An unexplained glitch left many Internet users unable to access Microsoft’s Windows Live Mail and other online services most of Tuesday. The problem was resolved as of Tuesday evening, according to Microsoft, but there is no word on what the problem was.
Microsoft’s Windows Live ID (the most recent incarnation of Microsoft’s single sign-on service once called Passport) allows users to enter a host of protected sites, including the Live Mail e-mail client, the Messenger instant-messaging client, and SkyDrive, the company’s online file storage. Those services were unavailable to many around the world, leaving frustrated users unable to access their e-mail and other online information.
Windows Live Product Manager Samantha McManus said in a statement to NewsFactor, “Early Tuesday morning we had an unforeseen event on our network, which caused a service disruption of our authentication services. During this time, some consumers worldwide experienced difficulty logging in to their Windows Live accounts.”
“Microsoft worked aggressively to resolve this problem as quickly as possible and normal service operations were restored by 1:30 p.m. PST,” McManus said. “Our infrastructure is designed for strength, resilience and security and our customers have come to expect a high level of service reliability. … We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Huge Number of Users Affected
It’s impossible to guess how many users were locked out of online services. “Microsoft claims more than 400 million Live IDs, but doesn’t say how many unique users that represents,” said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft. “Undoubtedly, some of those are duplicates for the same individual.”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Todd Bishop wrote on his blog that Microsoft told him that the problem at first affected “the majority of customer log-in attempts worldwide” but that number decreased to “less than 30 percent of log-in attempts.” That could still put the number of those impacted in the…