6 Mar 2018, 09:23 PM

Hi to all,

Curious how using Outlook/Hotmail email stacks up against the Security conscious providers that are out there nowadays?

I use an outlook address for my main communication, an alias of it for two fairly successful home businesses and have really not experienced any major issues in the last few years.

I use a subdomain of a website provider for business and it seems to work fine.
(I do own a couple of domain names but have been too busy/sidetracked to fully implement them)

I've toyed around with a few of the other providers (Mailbox.com, Fastmail, Runbox) but always end up going back to Outlook.com.

With all the talk of hacking/identity theft etc nowadays are these smaller services markedly better or is it simply in the eyes of the beholder?

TenFour · 7 Mar 2018, 06:49 AM

"Security" can mean different things to different people. Most of us worry about the wrong things when it comes to security. I would argue that the biggest email dangers lurk in the emails you receive: phishing attacks, ransomware, and other types of social engineering attacks that usually depend on you clicking on a link you shouldn't. In my experience the largest providers, like Gmail and Outlook.com, do the best job in scanning incoming emails and routing the bad ones into spam or oblivion (you never see them). I rarely get a suspicious message in my Gmail Inbox. Outlook.com is possibly too tight and I find that I have to check my Junk folder frequently and I always find things there I really want to see. There are many smaller providers focused on "privacy," which is a different thing. With Gmail and Outlook.com your incoming emails may be machine scanned in order to target advertising to you, but no human will ever see your emails. They have tight controls over who can see what and why. Smaller providers claim a lot of stuff around privacy and security, but it is really hard to know if it is true or not.

janusz · 7 Mar 2018, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour

Smaller providers claim a lot of stuff around privacy and security, but it is really hard to know if it is true or not.

The same is true about larger (and largest....) providers.

TenFour · 8 Mar 2018, 05:34 AM

Quote:

The same is true about larger (and largest....) providers.

Not really, because there are billions of users testing and using the systems every day. If there are issues they appear in the national and international news. Plus, you have the safety of being one amongst many tiny fish in a giant school of fish. The chances of you being the first one to experience a security issue are pretty small.

6 Mar 2018, 09:23 PM	#1
mf1941 Essential Contributor Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sound Beach, N.Y. Posts: 261	Outlook.com Security vs other providers Hi to all, Curious how using Outlook/Hotmail email stacks up against the Security conscious providers that are out there nowadays? I use an outlook address for my main communication, an alias of it for two fairly successful home businesses and have really not experienced any major issues in the last few years. I use a subdomain of a website provider for business and it seems to work fine. (I do own a couple of domain names but have been too busy/sidetracked to fully implement them) I've toyed around with a few of the other providers (Mailbox.com, Fastmail, Runbox) but always end up going back to Outlook.com. With all the talk of hacking/identity theft etc nowadays are these smaller services markedly better or is it simply in the eyes of the beholder?

7 Mar 2018, 06:49 AM	#2
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,719	"Security" can mean different things to different people. Most of us worry about the wrong things when it comes to security. I would argue that the biggest email dangers lurk in the emails you receive: phishing attacks, ransomware, and other types of social engineering attacks that usually depend on you clicking on a link you shouldn't. In my experience the largest providers, like Gmail and Outlook.com, do the best job in scanning incoming emails and routing the bad ones into spam or oblivion (you never see them). I rarely get a suspicious message in my Gmail Inbox. Outlook.com is possibly too tight and I find that I have to check my Junk folder frequently and I always find things there I really want to see. There are many smaller providers focused on "privacy," which is a different thing. With Gmail and Outlook.com your incoming emails may be machine scanned in order to target advertising to you, but no human will ever see your emails. They have tight controls over who can see what and why. Smaller providers claim a lot of stuff around privacy and security, but it is really hard to know if it is true or not.