For about the last couple of weeks I haven't been able to access hotmail through Outlook Express. I know that Microsoft have been threatening for years to cut the service…

Have they finally done it?

What are the alternatives? Outlook doesnt have password protection so anyone can see your emails so thats out. IMO Express was a great simple efficient way of viewing emails, and just like everything else Microsoft have to **** around with it and make it slower and less simple!

I thought they did it years ago 😕

they turned it off on 1st sept. Use windows live mail instead, it does the same job and a few others besides – like a calendar and an RSS reader

There is a Hotmail connector for Outlook that can be downloaded from the MS website. Have a look to see if there is one for Outlook Express.

On the other hand, why not just use Outlook and lock your computer if you leave it for any period of time. You must be exiting Outlook Express every time if you want to stop people looking at your email

I use Mozilla Thunderbird as an alternative to Outlook Express, haven't tried setting up Hotmail through it but don't know of anything stopping me from doing so. It's also free!

POP3