Is there a Hotmail directory?

If you're using Microsoft's Windows Live web portal or its desktop apps like Outlook, then chances are that you've already signed up with an @hotmail.com email address. Maybe it was the first one that came through when you were setting up your PC in the cloud. Or perhaps you picked it because of its.NET-friendly URL (it's ".live" instead of "yahoo").

Either way, now that you have an @hotmail.com email, you might be wondering whether there's any point keeping it around. Is there even anything left to do on Hotmail besides just checking your inbox? And if so, where should you put those emails?

The answer depends entirely on which version of Hotmail you use, as well as whether or not you want to keep all of your mail together in one place. That said, we'll take a closer look at both scenarios below. But before we get started, let us explain some things about Hotmail that may seem confusing, such as why the service keeps changing names.

How can I find a Hotmail address by name?

Hotmail doesn't actually publish a list of valid email addresses on their website anymore. Instead, they only offer a few options for finding them. You can either type the full domain name directly into your browser, or use Windows Live Search to try searching for users who share your exact name. If you don't know the exact spelling of your own username, you could also check Google.

On the other hand, you can always use our handy guide to help figure out if a person named X exists online. We suggest doing this before signing up for a new email provider, since most services won't allow you to change your username after you've done so. Otherwise, you run the risk of ending up sharing an email with a different user.

That said, here's how to see if anyone else uses your current Hotmail address -- assuming you haven't changed it yet:

Open up the Hotmail compose window by clicking the Compose button in your toolbar.  Click New Message and enter a subject line. Then click Send and wait for the message to show up in your Inbox folder.

Checking your inbox will tell you right away whether another user has taken over your previously used Hotmail e-mail address. To learn more about managing your mailbox from within the app itself, read on!

What happened to my old Hotmail address?

As mentioned above, Hotmail no longer publishes a list of valid email domains. So if you tried to create an account under our previous article link but couldn't log in due to a typo, you may think that you need to start again. Unfortunately, if you had trouble logging in last time around, you probably didn't lose much data. The good news is that once you sign into Windows 10 Mail, you'll automatically sync across devices.

You can also access your Hotmail accounts via Outlook 2016, Office 365, or the Web Portal app running on top of Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2003, 2000, ME, 98SE, 95, NT4, OS/2 Warp 4, DOS 6.22, VMS 3.3 - 5.1, and OS/2 1.0 & 2.0. Just make sure that you add your account credentials to these programs, and your Hotmail history will follow you wherever you go.

Another option would be to download your entire archive of emails onto a computer and delete everything except for the ones you really care about. This isn't too difficult, especially if you use Gmail as your main email client. However, if you prefer to stick with Hotmail, you can simply export your email content to a ZIP file and upload it somewhere safe.

Once you've made this backup, you can delete your Hotmail account completely and sign back in whenever you wish. As long as you remember that Hotmail wasn't the original creator of the @hotmail.com format, you shouldn't encounter any issues.

Still confused by all of this talk about Hotmail's various iterations? Here's a timeline of major changes:

1996 - Founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jawed Karim

1999 - Acquired by British telecommunications company BT Group

2001 - Rebranded as MSN Explorer (later renamed Messenger)

2003 - Launched as part of the first iteration of Windows Live

2005 - Purchased by Microsoft Corp.

2008 - Launches Windows Live Spaces

2009 - Renamed as Windows Live Hotmail

2011 - Officially rebrands as Windows Live Mail / Hotmail

2016 - Redesigns as Windows 10 Mail

In addition, you should note that your existing Hotmail account isn't going anywhere. It's tied to your Microsoft ID, and you can easily switch between email providers without losing your contacts or files. All you need to do is open Settings > Accounts and Sign-in Options > Change Email Account and select one of your preferred choices.

Do Hotmail email addresses still exist?

Yes, although you may notice that many people refer to the new Hotmail app in Windows 10 as Windows Live Mail, rather than Hotmail.

This confusion stems from the fact that Microsoft originally intended to call the service Windows Live Mail until early 2006, when it dropped the "Live" prefix altogether. Afterward, the company decided to rename the service simply as Hotmail in order to avoid confusion among consumers. Since then, however, the name hasn't been officially updated.

It may come as a surprise, but Hotmail does still support POP and IMAP connections for older clients. These features aren't available on the newer versions of the software, though. While the official site still offers instructions on how to set up an email server using Microsoft Exchange Server, you can also choose to connect to Hotmail's servers directly.

These methods will work fine unless you plan to migrate your complete email history to a different platform. For example, if you decide to leave Hotmail behind, you could opt to import your mailserver settings into a third party tool like Thunderbird. Alternatively, you could manually configure your own custom script to pull down all of your messages.

However, if you're looking for ways to transfer your Hotmail account to another service, you should head straight to our guide on migrating from Hotmail to Gmail. There, you'll discover several tools that can automate the process for you.

How do I copy and paste bulk email addresses?

There are two ways to grab multiple email addresses from Hotmail. One involves copying the text inside of each individual box, while the other requires a bit more effort. Let's take a look at both approaches.

First off, try typing one of the email addresses into the Address field of the compose window. Click Send, and then Ctrl + A to select every instance of the same word. Finally, press Enter to insert a comma between each entry. Now you should have an array of separate entries ready to paste into whichever program you're working with.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop the entries into a spreadsheet application. Once you've copied all of your information, you can cut and paste it into a text document. Then save this document as a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file, which is often associated with Excel spreadsheets. When you load this file into a program like Notepad++, you should find all of your recipients listed neatly separated by commas.

Finally, you can also check your saved passwords file for a list of all of your Hotmail email addresses. Simply double-click the file in question, and you'll see a listing similar to the following screenshot:

To view a particular recipient's password, highlight the row containing their Hotmail address and hit F5. Your screen should update accordingly.

All told, Hotmail is far less complicated than Yahoo! Mail or iCloud, which require you to jump through additional hoops in order to organize your incoming messages. Plus, unlike Yahoo!, you can safely ignore the @hotmail.com suffix, since Hotmail never required it to begin with.

So, if you'd like to explore something different, give Windows 10 Mail a shot. Although it lacks certain advanced features found in Outlook, like calendar integration and mobile notifications, you can still perform pretty basic tasks like sorting your emails and scheduling meetings.

Plus, unlike Yahoo! Mail, you can save money by paying $10 per year to host your personal emails yourself. Of course, this means sacrificing some security measures, but it beats shelling out hundreds of dollars annually for an enterprise solution.

Signing up to Microsoft's popular web-based service, Hotmail is perhaps one of the most common ways people get online these days. But did you know that it also offers several different services beyond just sending and receiving emails? If so, this could make it easier than ever to keep track of all your important correspondence with friends and family!

Hotmail was originally designed as a way for users to send or receive emails using their mobile devices (such as tablets) without having to use any type of desktop software like Windows Live Mail. In fact, since its inception in 1997, Hotmail has become synonymous with the term "email" itself -- but does anyone actually remember when they first signed up?

In today’s world, we are constantly bombarded by information via our smartphones, laptops, desktops and even TV screens. This means that we have to stay on top of everything going on around us at any given time. We may not always see eye to eye with every single person in our lives, however, it doesn't mean that we don't want to maintain contact with them.

When it comes to keeping tabs on your loved ones, sometimes it can feel overwhelming trying to keep everyone informed of where they are, who they're with and what they've been doing over the past few weeks and months. Thankfully, we have many options available to us nowadays which allow us to communicate more efficiently than ever before.

One of those options is Hotmail. You might think that a web-based email client would only cater to those that work full-time from home, but in reality there are plenty of reasons why you should still consider signing up to Hotmail.

It can help you save money, improve productivity and increase security – so let’s take a look at exactly what Hotmail provides. Read on to discover whether or not Hotmail is right for you.

Can an Outlook email address be traced?

If you were wondering whether you can trace someone else's email address back to their physical location then unfortunately the answer to this question isn't simple. It depends entirely on how and when the email address was created. For example, if you create an email address while visiting a country where Internet access is restricted, then yes, it will probably be possible to identify your exact location through the IP addresses associated with your internet connection. However, if you used a proxy server during your visit, then the trail goes cold fast because proxies are anonymous. Also bear in mind that a lot of countries block certain websites by default, so it won't necessarily be easy to determine the origin of a website either.

As far as other methods go, such as looking at the date stamps on incoming and outgoing mail, these too aren't foolproof. The problem here lies in the fact that dates are often faked and/or altered. So unless you happen to come across a real treasure trove of data, chances are good that you'll be left scratching your head when searching for answers.

The best advice we can give you here is simply to avoid getting caught off guard if you suspect foul play. Instead, try to remain calm and patient until you hear back from the recipient. Then follow up immediately once you do. There is no point being angry with someone who hasn't done anything wrong. That said, you never know how thorough somebody else's investigation process will turn out. Even if you end up finding nothing incriminating, you must respect the privacy of others. Don't ask questions that you wouldn't be comfortable answering yourself. And above all, never threaten violence against another human being.

How do I find an IP address from a Hotmail email?

This is something that is very difficult to explain in detail, but essentially involves digging deep down into the bowels of the internet. Basically, you need to figure out where you last connected to the internet and see if you can locate the device that made the original request to connect. If you're lucky enough to be able to pinpoint the place where you logged onto the web, then you'll already have a fairly accurate idea of where you currently reside. Of course, not everybody keeps track of their whereabouts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so this method isn't guaranteed to yield results. Still, it's worth giving it a shot if you haven't found anything else yet.

How can I find someones Hotmail account?

You might wonder why you'd want to bother asking strangers on the street for a piece of information that they already possess. After all, it's much faster and simpler just to check your own inbox directly instead of making a trip to the local coffee shop to talk to random passersby. Well, there are two main reasons behind this approach. First, it gives you a chance to confirm that they really exist. Second, it allows you to verify that nobody else knows their personal details. As long as you're aware that it's illegal to share confidential info with complete strangers, then you shouldn't have any problems following this basic procedure.

Here's what you should do next:

1. Go online and click on the link that appears on the bottom of your browser window (this usually looks like www[dot]hotmail[dot]co[dot]uk).

2. Once you're inside the site, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select the option labelled Sign Up Now.

3. Enter your name, email address and password. Make sure that the fields are filled completely before pressing the Submit button.

4. Confirm that your chosen username matches the one that you entered earlier. Note: Your password cannot contain spaces.

5. Click Next after confirming that you agree to the terms and conditions.

6. Fill out the relevant sections on the form. Some things you might want to include include your birthday, gender, phone number and preferred language.

7. Finally, press Register again to finish setting up your account.

8. Take a second to review the terms and conditions. They're pretty standard fare, although you should note that Hotmail reserves the right to suspend or delete accounts in case of suspected fraud or abuse.

9. Log out and log back in to test out your newly acquired credentials.

10. Keep checking your inbox regularly, especially if you notice that you haven't heard from the person whose Hotmail account you wanted to acquire.

11. Wait patiently and wait longer. Eventually, you should start seeing messages appearing in your inbox. Remember, though, that the sender's email address may change depending on how frequently he or she uses the same computer.

12. When you finally reach the desired destination, congratulate yourself on your success.

13. Congratulations! From now on, you'll be able to track down the identity of whoever sent you an email.

How do I find a lost Hotmail address?

Unfortunately, due to the way that Hotmail works, it can prove rather tricky to recover a forgotten email address. What makes matters worse is that Hotmail will automatically send notifications to registered recipients whenever someone tries to establish a new account under the same user ID. These notifications appear as unread messages in your mailbox and can easily cause confusion.

For starters, you should make absolutely sure that you didn't forget to set up an automatic reply message when creating your account. If you didn't do this, then it's highly likely that you forgot to cancel it later on. Alternatively, it could be the case that you accidentally clicked Reply All or Forwarded Messages in order to forward the notification to other people. Either way, you need to ensure that the intended receiver wasn't notified in error.

If you believe that you have inadvertently forwarded a message to the wrong recipient, then you should undo the action as soon as possible. Otherwise, the recipient will eventually notice that his or her email inbox is growing steadily larger.

Finally, you should check your spam folder to see if you received any unwanted messages. If you did, then all you have to do is mark them as Spam and they will disappear forever.

If you're using Microsoft's Hotmail service or are thinking of creating an account with it, here are some things you should know before signing up or logging in to your account.

The first thing you need to do when setting up a new Hotmail account is create a username that will work on both desktop computers and mobile devices. The username can't contain spaces or special characters like @ (at symbol) or # (pound symbol). It must also not start or end with a space. A good rule of thumb is to avoid names that sound similar to other popular usernames, such as "pizza", "lady" or "santa".

Once you've created your username, open the web browser app on your phone or computer and head over to m.live.com/signup. This site lets you choose between Windows Live ID and Outlook. If you want to use another email provider than Hotmail, go ahead – but make sure you have all your settings switched off so no one else can access your inbox from outside the company network.

You'll then fill out a few details including your contact information and billing address. Choose whether you'd prefer to pay monthly or annually and check which payment method you would prefer. You can also opt out of receiving promotional emails at any time by clicking Manage preferences at the bottom of the page after entering your credit card info.

After completing this process, click Sign Up Now and wait for your confirmation code via text message or email. Enter this number into the box provided in your web browser, then select Confirm my password to confirm your identity. Finally, enter your chosen password twice more to complete registration.

Now that you've signed up, it's time to learn about Hotmail folders.

What is the domain name for Hotmail?

A domain name identifies where your website lives online. For example, if you were looking for the homepage of our very own sister publication PC Mag, you could navigate to www.pc-magazine.com. Alternatively, you might try the URL pc-magazine.net instead. Both domains point to the same place.

There is only one way to get a.com domain name these days, though: through purchase. There was once a program called Network Solutions that offered a limited selection of available domains for sale. But now, most people buy their names from GoDaddy, who offers hundreds of thousands of available domains.

So, if you're planning to set up a Hotmail email account and don't already have a domain name registered, you may consider buying one from GoDaddy. Otherwise, you can always register a noncommercial version of your name with Google Domains, although this option isn't perfect.

What type of email is a Hotmail account?

Your Hotmail account is based on Exchange ActiveSync technology running under Microsoft's Server Message Block protocol. This means that your email client software uses protocols designed specifically for messaging services. Popular options include Apple Mail on OS X 10.9 Mavericks, Thunderbird 3.1.7 on Linux systems, and iOS 6 mail clients.

Outlook 2016 for Mac users gets its data from POP3 accounts, while Gmail users connect to IMAP4 servers. Windows 7 and later versions support two types of connections: either POP3 or IMAP4.

As well as being able to send and receive email messages, Hotmail allows you to view, save, organize, forward and delete them. To help you keep track of everything going on within your mailbox, Hotmail includes various tools known as features. These allow you to sort incoming and outgoing messages, archive certain categories of messages, mark important ones as read, add custom labels to individual messages, and much more.

Most importantly, however, you can create different folders inside your main inbox to store specific content. Folders let you group related items together and help reduce clutter in the default, single-inbox model. They are especially useful if you frequently share links and images with friends and colleagues, since they can be accessed quickly without having to scroll back through dozens of unread messages.

For example, you might create a folder called Work that contains correspondence relating to projects and business contacts. Another could be Personal, containing incoming messages sent to your personal addresses – perhaps those from family members or close friends. And still others could house messages from co-workers, customers, or prospects.

It's easy enough to create new folders, too. Just right-click in the left column of your Hotmail window and select New Folder. When prompted, give the folder a memorable title and decide whether you want it visible across your entire account. Don't forget to label each folder appropriately whenever you create it.

Can you trace a Hotmail account?

In theory, yes. If you suspect that someone else used your Hotmail credentials to log into a third party application, you can block access to your account by changing your password. However, this won't prevent anyone accessing your email from external sources. In practice, blocking access doesn't seem to be worth the effort unless you really suspect foul play.

Instead, we suggest turning to Microsoft's built-in security tool, Account Lockout Assistant. Here, you'll find a list of suspicious activity associated with your account. Click View Details next to a particular event listed below to see why it took place and what action needs to be taken.

Another potential avenue of investigation lies in the Security Center section of your Hotmail inbox. From here, you can review recent events logged against your account. Events include failed logins, malware detections, unusual traffic patterns, and even attempts to change your password.

This feature is particularly helpful when investigating issues that take place after you've turned off all protection measures. That said, be careful if you enable the Allow remote admin access switch because it makes your account vulnerable to hackers trying to gain unauthorized control over your account.

Finally, you can download your Hotmail logs directly onto your local hard drive. Head to Settings & Privacy > Log History on your Hotmail page and look underneath Recent Activity. Here, you'll find a listing of every successful attempt made to access your account during the past 90 days. By reviewing this file, you can identify and remove malicious applications installed on your system.

However, this is just a precautionary measure. As long as you're aware of the risks involved and understand the consequences of disabling security measures, you shouldn't worry about getting locked out of your account.

Can Hotmail email be traced?

Yes, but only with great difficulty. First, you need to determine whether your Hotmail account is tied to a real person. Then, you need to figure out exactly what happened. Luckily, neither task requires you to break any laws. Instead, you just need to follow the steps outlined above and perform some basic detective work.

Let's say you believe that someone else is using your Hotmail account to conduct illicit activities. What kind of evidence would you need? Well, assuming you haven't done anything wrong yourself, the best proof of guilt would come from seeing someone else actually doing something illegal.

To begin tracking down a suspected impostor, simply visit the Who Is feature in the upper-right corner of your Hotmail screen. Clicking this link displays the results of a WHOIS query performed by Microsoft. Scroll through the results until you locate the line corresponding to the IP address assigned to your account.

Next, double-check that this IP address belongs to the correct location. Using a map app, draw around the area surrounding the IP address. Look for landmarks like shopping malls, schools, hospitals, railway stations or parks. Anywhere near those locations is likely where your account holder resides.

By following this procedure, you can pinpoint the exact street address where your Hotmail account holder lives. With this knowledge, you can send letters of warning to his parents or neighbors asking them to cut ties with the miscreant. Or you could contact law enforcement officials to report the matter.

Of course, you can also search for additional clues using other methods. If you think someone is impersonating you online, you can ask him to prove he's who claims to be. Ask him to provide you with photos, videos, screenshots, written statements and/or documents showing that he's really you.

While it's unlikely that someone will willingly hand over incriminating evidence, many people aren't comfortable denying the facts outright. After all, they could lose face among their peers, causing embarrassment and shame. So, if you fail to convince them otherwise, you'll probably need to resort to legal proceedings.

Ultimately, you can never be 100% sure that someone is cheating on you. Even if you discover conclusive proof, it wouldn't necessarily mean that your partner cheated on you. Sometimes people lie to protect themselves.

But if you continue to doubt the honesty of someone claiming to be your spouse or significant other, you should seriously reconsider your relationship. While it's true that infidelity often goes unreported, it nonetheless happens far more often than you realize. According to statistics gathered by the US Department of Justice, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 12 men admit to having had extramarital affairs.