Incredibly as it may sound, Microsoft appears to be insisting that people have hundreds of thousands of five-digit passwords if they are to access its sites.

How else can you explain this error message (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q276/3/04.ASP) from the Beast of Redmond's support site: "Error Message: Your Password Must Be at Least 18770 Characters and Cannot Repeat Any of Your Previous 30689 Passwords."

Seems a bit steep if you ask us. This is equivalent of having to learn by rote a large poem and re-type it every time you wish to learn more nonsense from the Master of Software.

Incidentally, this entire story consists of just 580 characters. Some mistakes me thinks. ®

Related Link

Microsoft's new password regime (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q276/3/04.ASP)