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Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter
Maintain Your Computer and Use it More Effectively
to Design a Web Site and Make Money on the Web.
~ ~ ~ June 2, 2004 Volume 4 Number 17 ~ ~ ~
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Hubris - definition: Microsoft's Passport
By Stephen Bucaro
Before September of 1995, Microsoft ignored the Internet because their 16-bit
Windows 3.1 operating system couldn't handle the 32-bit Internet world. With
the introduction of Windows 95, Microsoft decided they owned the Internet.
Instead of having separate accounts at dozens of websites, Microsoft decided
that you will have one master account that you will use to log in everywhere.
That account will contain your credit card number, bank account numbers, all
your personal information and financial records, and Microsoft will own that account.
Well, Microsoft IS the United State's government condoned monopoly, so 200
million Internet users, and 100 major web companies dutifully signed up for
Microsoft's Passport wallet service.
In 1999, Internet authorities discovered Microsoft's passport service had
numerous security holes, and hackers could steal your personal information.
In 2001, the Federal Trade Commission admonished Microsoft for not adhering
to their own privacy policy. In 2003, Microsoft purged all the financial
records from its Passport servers.
Millions of users continue to sign up for Passport because of the convenience
it offers. Nearly 100 websites use Passport as their authentication method.
Users don't need to remember separate usernames and passwords for each website.
They can log in to all of them using a single email address. Some of the websites
let you register without a Passport accont, but others, especially Microsoft
owned websites, require you to have a Passport account.
If you sign up for Microsoft Network (MSN) or for a free Hotmail email account,
you will be forced to sign up for Microsoft's Passport wallet service. You can
sign up for a Passport account with a non-Microsoft email account at Microsoft's
Passport website.
To sign up, you need only an email address and a password. After you sign up,
you can choose to add personal information to your profile. Then you can
indicate if you want to share your information with companies that use Passport.
If you choose to share your personal information, be aware that Microsoft shares
it with every passport website you visit, and those websites are not required
to adhere to Microsoft's privacy policy.
The Internet does not need a master account repository for users personal
information. Users don't need to remember separate usernames and passwords for
each website. Every Internet user has memorized two or three different email
addresses and half a dozen different passwords that they use everywhere.
If an Internet master account repositiory is desired, it should NOT be owned or
operated by Microsoft. A repository of personal account information must be
operated by an honest, independant company.
Note: In April 2000, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that Microsoft
violated two sections of the 1890 Sherman Act. He concluded that Microsoft was an
illegal monopoly that used anti-competitive means to maintain its dominance in
Intel-based operating systems.
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