14 DAY TRIAL // An upgraded version of the Outlook Hotmail Connector (both the 32-bit and the 64-bit flavors) is now available for download from Microsoft enabling customers to benefit from the security advantages of the Secure Sockets Layer cryptographic protocol. Alessio Roic, Outlook Senior Program Manager stressed that the latest iteration of the Outlook Hotmail Connector is designed to boost the security and quality of the connection between Windows Live Hotmail and the Outlook email client.
The core of the Outlook Hotmail Connector upgrade is the introduction of support of the HTTPS protocol. This means that customers need only download and install Outlook Hotmail Connector Build 14.0.6106.5001 in order to encrypt communication between Outlook and Windows Live Hotmail, Calendar, and Contacts.
“Using a connection with HTTPS, helps you be even more confident that your account is safer from hijackers, and that your private information remains private,” Roic stated.
“HTTPS is a standard for sensitive Internet content, and you’ll find it commonly used by banks, online merchants, and email providers such as Hotmail. HTTPS uses a certificate on the server to make sure that your computer is communicating with the intended server.”
HTTPS support in Outlook Hotmail Connector is enabled by default, so all that end users need to do is deploy the solution and all their Outlook traffic from Hotmail will be switched to SSL immediately.
The upgraded Outlook Hotmail Connector is 14.0.6106.5001, and is available free of charge via the Microsoft Download Center, mirroring the SSL evolution of Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Mail 2011.
In addition to HTTPS support, Microsoft has also resolved a few bugs in Outlook Hotmail Connector with the 14.0.6106.5001 update, kicking up a notch the reliability of the tool. Here’s a list of changes provided by Roic:
“•We fixed an issue in which the user was prompted to remove folders that used names longer than 30 characters or that contained invalid characters even after the folder was removed.
•We fixed several stability and reliability issues.
Calendar - we fixed the following issues:
•Some calendar meetings and appointments series with specific exception patterns caused error 8004a164 during first synchronization which blocked additional calendar synchronizations.
•Users couldn’t remove recipients of a meeting series from an exception to the series.
•Flagged mail items would continue to prompt with a reminder value even after it was dismissed.
Mail - We fixed an issue in which users couldn’t send email messages if the recipient address was copied and then pasted from a contact.
Contacts - We fixed an issue in which street address fields only synchronized from the server one time.”
Outlook Hotmail Connector 14.0.6106.5001 is available for download here.