<p>While Microsoft has long supported linked accounts for its Hotmail and Outlook email services, the Redmond-based software giant recently noted these can be tempting targets for hackers. In a surprising move, the company has opted to sever those links entirely.</p><p>On Monday, Microsoft announced it would drop linked accounts for its Outlook service and instead begin using aliases. This move reportedly comes as a way to mitigate email infiltration by hackers and scammers. Within the next two months, Outlook will move to utilize an alias system for the handling of multiple accounts.</p><p>"There are a number of people who have more than one email address and want to manage these multiple email addresses from Outlook.com. Linked accounts were introduced in 2006 as a way to quickly switch between different accounts each with their own email address," explained Eric Doerr in a blog post, Microsofts principal group program manager.</p><p>"Over the next couple months, we will stop supporting linked accounts and instead help people move to a more robust and secure way of managing multiple email addresses: aliases."</p><p><a href="http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112876934/microsoft-drops-linked-outlook-accounts-for-aliases-061813/">Keep reading...</a></p>