James Delahunty
27 Mar 2011 3:25
Microsoft has denied that it blocked HTTPS access to Hotmail for several countries.
Instead, the Redmond-based software giant said a mystery bug caused the problems. The issue has since been resolved but Microsoft admits it is still investigating exactly what caused the bug in the first place.
Users in certain countries were unable to switch on the safer HTTPS version of Hotmail. Some questions were raised when it was revealed that Syrian users were getting an error message attempting to do so, due to ongoing political unrest in the country.
"Your Windows Live ID can't use HTTPS automatically because this feature is not available for your account type," a message to users read. Hotmail users who has already opted for HTTPS were not affected in any way.
"We do not intentionally limit support by region or geography and this issue was not restricted to any specific region of the world. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers that this may have caused," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
The Bahams, Caymen Islands and Fiji were also affected, according to Microsoft.