Cancelling your Passport.NET Account?

An anonymous reader asks: "i read on the Passport.NET site that 'Microsoft has announced plans to discontinue the .NET Passport express purchase service' AKA .NET Passport wallet. This may well be old news but the reason i stumbled on it is I want to discontinue my Passport account. There is a link on the account maintainace page that allows just this - however it bounced me to my Hotmail account which I had to close first. However my Passport account is still open and when I try to close it I just get bounced to the Hotmail reactivation page... (the reason i am so hyper about this is anger at being automatically opted-ini to two seperate information sharing schemes without being asked - no wonder there was so much spam! Have any of you had a similar problem closing your account? Has anyone managed? If so how?"

Yes

[jsse]

Have any of you had a similar problem closing your account?

It happens to others companies like domainnic.com. They used my email address as account name and all account related information(change password, etc.) will be sent thru this email.

Years later the email account originally used to register the domain is invalidated and I request to change the email address. Their reply is negative because they can't change the account name thus can't change my primary admin email address, and they refused to make change to their system so I'll have to make the change by other means.

You can't expect too much for free services such like hotmail, but sometime even when you paid you may not recieve certain level of convenience you expect. Not matter it's a paid or free service, make sure it meets your expected level of customer services before you join. Just MHO.

That explains

[PD]

why my dog keeps getting so much spam! I'm waiting for the credit card offers to arrive in the mail. Then, one day soon, he'll mysteriously find his way into the social security database. He'll have to do jury duty. Then the IRS will figure out that he hasn't ever paid taxes and come after him. Finally, he'll get drafted and have to fight in a war against terrorism (down with feral cats!)

All because of a simple passport.net signup.

Re:That explains

[jsse]

He'll have to do jury duty

Let me give your dog some advise.

The only ways your dog could be excused from sitting in judgement is to be medically incapable, but he should submit a letter from a physician; or send a copy of your dog's death certificate with your signature notarized.

Or send the court a picture postcard tell them them your dog is on vacation with german hairy hot chicks. :)

However, I tell your dog, he should gracefully take its civic duty, as they graciously agreed to pay your $1.50 for mileage. This mean that if your dog sat on a jury that lasted all day he'd make 18.75 cents per hour. Oh yes it's just 2.8 percent of what he could earn burning burgers at McDonald's, but your dog can't lick butt while burning burgers can he?

Re:That explains

[jon doh!]

but your dog can't lick butt while burning burgers can he?

most judges will require that all butt licking be done either on legitimate courtroom breaks or while deliberating. otherwise the defense attorney might complain that his butt licking is a statement to the defendent saying "kiss my ass, you're guilty!"

A little off, but bear with me...

[trentfoley]

I don't know if you were joking about your dog getting spam and credit offers, but I can tell you that I do have a computer (or rather a phone line) that gets all sorts of junk mail.

Back in the bbs days, I got a separate phone line for computer use and have kept it since. Being the cheap bastard that I am, I didn't want to pay for an unlisted number. When asked what name to put in the phone book, I chose my favorite cartoon character at the time, and the name of my Netware 3.11 server at the time, "Stimpy", as in "...Sometimes your wealth of ignorance astounds me!"

Over the many years, Stimpy was sent the obvious long distance service junk mails, as well as over 100 (I stopped counting) AOL floppies. The majority of our house's junk mail was addressed to me or my wife, but Stimpy was gaining ground. Along the way, someone decided that Stimpy must have been in the military. Stimpy has received mailings letting him know what Veteran benefits he is missing out on. Stimpy has declined offers of prequalified (not preapproved) credit cards for respected Veterans from many different banks.

All from a simple phonebook listing. I've considered getting him a Social Security number and claiming him as an elderly dependent. My wife, a lawyer, thinks it is a bad idea...

Re:That explains

[Duds]

Santos L Halper? Is that you?

Re:That explains

[captainfugacity]

Hmmm...it also explains why my wife's teddy bear has a box full of 'undeliverable' mail at the mailroom for the dorm where i met her.

You were dumb enough to trust Microsoft........

[Chaostrophy]

When they bought firefly, I deleted all my personal information, and pestered them until they deleted my account (well, it seemed to be gone).

Given MS's track record, why did you trust them in the first place?

I don't...

[hackwrench]

...but I want to have an e-mail address, and I don't want to pay anything so I sign up.

Open another email

[TheSHAD0W]

I think what may be going on is your Passport account is tied to that email account, and is trying to send a cancellation confirmation or something.

Try reactivating the old email account, and also make a new temporary account, say with Yahoo email. Then change the Passport email to the Yahoo account. THEN you ought to be able to shut down both Passport and that MS email account.

My Useless Domain Name

[MBCook]

Years ago I got a domain name and I used it for a long time. Well all of a sudden one day the hosting company that I'd be using for years disappeared off the 'net and I needed to find a new host. Well I found one, but I had to get a new domain name. Why?

• I no longer have the e-mail address I used when I got the origional domain name, and I can't get it back.
• But to change anything on the domain name, I have to have that e-mail address or...
• A password that was chosen by my hosting company (who's gone forever) and which I don't know. So the only option left is to...
• Fax a form to the InterNIC or whatever name they're under today with proof that I'm the owner of the domain name in question. I fax them a form with drivers liscenses that prove I lived at the house the domain was registered to and my new address which is on file with another domain name. I did this, but it can take up to six months, so I'm left with two other options now...
• Pay the $200 EXTORTION fee to have my application "expidited" (read: not lost forever). If I don't do this then I get to wait 6 months for the paper work to go though. Have I mentioned that I sent that damn form in 2 years ago? The only other thing I can do is...
• Or I can get my hosting company to add the domain to my account and they'll take care of it all for me. Did I mention that this has some huge fee attached to it too?

So am I getting screwed here or what? I know it's not exactly the same thing, but god what a terrible system. So I will fittingly end with something from the Drew Carey show that seems to fit things:

Drew: Well that's it. The great circle of crap is complete.

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[MBCook]

But wait! It gets better! I just checked and even though I renewed the domain name recently, it's listed as avaliable! That means I can buy it back for, guess how much? That's right, $200.

Also, I just checked to see what it will cost me to have a new domain name added to my hosting account. It's $10 a month forever or... yep...$200.

AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh............

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[Profane Motherfucker]

Sounds like you're out $200. Here's the thing to do:

1. Go to the bank. Withdraw $200. Get four fifties.
2. Find a skank bar. Drink, for four nights beginning Tuesday, $50 worth of booze nightly. Even at a fairly pricey bar, $50 will get you wasted. Be sure to get properly belligerent drunk. Accost people. Fondle women. Get some phone numbers, bruises, and a split lip. It really doesn't hurt that bad. A bloody lip heals in about four days. Plus, even if you win a fight, it still hurts just as bad as losing. Do wear robust boots, however.
3. On Saturday, when you're a hung-over pile, go gandi.net and register a new domain. It's about $12 yearly. Find some good web hosting. I found some for $5/month. Then, write about your drunken exploits.

That's my MO. It's not bad.

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[flacco]

Sounds like you're out $200. Here's the thing to do:

1. Go to the bank. Withdraw $200. Get four fifties.
2. Find a skank bar. Drink, for four nights beginning Tuesday, $50 worth of booze nightly. Even at a fairly pricey bar, $50 will get you wasted. Be sure to get properly belligerent drunk. Accost people. Fondle women. Get some phone numbers, bruises, and a split lip. It really doesn't hurt that bad. A bloody lip heals in about four days. Plus, even if you win a fight, it still hurts just as bad as losing. Do wear robust boots, however.
3. On Saturday, when you're a hung-over pile, go gandi.net and register a new domain. It's about $12 yearly. Find some good web hosting. I found some for $5/month. Then, write about your drunken exploits.

That's my MO. It's not bad.

Daddy?!

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[John Hasler]

> On Saturday, when you're a hung-over pile, go
> gandi.net and register a new domain.

But don't let them handle your DNS.

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[ddent]

Ouch!

Fortunately, there is a little competition in the domain name business these days (unlike the old network solutions setup)...

For instance, with the domain name registration site I run, http://www.omegasphere.net/domain/ [omegasphere.net] ($10.95/year), you could send a support request in and we would most happily send you a PDF that you could sign & fax in (or scan and email) to have your domain name transferred to us (which would give you access to it again). We also throw in DNS, email forwarding, URL forwarding, dynamic DNS, and a few other things :). Usual response time after faxing it in: a couple of days. In a hurry? Mark "RUSH" on it - no, there isn't a charge.

It never ceases to amaze me: even today Network Solutions continues to treat its customers poorly. They continue to make it difficult to transfer away from them. I simply can't understand how they can afford to do that to their reputation; they certainly don't compete on price.

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[NaDrew]

Yes, but could you help the OP in getting his domain name transferred? Or is he stuck getting netsol to approve it before he can go to you?
I use Gandi [gandi.net] myself, they have similar service levels. I don't understand why anyone would stay with netsol.

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[ddent]

As long as his name isn't on "REGISTRAR-LOCK" status (which as of a recent change is easily viewed in whois at the top), netsol needn't do anything. I don't think they usually do registrar-lock.

After the transfer request is submitted to the registry, netsol has 6 days and 4 hours to reject or approve it. If they don't do either in that time, it will go through.

Many registrars (Gandi is one of them in fact) simply let transfers timeout and go through as a matter of policy as the way that they handle transfers away from them.

I used Gandi before I became involved in the business myself. I can't say I had any issues with them, though nothing ever happened which required their intervention. When I first used thm they had the best price for low quantities (at least for the registrars that didn't have scummy agreements - eg: we own your domain).

Hope this helps...

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[Tom7]

Transfer all your domains away from network solutions. Not only are they the most expensive, but they are susceptible to forged transfers (see sex.com scandal), and have some bizarre conditions (like you describe) for changing domain info. NS has sucked for years, and there have been good alternatives, so you should have known better!

Re:My Useless Domain Name

[Sentry21]

When I signed up with a domain from Dotster [dotster.com], all I had to do to transfer the account was to put in the right WHOIS info and wait a few days. Cost me $14 USD for the transfer and a one-year registration, and I escaped from the evil clutches of the InterNIC, or NSI, or whatever they were calling themselves, for good.

A little insecure, but maybe worth a try.

--Dan

Passport and Hotmail

[kruetz]

Your hotmail account IS a passport account, so that to close your passport account, you must close your hotmail account. As it says at hotmail:

New to Hotmail?
Sign Up for a Free E-Mail Account!
and get a Microsoft® .NET Passport!

I don't like it, but it does kinda make sense from MS's PoV. I mean, if you've got Passport, why the hell would you have a completely separate user system for Hotmail?

But I find that Yahoo gets WAY less spam - I've only received ONE spam message in the last month, while hotmail gave me 58 in the last week. And you won't be selling your soul to Bill if you use Yahoo :)

Re:Passport and Hotmail

[kruetz]

SORRY - I fucked up and misread your article. I think you have to wait 30 days or something, for the re-activation period to expire.

Re:Passport and Hotmail

[jon doh!]

i think i read an article a year or two ago that said you had to not login to your hotmail account, AND get no email to it for more than a certain amount of time. if you don't login, the account will be disabled, but still around. if you don't login but still get email, the account would be disabled for your access, but people wouldn't get a bounce message, you just wouldn't be able to check it..

*shrug* could be different now though.

Re:Passport and Hotmail

[Anonymous Coward]

I can top that. My AOL account that I don't use got 471 pieces of spam in the last month.

--MBCook posting anon to avoid spam lovers :)

Re:Passport and Hotmail

[maunleon]

I find the other way around. I get significantly more spam on yahoo than on hotmail.

As a test, I opened two accounts. One on hotmail and one on Yahoo. I did not give the account out to anyone, and in both cases I made sure to stay out of their on-line directories and didn't make any public profiles.

At the end of the month, after deleting the original "welcome" emails) the hotmail account had one piece of mail (from.. MSN, advertising some products.) The Yahoo mail had 6, normal spam.. Symantec product advertisements from a 3rd party, HGH supplements, and "get pay per view free" spam, etc..

I would love to know how they got my email address.

Maybe my case was unique. I encourage someone else to run a similar test on the various free mail sites, and report their results. I don't much care for either Yahoo or MSN mail, but I'm stuck with Yahoo now since I have SBC Yahoo DSL.

Re:Passport and Hotmail

[kruetz]

I'm pretty sure that it's got something to do with the name of the account and how likely random name-generators are to generate that name. But I guess that '[e-mail]' really was asking for it. Mind you, I also have [e-mail] and [e-mail], purely for entertainment value!

Re:Passport and Hotmail

[Scud_the_disposable_]

speaking of spam, In the time it took me to clean all the spam off of my hotmail acct and read the 2 messages that were real (my inbox was full), I got 15 peices of spam, not including my junk mail folder (ever wonder why there's a limit on the amount of addresses you can put on your block senders list?) In tota, I must get at least 150 peices of spam PER DAY

You have been assimilated.

[n9hmg]

Your uniqueness is being added to Microsoft's own. Resistance is futile.

the biggest problem

[inteller]

Is that Hotmail now sends spam to you themselves disguised as an "informative" message. They may put ne stupid little hotmail tip in it, then the rest is "supporting" commercials. Its a load of shit. This piggybacking should be banned.

You can check out

[Openadvocate]

You can check out any time you want,
but you can never leave.