Quote: Microsoft is listed fifth in the Top 10 list of the worst spam service ISPs compiled by Spamhaus.org.

Spammers are advertising links to sites that "peddle fake pharmacy products, porn, and Nigerian 419 scams" on Microsoft's Live.com and Livefilestore.com sites because they know that the Microsoft sites won't get blocked by antispam groups, writes Brian Krebs on his Security Fix Blog at the Washington Post.

Spamhaus has been alerting Microsoft to the problem for some time, but to no avail, Richard Cox, Spamhaus' chief information officer, told Krebs. Other security companies, including McAfee and Marshal, have also been warning about increases in spam and scams on Microsoft-hosted sites.

Read more here

I think I have said all I needed to say about this issue and the evidence is all over my Live Space to prove it.

http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!20273.entry
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!18809.entry
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!20330.entry

This has been the week for news about Windows Live. After my paranoid post about Live Spaces being doomed, Jamie Thomson gave me a tutorial on some of the changes he has seen in the next update to the blogging service. Now comes some great news from the Space Craft about what to expect:

Your space is all about your content, the way you want to show it, so we’re reducing the amount of clutter and giving you more freedom by:

• Removing the horizontal ad from the top of your space
• Making all of the modules optional (even the Title and Tagline module, which previously couldn’t be removed)
• Using a simpler header that has less text than other pages in Windows Live
• Letting you change themes, fonts, colors, and background images on your space using the customize menu
• Letting you rename or not show the title of each module on your space by using the settings menu for each module in customize mode
• Letting you select exactly which photo albums to show in your photos module – you can even customize what parts of the photos interface to display

Jamie Thomson has a lovely overview of whats coming for Windows Live Spaces and where its heading. That Windows Live Banner above the new Spaces looks huge. I am holding out though, but I hope that Microsoft realizes that blogging is still important and the experience needs to be improved for the millions of loyal users. Spaces is what got me into blogging in the first place. I tried Blogger and gave up. When the first beta came out for MSN Spaces December 9, 2004 I was like 'finally'. But today's de-emphasizing gives me the feeling that its not impossible for Microsoft to just kaput the service in the future for the sake of Social Networking and provide an experience similar to Facebook.

Quote

What happened to Spaces?

Ahhhh Live Spaces. Once purported to be the world’s biggest social network it has become a laughing stock in the online world as its users (of which I am one) battle through the trials and tribulations of poor performance, comment posting errors and endless endless spam. With the upcoming release of Windows Live wave 3 we see a shift in emphasis away from Spaces as a social networking hub to being a bit

I received an email this evening detailing some of the new features of Windows Live Hotmail wave 3 in addition to features to expect from services such as Skydrive, Photos and social networking improvements to home.live.com.

Over the next few months, we're rolling out enhancements to the rest of Windows Live.
• Get 25 GB of free online storage for your files with Windows Live SkyDrive™.

• Easily create photo albums and slideshows with Windows Live Photos.

• Stay in touch with your network of friends via the "What's New" feed. See who posted new photos or commented on a blog, find your favorite video, and see who's currently online by viewing your home page at home.live.com.

I hope Windows Live Spaces is not de-emphasized as some have noted, but I look forward to these changes awesome changes coming in the pipeline. The storage capacity for Skydrive is rather surprising which shows that Microsoft is definitely serious about Web 2.0 and making your personal information available to you anytime, anywhere.

With the roll of Microsoft's Windows Live Wave 3 of Software and Services, the Company is making some major changes to how it delivers it with some old favorites possibly taking a back seat. There are definitely some welcome changes, especially with the new Windows Live Hotmail that is much lighter and faster with improvements to search and organization of interface elements. One of the things that interest me the most is the direction of Windows Live Spaces. An interesting post by Mary Jo Foley suggest that Windows Live Spaces in its current state may remain that way going forward.

Quote: First, Microsoft is de-emphasizing Windows Live Spaces. Existing Spaces don’t disappear. But now Microsoft is repositioning the centralized Windows Live user profile areas as the revamped start.live.com sites. Users’ start.live.com page will look a lot like Facebook, with a centralized activity feed."

Read the entire post here

I find that strange that the Windows Live Team is not updating Spaces for Wave 3. Right now, the service is suffering from a number of issues: commentary spam (especially from China), performance and the fact that Windows Live Writer should be a web interface instead of this fat

I am getting quite sick of the Chinese commentary on my Windows Live Space. This has been happening for a long time now and I do not see any tools in place to help stop this habit. I am asking the Windows Live Space Team, to not only look at features for Windows Live wave 3 but actual tools users of services like Live Space and Mail can use to stop this constant spamming.

Previously:

Privacy Settings need to be better for Windows Live Messenger