How to create and use a Hotmail Email Account?

Found In: Email

Email accounts are highly useful and simple to use devices which in most cases will run solely in a web browser (on the internet). They can be used to receive messages at high speed without the need for instant message chat systems which are present in most other sites. They allow for secure transfer of information and are completely customisable.

The first step to creating a Hotmail account or any email account for that matter is to go to the sign up page. The most common way to do this is to load up your web browser, navigate your way to Google and then search either ‘sign up’ or ‘live’ because these two words will most certainly bring you to the Hotmail page. From here you will want to click ‘register’ with your cursor and proceed to insert accurate information into the registration form depending on whether you are creating a personal email or a ‘junk’ email (email address designed to accommodate for spamming from spam websites). When choosing your email address URL, it is a good idea to choose either ‘live.co.uk’ for English residents or ‘live.com’ for international residents. Make sure your desired password is both unrelated to your email address but still memorable. Do not include personal information such as your birthday as your password.

Once you have entered all of the appropriate details, you will then most likely be guided through a profile set up stage. For this part of the process it is most advised that you fill in only a small amount of personal information. The reason for this is that it prevents complications in privacy settings and for the main part, people who know you will know this information and thus will not require it, while spammers and strangers on the other hand could find it very useful.

This stage is about logging in, to continue to this part, it is advised to refresh the web page, either by pressing F5 or by clicking the curved arrow which is usually placed in the top left corner of a common web browser. Most likely, you will have been logged out and so this is a good opportunity to practice your ability to log in. If you are lost at any stage from here on and need to return to the ‘log in’ screen, you can simply Google Search ‘sign in’ and it will bring you to the Hotmail sign in stage. Log in by entering your email address followed by your password. You can quickly change selected entry box by tapping the ‘Tab’ key on your keyboard. There will also be a ‘remember me’ tick box next to the entry boxes, only select this if you are on a personal computer and others are not going to access it. If you are on a public or shared computer, it is advised to not tick this box and after every session of using your email to ‘Sign Out’ (This will be explained in the next step).

Now that the log in is complete, the user will be presented with several options. The most common of these is the ‘Inbox’ which is where all emails that other people have sent you will be stored. Focusing on this, if it is selected, all received emails will be listed and marked with either a closed envelope which means ‘unread’ or an open envelope which means ‘Read’.
The next most important function is the ‘New Message’ function, this will enable the user to create a new electronic message. You will be prompted for an email address, this is the address of your contact, a subject which is simply what the message is about and BC/BBC. Avoid BC/BBC because is just for forwarding a message, currently try to focus on the other two options. Emails themselves can contain a large amount of user created text which can be altered with font changers and colour changers. There is also the additional option to ‘attach files’. If you want to send someone a text document or an image for example, you would click ‘attach file’ then select the file from the prompted computer browser and then it attaches. Click sent on your email and anything that was entered or attached will appear in the inbox of your recipient.

Other useful features when it comes to Hotmail are the IM at the bottom left of the interface. This is an instant message chat feature which allows the user to type messages to people listed on their contacts list (prompted when someone emails you).

An upgrade is available for Hotmail for those that seek a massive amount of additional online storage. This could be useful if you seek to send and receive a lot of attachments, either because you have a love of pictures or need to send work to colleagues.

The most important thing to remember when using Hotmail is that is a very personal and highly important device. Leaving it exposed for anyone to walk up to and utilise on your account could be disastrous. Your passwords could be stolen and other critical information is vulnerable, it could even affect your personal life with the emailing tool. So every user must remember that if they are not the sole user of their computer to use the ‘Sign Out’ option in the top right hand corner after every session for maximum protection.

As well as creating new messages, received messages can also be replied to which generates a conversation format. To do this, upon reading an email, simply click ‘Reply’ and all of the other fill in information is automatically completed, leaving you free to type your message or to add attachments.