I’m in the same boat. The example in “Figure 1″ in my Windows Secrets article came from my wife’s account. It contained potentially embarrassing information about ALL THREE of the contacts.

When you say “I saw a message I posted months ago on my wife’s account” I assume you hit the same problem I hit – Microsoft mined information from an online posting that I made (in this case, back in December), and when my wife logged on to her Hotmail account, she saw the information I had posted. Admittedly, I posted the information in a public forum, but Microsoft mashed it in a way that was potentially very embarrassing. (Fortunately, like you, it’s not like that, but still…)

US Senators came down on Facebook for a privacy breach that’s just as bad as Microsoft’s, IMHO. The technical details are different – the Microsoft case is harder to explain – but the bottom line is the same.

This– data collection and collation, as a source of revenue and in defiance of users’ wishes– is an issue that will get progressively worse until we say “no” in a clear, firm voice.

“Get over it” is NOT the answer we should be striving for. Online companies will continue chiselling away at our rights and privacy until we kick them in the walnuts with some serious legislation and punitive lawsuits.

Make no mistake: your actions CAN make a difference in sending these 800 pound gorillas home with stung fingers and newly regrown morals. Take Sears’ case as an example:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/16/sears_to_destroy_tracking_software_data/

“US retailer Sears has been ordered to destroy all the customer data it collected from a piece of online tracking software that consumer regulator the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said was unfairly used.

The FTC said that while customers had been warned that, once downloaded, software would track their browsing, it had in fact tracked browsing on third party websites, secure browsing including banking and transactions and even some non-internet computer activity.

“The FTC charged… that the software also monitored consumers’ online secure sessions – including sessions on third parties’ Web sites – and collected consumers’ personal information transmitted in those sessions, such as the contents of shopping carts, online bank statements, drug prescription records, video rental records, library borrowing histories, and the sender, recipient, subject, and size for web-based e-mails,” said an FTC statement.

Sears has been ordered to make notification of any future tracking clearer, and to delete all the information gathered through the use of the software.

…read the full article at The Register.

When an 800 pound gorilla is treating you like a seatcushion, don’t say “get over it”. Say “Hey! That thing rapping on your skull right now, Mr. Bananabreath, is my hammer. Back off and put a leash on!”

Specifically the PIEPDA legislation, though Microsoft may be trying to argue that they have a “relationship” with anyone who uses Hotmail.

But funny thing is, my ISP Sympatico, simply farmed out their email services to Microsoft several years ago and users had no choice if they wanted to keep their email address.

Interesting times indeed.