Secret Microsoft policy limited Hotmail passwords to 16 characters

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Microsoft Logo

For years, Microsoft engineers have quietly limited Hotmail passwords to 16 characters, a revelation that has surprised and concerned some users who have long entered passcodes twice that long to access accounts. One such user is Costin Raiu, the director of the global research and analysis team at antivirus provider Kaspersky Lab. On Friday he reported receiving a new error message when he entered the same 30-character passcode he long used on the Microsoft site. When he typed in the first 16 characters, as the error message directed him to do, he was able to access his account just fine. Read the full story at ARS Technica.

Author:

Shelly Palmer

Shelly Palmer is Fox 5 New York's On-air Tech Expert (WNYW-TV) and the host of Fox Television's monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living. He also hosts United Stations Radio Network's, Shelly Palmer Digital Living Daily, a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology, media, and entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group, LLC an industry-leading advisory and business development firm and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards).