I received an email stating Update your sign-in technology before September 16th, 2024 to maintain email access. Is this legit or a scam?

Yes, I think what you are missing is not everyone uses Outlook as their default mail client.

Many people never will. See there are several Microsoft Support pages that aren't being

changed to have updated warnings or updated configuration requirements to apply to

third party email clients and Mozilla Thunderbird is one example. There are specific

instructions for how to manually make the settings for Thunderbird and nothing is

stated that there is a requirement to create a new Outlook profile. And what works

as manual changes for Thunderbird should likewise work for other email clients as

are also described in detail for mobile phone apps. So all those other instruction

sets for other apps don't say you have to create a new outlook profile to do this

updating of login and no warnings are posted that POP or IMAP access is ending.

The permissions for allowing it are still found in your settings for Mail in your

outlook account when you visit it online through a web browser, and there is

no warning there either that in a few days those permissions will disappear.

It isn't me saying that an outlook account login using a password alone is not acceptable

after 9-16-2024, but that has been the announcement made by Microsoft. There have

been email warnings for months about this login change and what steps must be taken

by users to continue to have access. None of this is my idea or suggestion and I don't

like all the hoops to jump through to comply with the new login requirement, nor do

I believe there is an actual security requirement that justifies such change. Many users

are not tech skilled enough to manage the settings changes and Microsoft surely

knows this is going to cause a lot of stress, calls for tech support, trips to computer

shops and calls to friends or family who have a computer geek on call as an IT guy.

Surely when you download the Outlook app you still login just using email and password? The iPhone fix is simply to use outlook option on the phones Mail list then guess what? You put in your email and password - there are no other steps so I don’t understand what else you would have to do? Isn’t it all to do with how the Mail is sent and delivered rather than accessing?

Quantumgravity11

I have used Desktop Outlook since the 1990s in work and at home since Outlook Express was cancelled. At home I have managed to have multiple POP accounts with all emails going into one folder. The trick to doing this with IMAP or Exchange is to set up Rules to forward the emails to a single account.

You still end up with a long list of email accounts down the Folder Pane but you can set it up so that everything ends up in the topmost account, so you can ignore the rest!

Below are my POP settings for my hotmail account in Desktop Outlook. No sign of allowing OAuth2. Maybe it will come in the future but I doubt it. It is called progress!

Perhaps one reason for suggesting making a new Profile is that POP account may be allowed again in the future;

In the past I have moved to IMAP/Exchange and back again. Desktop Outlook would not let me freeze my Hotmail POP account by removing password, etc. I could only change it to Exchange by deleting the POP account - with the worry that lots of things may be deleted accidently at the same time. From memory, I copied everything to my Yahoo account to keep them safe, then copied them back once the new account was completed.

I have found POP very useful when travelling abroad. IMAP and Exchange accounts only work when connected to the internet. If internet is non-existent or behind an expensive paywall, all your information is missing. I will probably have to set up a new POP account which can be populated with copies of information when I go travelling so backups of everything can be at hand.

What is occurring is not a complete end to use of passwords for everything. What is

being done is to add other layers of authentication that involve device identification

and digital identification that is like a secret handshake. Yes it is excessive security but

it is already common there is being used some sort of "trusted device recognition"

method and a "two step identification" often used for challenging a user identification

by what amounts to a quiz that is asking "Is it really you?". And it all seems as excessive

as making a person who is a 75 year old great grandfather produce their drivers license

to prove they are old enough to buy a beer. Some security is understandable but this

kind of excessive security challenge is corporate paranoia and if legitimacy is the issue

then why isn't proof of citizenship and E-Verify required for employment and voting,

for things that are urgently important there is ZERO security, but for dumb things

like cybersecurity for webmail people are excessively and relentlessly pestered with

bot generated security challenges and spam called by bots pretending to be human

on "recorded lines"? It seems over the top security about ridiculous things and no

security whatever about things that really matter. That is because the managerial

class of master minds need to go back to school, a real school that is not just a

social awareness and ideological indoctrination camp. Pardon my candor.