MS Money and Passport

Topic

New Reply

I’m thinking of upgrading my MS Money 99 to the 2003 version, but have heard that in order to do so I will have to yield necessary information to the maw of Microsoft Passport, which I will not do. Is this true? (Tried searching the archive but no luck.) Thanks.

Reply | Quote

Replies

You don’t have to surrender, but you will find that it’s pervasive in the UI….I maintain a dummy hotmail account for exactly this sort of crap.

Reply | Quote

I have 3 passports and all that was needed was a name and a valid email address, nothing else. Just look for and fill in only the items listed as REQUIRED.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

Reply | Quote

Mark and Dave, thanks for the reply, and it’s re-assuring that to get the Passport account itself minimal information is needed. My larger concern is what information Passport may be taking from MS Money , in which confidential information resides. Any ideas?

Reply | Quote

“Any ideas? ”
No, I don’t. I do not use Money, my book keeper uses Quicken

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

Reply | Quote

[indent]

---

…my book keeper uses Quicken…

---

[/indent] Huh? It sez here you’re re-tarred, Dave! Is this bookkeeper’s name “Mrs. Dave?”

Reply | Quote

BigAl, YES

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

Reply | Quote

I’ve never seen anything in any publications or newgroups about Passport taking information from any other software product. I think that MS would’ve been tarred and feathered by now if there was any sort of funny business about Passport and other products.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

Thanks Joe; I should have been more precise. My concern arises from the historical problem that’s existed with Passport and security. Now, in order for many of the MS Money features to work (bill pay, retrieve bank transactions, etc.), the Money user goes through the Passport system, i.e., the MS system (I think; thus the reason for my inquiry). How safe can one feel with that data moving through Microsoft? In earlier versions of Money, the user could connect directly to the bank (dialup to dedicated number) or cut and paste from the bank’s website. The idea of being locked into Passport to use these features gives me pause. I like MS Money better than Quicken, but I don’t want to bet my financial security on Microsoft’s version of “security.” Appreciate your thoughts.

Reply | Quote

What Money 2003 is going to (strongly) suggest is that you allow it to send information to Money online. You don’t need to do it. For example, when I start Money, it has my Hotmail account pre-populated in the sign in page, and I always skip it. It doesn’t prevent you from getting online statements, etc. In fact, I can connect to my bank’s website, download a QIF file, and reconcile my account(s) without ever logging in to Passport. I certainly understand your concerns, but in this instance….you’re not risking anything, as long as you don’t just click away dialog boxes! Think of Money 2003 as Money with an option to log into Money Central that you don’t have to use.

Reply | Quote

Got it. Thanks, Mark.

Reply | Quote

I have 2 versions of MS Money, but have not installed either, one is 2000, the other 2002, is it any good? I have my stuff setup in Excel and have been too lazy to change over to another accountancy program. I don’t know anyone who uses it, so I throw the question to you.

Reply | Quote

I just upgraded to the 2003 edition from Money 2001. I like it very much, it’s very easy to use and has a lot of tools too. I can’t confess to using the long term planner that it has, but I’d bet if you took a little time to set up your accounts, you’d wonder why you used Excel for so long. It also has several small how-to videos and audio help (which you can turn off), making the learning curve not so steep.

What I particularly like is that I can synch Money with my PDA, which has a little counterpart application called Ultrasoft Money. I can enter my expenses using the same interface, drop the Handspring in its cradle, and I’m up to date in both places. (Quicken has a similar pocket version.)

Reply | Quote

Thanks Mark, Ill have a looksee. They came with the OEM version of Works 2002, hence I didn’t even load it. Do you think the OEM has all the features? Either way I’ll certainly have a look.

Reply | Quote

Yes, I would think that the OEM has all the basics there – of course, I could be way off. An OEM license for the most part allows the reseller to do what they want with the software (within certain limitations) but Microsoft likes to control their distributions, and besides, I think most OEMs realize that addling software by removing things is not a good way to retain customers.

Who knows? Keep in mind that there are basic, standard and deluxe versions of Money, and the lesser brethren may not include all the additional planning features. That was one compelling purchase factor for me – I wanted the tools (even though I’ve been to lazy to use them yet).

Reply | Quote

Cyberdance,
I also use the OEM version of Money 2002 and like it very much. I don’t think the OEM version leaves out many or any of the features. (at least any of the ones I am interested in) I do use a few spreadsheets from Works to track certain accounting items.

BTW. I was a beta tester for Intuit for 2 years, and I did a side by side comparison of Money and Quicken. While both were very usuable,
I stayed with Money only because I thought it was a little more user friendly than Quicken. Features were very similar.

Bob

Reply | Quote

Hi Mark and Bob, thanks for the incentive to try MS Money, even the OEM version, the most commonly used program here for accounting stuff is MYOB (I have a version of MYOB but have not bothered to install it either). Between one thing and another I have left my original setup in place coz it takes time to re setup everything. Buttttttt since you guys recommend trying MSM, I will certainly do so. I bet it will save heaps of time once I change over.

Reply | Quote

Wow, Cyber, got any other nifty software packages laying around that you haven’t installed? You know, one of those expensive application type thingies?

MYOB isn’t as well known but I’ve heard good things about it. If you take the Plunge into Money-land I’d be interested in your thoughts on how it works for you.

Cheers!

Reply | Quote

Heaps, but I only load what I am using – time runs away with me at work, so my home computer suffers from lack thereof. Tiz tons better since I’ve had a few days off to load the programs you told me to, and get the additional memory working, see, I pay attention and eventually do what you tell me! I have Quicken as well, and yes you are right, Ive not loaded that either!

*Thanks Jefferson for the comment about MYOB, Quick Books and Quicken, helps put these programs into prospective.*

I will try MS Money and see how it goes, thanks for the information, always welcome and useful.

Reply | Quote

I think MYOB is to QuickBooks what Money is to Quicken. Not really the same type of application. You might find a use for both, or neither, depending on your needs.

Reply | Quote

Thanks Bob, since I have not loaded Quicken, and have some knowledge of MYOB, it helps to hear back from those who are users of a product, being a beta tester for Quicken surely tells me all I need to know between Qucken and MSM. I’ll give it a whirl, appreciate your comments.

Reply | Quote