Problems logging into hotmail in Germany

[Stanfordian]

Recently from the UK I took my laptop to Germany and hotmail wouldn't allow me to log into my hotmail account. It was asking a number of 'security' questions most of which I didn't have the information to hand to enable me to answer. I was even asked about another email account for verification but as that was also a hotmail account I had he same problem with that. No matter how I tried to access my hotmail accounts I wasn't allowed any access. The previous year in Germany I had no problems accessing hotmail. It is crucial for me to access my emails and I am concerned that the same situation will happen when I return to Germany next month.

[Dave2002]

This sounds similar to what happens with Google. It's a right pain. You don't find out that you have a problem until you go out of range of home, which could even be only as far as Scotland - from the London area. Probably, like many people, you will have given up remembering your passwords, and then the systems require you to provide them, or go through a set of challenge response hoops in order to gain access. You may have to reset the password.

Then what happens is when you return home, you have to reset the passwords on every other machine you have - which I fear in my case is more than two. It may take months before things settle down again. I first noticed this in a serious way on a trip to Germany, and it took months after I returned to persuade all my machines to deliver email again.

Even just taking a tablet computer, such as an iPad, for a day trip to France could initiate the whole painful business - maybe even also a smartphone if you have one.

Add taking a list of some of your passwords to your packing list for foreign trips, even though arguably it's bad security practice - though it sounds as though like me, you did not anticipate this beforehand.

[David-G]

This is why I always use the same password.

But when I recently travelled to the Far East I did not have any problem of this kind. Mind you, I do not use Hotmail or Google mail. When travelling I use the webmail of my ISP (PlusNet). I logged in in the usual way; there were no difficulties and I was asked no security questions.