Microsoft released an compulsory update to its Outlook Hotmail Connector today to its customers, updating the version number to 14.0.5139.5001. All existing users of the connector will be prompted to update to the newer version in order to continue using software. This update fixes many bugs in the current version of the connector, specifically:

• Several send/receive issues are fixed.
• The Outlook junk email filter within Outlook is turned off for Hotmail accounts (this was erroneously flagging good mail as junk). Junk messages are now detected at the Hotmail mail server. Any entries you made in Outlook for the junk email filters (Safe Senders, Blocked Senders, and Safe Recipients) continue to work correctly and synchronize between Outlook and the Hotmail mail server.
• Fixes for hangs and crashes experienced when sending meetings using the Hotmail Connector and when adding a new Hotmail account to an existing profile.
• Fix for an issue where Windows Live contacts’ birthdays and anniversaries shifted by one day when synchronized with Outlook.
• Fix for an issue that blocked synchronization of the Category property in an Outlook contact with Windows Live.

You can get the latest version of the Outlook Hotmail Connector here:

• Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector for Outlook 2003, 2007 and 2010 32-bit
• Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector for Outlook 2010 64-bit

(Thanks to WinRumors.com for the heads up)