Hotmail is a free email service provided by Microsoft. Launched in 1996 as one of the first free email services, the company was bought by Microsoft in 1997. Once known as Hotmail, then MSN Hotmail, it was renamed Windows Live Hotmail in 1007. Its main competitors are free email provided by Yahoo (Yahoo! Mail) and Google (Gmail).

Hotmail, although incredibly useful to the majority of users, has been subject to widespread criticism because of its vulnerability. On several occasions, widespread hacking has occurred. Many people use Hotmail simply for the purpose of spamming others. In addition, the spam filter that is built into Hotmail is often so strict that it rejects legitimate mail.

Registering on Hotmail is simple, and takes just a few minutes. By creating an account, a user can utilize all functionalities from any internet-connected computer anywhere in the world. The user’s mailbox, contact addresses, and user preferences travel with them wherever they go.

The average Hotmail user is female (54%), and between the ages of 18 and 49 (74%). An unusually high number of minorities are represented among user statistics (29% are non-Caucasian), and 67% of users have no children. On average, 2.6 million Americans use Hotmail on a monthly basis, with a peak in mid-September of 2008.