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Cannot access my e-mail as of today, 13 June 2009.

Without more information about what is happening when you try to log in or what email you are using, we’re going to have to do some troubleshooting.

Can’t Access Website

If you can’t get onto a web-based email account, the first thing you should check is if the website itself is having problems. Many times, the problem is with the email provider, not your account. Sometimes just waiting and trying again, or trying from a different computer will work.

Password Not Working

If you can get to the website, but it won’t accept your password you may have limited success depending on what email account you are using. If you are using a free account such as MSN or Gmail and your password no longer works, there is little you can do to get your account back. It’s possible that your password has been hijacked, either by someone you know or by some sort of phishing expedition. If you have set a secret answer or provided a valid email address that is with another provider, you should be able to reset your password and access your account. If you didn’t do either one of these things, I hate to say it, but you’re pretty much out of luck.

If you are using Outlook Express and can’t access your account with your password, you may be able to access the account. If there is an Administrator account on your computer (it may be there with a blank password even if you didn’t set one up), go to the Control Panel, find the User Accounts and the account in question. You should be able to change the password from here.  There are many third-party software companies who will be able to reset or clear out the Outlook password for you - look on the Internet for a wide selection.

If you can’t access your email account with your password, your only option may be to set up a new account and email as many of your contacts as you can, telling them of your situation. Hopefully, nobody will be using your contact list to send spam, and it was just some sort of oversight.

Trying to export my mail and contacts from Outlook into Gmail, but the file extension msnbak which Outlook produces isn’t recognized by Gmail. Is there a way around this or a utility that will do an appropriate conversion?

I’m not sure how you went about doing the exporting, so I’m going to walk you through the process step by step - there is one process for email and one for contacts.

Importing Outlook Email into Gmail

This process has gotten easier since Gmail supports IMAP protocol. It works with Outlook as well as Thunderbird and other providers.

First, you need to be sure that IMAP is enabled in Gmail - it probably is because it is the default, but we’ll give instructions on that anyway.

1. Sign into Gmail. Click on Settings
2. Choose Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
3. Select “Enable IMAP”.

Now, you need to setup Gmail in the client software:

1. Open Outlook Express, go to Tools and then Accounts.
2. Click on Add and then Mail.
3. Enter your name in the “Display Name” field. Click Next.
4. In the email address field enter your Gmail address. Click Next.
5. For “My Incoming Mail Server is a __ server”, choose IMAP.
6. In “Incoming Mail (POP3, IMAP, HTTP)” enter: imap.gmail.com
7. In “Outgoing mail (SMTP) server” field, enter: smtp.gmail.com and click Next.
8. In the account name field, enter your full email address. Enter the password and click Next. Click Finish.
9. Now go to Account and highlight: imap.gmail.com and click Properties.
10. Choose Advanced.
11. Under “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)”, check “This server requires a secure connection (SSL)”.
12. In “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)” enter: 465.
13. Under “Incoming mail (IMAP)”, check “This server requires a secure connection (SSL)”. The port should change to 993.
14. Click on the Servers tab. Check the box marked “My server requires authentication” and click Ok.

Now, for client settings - Go to Tools and then Options and Send tab. Do NOT check “Save a copy of sent messages in the Sent Items folder”. Check “Send messages immediately”.

This will create a Gmail folder structure in Outlook that will match the Gmail labels. Open all your old archive.pst files if you have them. Drag and drop all of your old emails into the new IMAP account inbox folder. If you don’t want to move them, choose “copy”. Do the same thing with the “Sent Mail” folder. It may take a while, depending on the number of emails you are moving.

Copy Contact List from Outlook to Gmail

1. Go to Outlook. Open File and then Import and Export.
2. Select “Export a file”. Click Next.
3. Choose “Comma-separated values”. Click Next.
4. Find Contacts and select Next.
5. Name the file and save it. It should have the .csv extension.
6. Now, get into Gmail.
7. Find the Contacts on the left and select Import.
8. Click Browse to fine the .csv file you created earlier.
9. Click Import” to import the contacts.
10. You should see the number of contacts added, merged, ignored or how many were duplicates.

I hope these directions help you import the files you want successfully. If you need more assistance, please let us know.

How can I stop the border of a text box from printing in a Word doc?

Microsoft Word’s Text Box Feature

Microsoft Word offers several ways to enter text into a document: freestyle, tables, and text boxes. Right now, I’m typing freestyle. However, if I wanted greater control over where my text appears, I’d use either a table or a text box. Tables are good for lining up multiple columns of short text and inserting pictures so that they align properly with the different text elements. Text boxes are great for being able to move the text around on the page as well as adding interesting effects such as borders and backgrounds. Word comes with several built-in text box styles such as sidebars and quotes. These are pre-designed text boxes with special attributes such as shading, text direction, and shape. Whether you’re working with a built-in text box or a basic one, you can easily change its shapes and other properties.

Text Box Formatting

To change the text box’s properties, it depends on how you click it. You’ll use the right mouse button. If you right-click within the text, you’ll get a submenu related to text issues such as suggested spellings and auto correct. If you first left-click on the box’s border and then right-click within the box, then you’ll have an option for Borders and Shading. This is what you want for removing the text box’s border. You can also access this dialog by right-clicking the box’s border and choosing Format Text Box from the submenu. Note that this particular submenu offers the most choices.

Removing the Text Box Border

Once you’re in the Format Text Box dialog box, go to the Colors and Lines tab and find the area for Lines. In the line’s Color field, click the down arrow and choose No Color. Click OK. The border disappears.

I can’t stop ads for Viagra. Some look like they are actually sent “from” me.

I’m with you on this one. Spam drives me absolutely bonkers. My inbox used to be loaded with hundreds of “male enhancement,” “online pharmacy,” and “herbal remedies” messages each day! I finally have spam under control thanks to protecting my e-mail addresses (for example, don’t post your e-mail address online such as on Web sites and forums) and using anti-spam products on my computer. In your case, since you’re seeing advertisements for Viagra and your e-mail program appears to be sending out emails “from” you, I suspect that it’s not so much that you’re on a spammer’s list, but rather your computer appears to have a malicious program on it.

Computer Viruses

Computer viruses can send messages that appear to be from you. Computer viruses often take over your e-mail’s outgoing e-mail mechanism and send messages to the people in your contact list. When your friends receive the e-mail, it looks like it’s from you, complete with your name in the “from” line. The message may contain an attachment or a link. When your friends open the attachments or click the links, their computers become infected with the virus and the virus then hijacks their e-mail lists. From there, the virus sends itself to all of your friends’ contacts and spreads like crazy.

Botnets

Botnets are networks of personal computers that have been taken over by a hacker. The hacker then uses these computers as needed for whatever purpose is on the hacker’s agenda. For example, if the hacker happens to also be a spammer, he can command the infected computers to send out spam messages. These messages may have your name in the From field; it just depends on the botnet’s programming and mission.

Trojans

Another possibility is that a Trojan is on your system. Trojans usually arrive as part of another downloaded program, such as a screensaver. It sneaks on with the program, much like the soldiers arrived in the famous Trojan horse. Trojans can carry out all types of destructive deeds including generating unwanted advertisements.

Whether a virus, botnet, Trojan, or any other type of malware is to blame, the solution is the same: you need a good computer security product to get rid of this pest. Your computer may have a combination of infections, too. If you currently have a computer security product such as Norton, McAfee, or Trend Micro installed, update its antivirus definitions and run a complete system scan. Because some threats are not traditional found with antivirus programs, you’ll need an antispyware tool, too. If you have Windows XP or Vista, run the Windows Defender too (after updating it) to remove spyware threats.

Recommended Computer Security Products

ParetoLogic Antivirus Plus

PC Tools Antivirus

Lavasoft Antivirus

For more suggestions, read our antivirus 2009 reviews.

Once you’ve rid your system of this nasty malware infection, let everyone in your contact list know that emails may have been sent by a virus on your system. This way, your friends can check their systems too.

I keep getting a “not responding” message when I try to open Outlook Express. My computer takes forever to open a lot of the windows. I also get the “not responding” message sometimes when I try to log on to the Internet. Ideas?

Not Responding Messages

Both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer require large amounts of system resources and are often running all the time. When your computer generates a “not responding” message, it usually indicates that there’s not enough memory available or that a process is taking longer than expected.

Outlook Express Not Responding Error

Outlook Express comes with a “compacting” tool that can repair damage and solve miscellaneous errors such as the “not responding” error. The more you use Outlook Express, the larger and less organized its database becomes. Compacting this database makes Outlook Express run more efficiently.

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To compact Outlook Express, make sure it is offline so that new messages do not disrupt the process. You may need to do this in Safe Mode in order to get Outlook Express to open. If Outlook Express opens, go to File > Folder > Compact all folders. This takes quite a few minutes to complete. Do not run any other programs during this process. You may need to repeat this several times, especially if additional errors are generated. Try at least three times, even going so far as to reboot in between attempts.

If Outlook Express will not open at all, try disabling any anti-spam tools that you might have in your antivirus software package. These can sometimes interfere with Outlook Express loading. Other potential problems involve having an overloaded Inbox or Sent Items folder. Move messages from these folders into local folders. You’ll find that Outlook Express runs much more efficiently when these folders are not overloaded. In addition, you should empty your Deleted Items folder every few days.

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If you have your original Windows installation disc, you can run the System File Checker utility to check your operating system for damaged or missing files. If Outlook Express is damaged, this utility will replace its damaged files with clean copies from the disc. To run it, insert the disc and go to Start > Run. Type in cmd and click the OK button. Next, type in sfc /scannow and then press the Enter key.

Let the process run and follow any directions given. You’ll need to reboot the computer once the process is complete.

Internet Explorer Not Responding Error

The System File Checker may also solve your Internet Explorer not responding issue. Both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer have been revamped recently, so you may want to upgrade to the latest versions. This too, may solve your problems. Outlook Express has been replaced by Windows Live Mail and Internet Explorer is now in its eighth version, Internet Explorer 8.0.

General Not Responding Errors

Since your computer is generating not responding errors in several programs, it may have too many programs running at once. While you can limit what programs you open yourself, if your computer is running programs that you don’t know about (like spyware and viruses), then you’re obviously not aware that they are running and therefore can’t limit them. That’s where a good antivirus/antispyware program is a must. If you don’t have such a program, we can’t stress the importance of investing in one pronto! If you do currently have a program, update it and run a full system scan.

Next, let’s limit the programs that are loading each time you start Windows. You’ll do this by going to Start > Run and typing in msconfig. Press Enter and click the Startup Items tab. Remove marks by programs that you recognize and don’t need running at all times such as Acrobat Reader. Search the Internet for programs and processes that you don’t recognize before disabling those.

I am wondering if there is a way, other than leaving a copy on the server, to have an email show up on the same Outlook account on two different computers. It just seems odd that you can have it show up on your computer and phone simultaneously, but not two computers…

You’re right, you can set your server to leave the emails on for X amount of days before deletion, and that is the easiest way to do it. If you don’t want to go that route, there are a few ways to accomplish this - like most things, some are easy and may cost money, another is free, but is more cumbersome.

Third-Party Synchronization Software

Although I haven’t tried it myself, I’ve heard good things about a Web-based synchronization freeware tool called Plaxo that is said to sync all Outlook data including contacts, calendar, tasks and notes. I would make this the first stop on your quest, as it promises to be cost-effective and easy to use, while it does what you are looking for.

If that doesn’t work for you and you don’t mind spending some money, the easiest way to go is with some third-party software. There are many companies all over the web that offer this kind of program - two to try are Syncing.net and SynchPST, both of which come with a free trial so you can see how they work before you purchase the program.

Manually Sync the Computers

You can do this by creating a different PST (personal storage table) file for each computer and use the features of Microsoft’s Sync Toy so that the files will sync in only one direction - from the primary computer to the secondary computer. We’re going to walk you through this as if the desktop was the primary computer and the laptop was the secondary computer.

For the desktop, create a PST called desktop on the desktop and a PST called laptop on the laptop. You will then use Sync Toy to echo the files from the primary to the secondary computer. This will only sync the emails, not the address book, etc. The files will get bigger over time, so you will have to compartmentalize them by month or year, depending on how big they get.

One of these methods should work for you, and you should be able to access Outlook from more than one location.