Hubris - Definition: Microsofts Passport
|
Before September of 1995, Microsoft ignored the Internet because their 16-bit Windows 3.1 operating system couldn't handle the 32-bit Internet world. With the introduction of Windows 95, Microsoft decided they owned the Internet.
Instead of having separate accounts at dozens of websites, Microsoft decided that you will have one master account that you will use to log in everywhere. That account will contain your credit card number, bank account numbers, all your personal information and financial records, and Microsoft will own that account.
Well, Microsoft IS the United State's government condoned monopoly, so 200 million Internet users, and 100 major web companies dutifully signed up for Microsoft's Passport wallet service.
In 1999, Internet authorities discovered Microsoft's passport service had numerous security holes, and hackers could steal your personal information. In 2001, the Federal Trade Commission admonished Microsoft for not adhering to their own privacy policy. In 2003, Microsoft purged all the financial records from its Passport servers.
Millions of users continue to sign up for Passport because of the convenience it offers. Nearly 100 websites use Passport as their authentication method. Users don't need to remember separate usernames and passwords for each website. They can log in to all of them using a single email address. Some of the websites let you register without a Passport accont, but others, especially Microsoft owned websites, require you to have a Passport account.
If you sign up for Microsoft Network (MSN) or for a free Hotmail email account, you will be forced to sign up for Microsoft's Passport wallet service. You can sign up for a Passport account with a non-Microsoft email account at Microsoft's Passport website.
To sign up, you need only an email address and a password. After you sign up, you can choose to add personal information to your profile. Then you can indicate if you want to share your information with companies that use Passport. If you choose to share your personal information, be aware that Microsoft shares it with every passport website you visit, and those websites are not required to adhere to Microsoft's privacy policy.
The Internet does not need a master account repository for users personal information. Users don't need to remember separate usernames and passwords for each website. Every Internet user has memorized two or three different email addresses and half a dozen different passwords that they use everywhere.
If an Internet master account repositiory is desired, it should NOT be owned or operated by Microsoft. A repository of personal account information must be operated by an honest, independant company.
Note: In April 2000, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that Microsoft violated two sections of the 1890 Sherman Act. He concluded that Microsoft was an illegal monopoly that used anti-competitive means to maintain its dominance in Intel-based operating systems.
Copyright(C) Bucaro TecHelp.
Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is included.
About The Author
To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit http://bucarotechelp.com/search/000800.asp
|
|
|
Microsoft Great Plains Oil & Gas ? Implementation & Customization Highlights
Microsoft Great Plains serves the wide spectrum of horizontal markets. Great Plains could be considered as ERP platform, which you could expand with third party modules or advance with your own in-house custom functionality. The ...(related: Software)
Groupware: Answers The 5 Questions Of Document Collaboration
Every organization which creates collaborative documents, whether they are budgets, presentations, reports, spreadsheets, or other documents recognizes that collaborative efforts are requirement. That collaboration always forces the 5 eternal document collaboration questions: Who? What? Where? When? How? The reason I refer to them as eternal is that ...(related: Software)
Groupware As A Document Manager: Collaboration Series #3
This article is the third of a series of articles exploring specific aspects of groupware. The brief informational articles in this series discuss some of the technologies associated with groupware, as well as some of the characteristics of groupware. Some of these characteristics may go hand in hand with business collaborative needs. Other characteristics go beyond what some groupware providers have to offer. The purpose of these articles is to equip the groupware user or investigator with helpful knowledge about the product in order to enable more effective use or to lead the investigator to...(related: Software)
Industry Experts Answer The One Million-dollar Question - Why Genie Backup Manager?
Many reasons made GBM a unanimous choice for experts, one of them is the fact that with the set of features it offers, it's definitely the easiest to use."Genie Backup Manager Professional has a clear, simple interface which lets you manage the application without problems and in just a few minutes," the UK's Personal Computer World (PCW) state...(related: Software)
Crm 101: Customer Relationship Management For Beginners
Customer Relationship Management, abbreviated "CRM," is the term for a business strategy that is designed to improve customer service. CRM is also designed to increase customer satisfaction and gain new customers, thus increasing a business' revenue. CRM is a term that can be applied to software and an entire business strategy.How Does CRM Work?Essentially, CRM works by gathering information about customers and analyzing the information collected. An example of this would be supermarket discount cards (I.E. Kroger Plus Cards, ACME cards, Giant Eagle cards, etc...). When a consumer scans his or her card, and then his or her items, the items that customer bought are entered into a database. This gives businesses an accurate idea of which customers buy what. Businesses then analyze this information. After analyzing the...(related: Software)
Healthcare Preventive Maintenance Software
Healthcare facilities such as clinics, hospitals, and biomedical laboratories can benefit greatly if up to date CMMS software is used. Healthcare CMMS programs will help with the maintenance of the building, alerting workers when items such as automatic doors, light fixtures, and plumbing structures are due for checkups.Another i...(related: Software)
Instant Messaging Is A Sweet Way To Communicate
MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm not really into serious discussions on the email, answers to questions can often take a few days to arrive because people are so busy these days. I've just been 'hooked up' into Messenger and it's really a different kind of communication, quick, simplistic and even humorous with the capability to express your feelings with 'emotion' cartoons. With Messenger you c...(related: Software)
Microsoft Blues
With the advent of 'Service Pack 2' for Windows XP operating system, Microsoft have really made the forums hum.Every forum on computer problems is replete with complaints that since downloading and installing 'SP2', many 'third party' appli...(related: Software)
Great Plains Dexterity ? Microsoft Great Plains Customization Overview
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics and eEnterprise are Dexterity-written applications. Also small business line: Microsoft Small Business Manager or Small Business Financials is written in Dexterity and uses the same code base as Great Plains.The history of the Dexterity. Great Plains Dexterity - is proprietary programming language and technology, designed back to earlier 1990th with the goal to build platform independent graphical accounting package - Great Plains Dynamics. Dexterity itself is written in C (following popular those days hope - that C will provide platform independence). You can install Dexterity from Great Plains 7.5 CD #2. Obviously it requires a lot of learning / training, but it allows your custom piece b...(related: Software)
site-map - Copyright © 2008 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved. | Software