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Email Disaster

The second sentence says:
"So, we're making a series of changes to our online services to make them more interesting and easy to use."

As the Chinese say (allegedly) when wishing someone ill: "May you live in interesting times."

But no, it seemed to be suitably vague about dates with "summer", "later this year", etc. Can hardly blame them though - putting dates on a big IT project is like building a sandcastle in a minefield.
 
It seems to me there is an opening for a community-run email service (meaning all the users have a stake in its operation and therefore is impervious to unwanted interference). Specification (not limited to):
  • Low (but not free) subscription;
  • Substantial (but not unlimited) encrypted storage;
  • Access by web browser, IMAP, POP3;
  • Spam and malware filtering;
  • Full range of mail folders with rule-based auto-filing;
  • Syncable contacts lists with download/upload facilities including CSV;
  • Distribution lists;
  • Full search, including live search for auto-suggesting addresses;
  • Web-based tools to easily monitor storage quota and download archives for off-line storage;
  • Archives in readable, searchable, and restorable format (eg return one old email for reply);
  • Email periodic usage reports and alarm reports;
  • Erase Account button.
No doubt I will think of more. Expect this list to increase.

Fancy a job, AF?
 
Black Hole said:
  • encrypted storage;
Click to expand...
See
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424088,00.asp?mailingID=E78302B25ADE706DB1F599FB8F632D45

Seems highly unlikely, unless they have developed a method to rapidly factorize an arbitrarily large number. Anyway, if it is true, say goodbye to encryption, online commerce and banking and hello to every Tom, Dick and Harry cracker in the world infesting your PC, tablet, phone, file server, TV, media player, watch(!), router, ..., with worms and viruses, accessing all your accounts, stealing your money, ... Certainly a Brave New World that Edward Snowden has exposed to us!
 
I don't think it's a real problem. It is still an immense effort to crack the encryption (and first they need to know what the encryption method is!), so they are only going to concentrate on suspicious content. I have always regarded my traffic as secure by dilution. Encrypted traffic when most traffic is not encrypted (beyond https) is by its nature suspicious, but if everyone does it then not so.
 
Two more emails this morning claiming to be from BT but (on deeper inspection) from apparently compromised btinternet.com and talk21.com user accounts, and containing highly dubious links.
 
I received this on Friday 13th (auspicious date!). It's definitely from BT - the email address checks out:

Important update about your email account


Hello,

We wrote to you recently about some changes to your email service that were due to happen on 16 September 2013.

We won't now be making those changes on 16 September. Due to the high volume of demand we've had, we've decided to extend the time our customers have to choose their options. We're also taking the opportunity to make this process quicker and easier and we're sorry if you've had trouble getting through to us.

In the meantime, your email will carry on working. (Even if you haven't done anything.)

Don't worry, we'll be in touch
We hope you continue to enjoy using your email and we'll be in touch again when we need you to do something.

Already given us your choice?
If you've already told us how you'd like to keep your email address, don't worry, your email address is safe.

If you've not already heard from us, we're working on your request and we'll email you to confirm.

Find out more about our email changes.

Thanks.

Warren Buckley
Managing Director, Customer Service
 
The email was from a bt email address I'm familiar with and the "find out more" link is kosher. (It works in the message I cut-and-pasted above too -- isn't html wonderful...)
 
Yes I did see that, and I have also had emails containing that link - but I have taken the precaution of considering them all suspect.
 
selectortone said:
I found myself in the same circumstances last month - historical BT email address though not a BT customer any more, and with a possible alternative via my own domain which has webmail facilitates. I also have a gmail address which I'm sure google would love me to use as my main email account.

When I looked at all the online changes I would need to make; the banks and utilities I'd need to contact, amazon, paypal, ebay, all the personal contacts I'd need to update, plus the hassle it would cause my son and daughters who have sub-accounts, I decided to pay the £1.60/month and forgo all the aggravation. Life's too short.
Click to expand...

Well, it's coming up to 6 months now and BT still haven't migrated from yahoo mail to their own system. Not surprised one bit - BT really are hopeless. Still waiting for the migration and the inevitable almighty balls-up.
 
The webmail access is now via BT's home page, and all my web links are knackered - but I agree, it is pretty much the same (good!). I suspect they can't think of a way to migrate everything.
 
I must say that BT's email is something we use very little. As soon as I could I got a gmail account and use that instead. It's just easier, especially as for years Yahoo had no IMAP service.
 
selectortone said:
BT really are hopeless. Still waiting for the migration and the inevitable almighty balls-up.
Click to expand...
Their old logo (rotate an L 180 degrees and add two circles to make it look like a T) used to be referred to as the little cock-up, the big cock-up and the balls-up, depending on the orientation you viewed it from. Described them perfectly.
 
prpr said:
Their old logo (rotate an L 180 degrees and add two circles to make it look like a T) used to be referred to as the little cock-up, the big cock-up and the balls-up, depending on the orientation you viewed it from. Described them perfectly.
Click to expand...

So you think there was a hidden meaning in privatization then?:D
 
Migration of Flickr seems impossibly difficult. I reckon I will just let the account lapse, I seem to be going in circles with the instructions.
 
Bloody iPad! Having sent and received a few emails this evening, it has now decided the credentials for my account are wrong and is refusing to send any more - but is still receiving them!
 
Thankfully back to normal this morning.

However, it occurs to me that I am no longer on Yahoo, as I took up the 12 months free offer with BT when they cut their links with Yahoo.
 
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