If your email password is "password," let's be honest -- you're probably not aware that it's one of the most common passwords out there.

But Microsoft is stepping in, and it's a wise move. Peter Bright of Ars Technica writes that in a change to its password policy, Hotmail will no longer let new users register if they want to use a common password.

Gone are the days of "123456" and "ilovemywife." Users are being forced to develop good habits.

In those weird instances where you receive spam from a friend's email address, Microsoft is also implementing a "My friend's been hacked!" feature. It will let you report a compromised account, which shuts it down so that only the authorized user can get back in.

We wouldn't mind seeing similar functionality roll out across other services.