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I can’t get current emails, only ones that have been received time and time again, despite deleting them. I can send but not receive emails. I am using Outlook Express. Please help a pensioner with not a lot of technical knowledge?

Remove Email from your Server

When it comes to a problem like this, there is a good chance that there is an email stuck on the server that is interfering with your incoming mail, rather than a problem on your computer. Let’s start with a few troubleshooting steps to clear the server.

Removing the Stuck E-mail Message

Often, a single message in your Inbox will get stuck, causing a blockage. When this happens, you may receive several e-mail messages (often repeats), then the problematic e-mail comes along and cannot be downloaded. None of the emails in line after the problematic message can come through either. When you hit Send and Receive again, the same thing happens, you’ll receive the first few messages before the problematic one and then nothing. The solution is to delete the problematic message. However, this is difficult to do because it hasn’t been downloaded yet!

You can delete it on the server side if you have access to a Web-based version of your e-mail. For example, do you have a Web site where you can check your e-mail online through your ISP? If so, check your e-mail online and delete the troublesome message. If not, contact your ISP and explain that you think a corrupt e-mail is blocking emails from downloading to your computer. They can then delete the message for you.

Contact your ISP for your Account Settings

If the above steps don’t solve the problem, it’s a good idea to verify that your account settings and server settings are properly configured. In order to confirm your settings, you need to have some information about your account. If you have this information in your records, then you’re ready to go. If not, you can get it by contacting your Internet service provider. You will need to know:

1. The email address
2. The type of account you use: POP3, IMAP or HTTP
3. User name and password
4. The SMTP server name or address
5. The POP3 server name or address
6. If a Secure Password Authentication is required
7. The port number for SMTP - usually port 25 - and is encryption required
8. The port number for POP3 - usually port 110 - and is encryption required
9. If the outgoing server require authentication

Check OE Email Account Settings

With this information, you can check your configurations are set properly:

1. Start Outlook Express
2. Choose Tools, then Account Settings
3. Choose the Email tab, then New
4. Choose Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP, or http, then Next
5. Click the box to Manually Configure Server Settings
6. From the Add New Email Account box, choose Internet Email
7. When you get a box listing your setting information, check to confirm that the information is the same as the data your ISP gave you
8. Choose More Settings and confirm that the box for My Outgoing Server (SMTP) is checked or not checked, whichever your ISP told you
9. Click Use Same Settings as My Incoming Mail Server, then OK
10. Click Test Account Settings
11. Click Next and then Finish

Repair your Internet Explorer Installation

If none of this is helpful then you might want to repair your Internet Explorer installation. Since Outlook Express is part of your IE software, this will resolve any issues here too. First, click Start, then Settings, then Control Panel. Choose Add/Remove, then scroll to your IE listing and click to highlight it. Click the Remove button, then on the next screen choose Repair.

I have Vista installed on an HP computer and I can’t seem to open most attachments. I went into Outlook Express/tools/options/security and followed the help suggestions. I am changing from Outlook to MSN but now I can’t seem to open anything. Help?

Opening Email Attachments

So, are you having trouble with attachments in your MSN account too? Or only in the Outlook Express account? The most likely explanation is that your security settings are too high to allow most or all of your attachments through.

Back Up and Review your Antivirus Program Settings

Most, if not all, email programs are equipped with security settings to stop contaminated files from gaining access to your computer system. It is common practice to transmit infected files as email attachments, so these protections are important. Before you make any changes to your Outlook Express settings you should be sure that your antivirus software is up-to-date. Lowering your email security will increase the risk of corrupt or infected files accessing your computer, so make sure that you are covered by another program.

Change Security Settings in Outlook Express

1. Open Outlook Express and choose Tools from the menu
2. Scroll to Options and click the Security tab
3. Click to remove the check from Do Not Allow Attachments to be Saved or Opened that could Potentially be a Virus
4. Click Apply, then OK

Change Security Settings in Windows Live Mail

Outlook Express’s successor, Windows Live Mail, is programmed to block some file types. Certain file extensions, such as .exe, .pif, .scr are commonly used for viruses and pose a real threat to your computer. Since Windows Live Mail is a pretty new program, it is up-to-date in its definitions, and you might think about trusting its judgment. But, if you decide to override the Windows Live Mail security settings, here’s how you can do it. Before you do, make sure your antivirus security software is up-to-date with definitions and enabled.

1. Click Start, then All Programs, then Windows Mail to open the program
2. Choose the Tools menu, then Options
3. Choose the Security tab, and then find the listing for Do Not Allow Attachments to be Saved or Opened that could potentially be a Virus
4. Click to Remove the check from the box to disable this function
5. Click OK
6. Close and quit Windows Live Mail and then reopen the program to allow the changes to take effect

Can saved e-mails on my PC on an AOL account be recovered if they disappeared when I updated my AOL to 9.1 from 9.0? I didn’t know I should have been saving my files to AOL instead of to PC. NOW I KNOW!

Windows System Restore

Hmm, I hope you can recover your files. If this has only just happened, the quickest fix is to use System Restore to roll your computer settings back to the day before you upgraded AOL and back up the ‘Saved to PC’ files. System Restore is a feature of your Windows operating system that allows users to turn back the time on their computers to remove recent changes. In this case, by turning the time on your computer back to before you upgraded AOL, you will be back to the settings from before - this goes for any and all changes you made, so be sure to re-update your security programs and Windows Updates once you’ve sorted out AOL.

AOL and ‘Saved to PC’ Storage Options

What you should know before you change your settings to save to the AOL server rather than to your PC is that AOL only keeps your emails for 30 days, so you should still ‘Save to PC,’ but make sure you routinely back up this folder, especially before you upgrade AOL. Browse the AOL mail tools and features page for more advice and tips on optimizing your account and your settings.

Roll Back Time with System Restore

To roll back your computer with System Restore:

1. Click Start, then choose All Programs
2. Choose Accessories, then System Tools
3. Choose System Restore
4. The wizard will launch - follow the on-screen instructions to choose a roll back date and reset the computer - and finish the process with the wizard

Backup AOL Saved to PC Files

Once you roll back AOL, you can use these steps to back up your ‘Saved to PC’ files, then you can upgrade to AOL 9.1 without losing your older files and mail. Use your operating system’s search function to find a directory called C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\ALL USERS\APPLICATION DATA\AOL\C_AMERICA ONLINE 9.0. Here you can find a folder labeled Organize. This is the folder that holds the emails you ‘Saved to PC’. Open, copy and save this entire folder to a backup device, like a CD or flash drive. You can also copy this folder back to this directory after you upgrade 9.1 to get all these files in the same place.

I hope this helps, if you need more help, let us know. Good luck!

I am going through a divorce and my husband has found a way to enter into my email and manipulate it so that is looks like I uploaded a photo on an international website as a call girl. Also the dates seem to have been changed on some old emails that make it look like I was talking to someone while we were married. I need help. I had no idea that this could be done and it looks bad for me. HELP!

E-mail Hacking

This is a tough one and emotionally difficult. For the time being, let’s look at e-mail hacking in general and consider the possibility that a random hacker or virus was involved. For example, many users have had their e-mail accounts hacked. When this happens, the hacker often sends offensive and malicious emails from the victim’s e-mail account without the victim’s knowledge. This has embarrassed many innocent users and can be the result of hackers or viruses. Below are a few Filetonic blog posts addressing various e-mail hacking scenarios:

Hotmail Account Hacked

My E-mail has been Hijacked

Someone Hacked My MSN

Malicious E-mail Tampering

There have been cases where e-mail tampering has occurred. We are not legal experts by any means, so this is not legal advice but rather advice to seek legal advice. Computer forensics methods are available to analyze a computer’s history. For example, if someone used a personal computer to upload a photo of someone else to a site such as a call girl site, Web tracks may remain on that person’s computer showing that the photo was uploaded from that particular computer. An attorney may be able to get a subpoena or warrant to search the computer in question or even find out the IP address from which the upload originated. In addition, it may be possible to compare tampered emails between the sender and the recipient’s computers to show that the dates do not match. Again, this would involve a bit of coordination and legal maneuvering.

Below is an interesting article about e-mail tampering to give you an idea of a past e-mail tampering case:

E-mail Tampering: This Time the Good Guys Won

Steps to Take Now

I highly recommend that you discuss these concerns with your attorney. Depending on your e-mail provider, you may be able to get e-mail log files but you’ll likely need an attorney’s help in doing so. In addition to working with legal counsel, you’ll need to secure your accounts and possibly the computer.

Change your e-mail password right away if you haven’t already. Go with a random, hard-to-crack password and change it from a friend’s computer rather than your own. Why? Because, it’s possible that your computer has been compromised - not just your e-mail account. Monitoring software is available that can be installed without your knowledge and even without physical access to the computer. This software secretly records screenshots or keystrokes and then reports back to whomever initially installed it. One such product even features a “remote install” where the person simply sends an e-mail and the software secretly installs on the recipient’s computer.

If your computer were equipped with such a product, changing your password wouldn’t do any good because the changes would be submitted to the person monitoring the PC. Use a friend’s computer to be on the safe side and then read this Filetonic article about surveillance software.

This is one case where I’m hoping it’s a simple computer virus.

How do I hide my IP address when I send email to somebody?

When I get questions like this, I always wonder what you are sending that you don’t want to be identified with. I’m going to continue with my answer assuming that you are not going to use the information for anything illegal, immoral or would otherwise make your mother unhappy were she to learn about it.

When you send an email, even if you don’t have your name in the send line, your IP address is still traceable. If you want to be completely anonymous, you need to take some extra steps to hide your identity.

Disposable Email Account

There are several levels of anonymous emails. For example, if you wanted to report your neighbor for overwatering his lawn during a drought but don’t want to cause hard feelings should the e-mail circulate, the easiest way is to just set up a “disposable” email account. Rather than use your personal account, you just set up another one, using any user name you want without putting your true personal information in as you set it up.

Remailers

If you want to send an email that is more anonymous than simply using a different account, you need to turn to a third-party remailer. When you use a remailer, you send an email to the remail service, they strip it of the header and IP information and send it on to the recipient. Again there are different levels of anonymity depending on the service you use and what you need the service to do for you. Keep in mind that these services track your IP address and report any illegal activity.

GnuPG

For ultimate anonymity, you will probably need to use PGP, which stands for Pretty Good Privacy, or the newest incarnation GnuPG. This uses public-key cryptography that hides the public key to a username and/or email address. The new programs use a combination of this and a hierarchal approach based on certificate authenticity.

We understand that privacy is a concern which is why we also recommend ParetoLogic Privacy Controls. While it’s not an IP cloaker, this tool does clean up your Web history files and offer a variety of controls valuable to any computer user, anonymous or not. Hopefully this information was helpful to you. Use it wisely.

I have Windows Vista and I can’t make MSN my default mail. Windows Live has just taken over.

Windows Live and MSN

Microsoft has been tweaking and integrating their e-mail products over the last few years with Windows Live being the latest incarnation. MSN Hotmail has been rebranded and revamped into Windows Live Hotmail which is a little different than Windows Live Mail which is a little different than Windows Mail. It’s confusing, isn’t it?

MSN mail is not an actual software application, but rather a Web-based e-mail service. Therefore, if you want to view MSN messages locally on your computer, even when offline, you would set up your MSN account in a client such as Outlook Express or one of the Windows Mail/Windows Live Mail clients.

Windows Vista E-mail Clients

As a Windows Vista user, your computer came preinstalled with Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail. These programs are essentially updated versions of the older Outlook Express e-mail client. In addition, if you’ve downloaded Windows Live Essentials from Microsoft, or if Microsoft Update did it on your behalf, then your computer now has the Windows Live Mail client installed.

If you’ve recently downloaded Windows Live Mail, your older Windows Mail software should still be installed on your computer. If so, you can set that client as your default if you prefer it over the newer Live version.

Setting a Default E-Mail Client in Vista

The easiest way to set the default e-mail client is to launch the e-mail client that you want to be the default. Once launched, a screen will appear notifying you that the application is not the current default and asking if you’d like it to be. Click Yes.

If the screen doesn’t appear, go to Tools > Options and click the Make Default button under Default Messaging Programs.

Another way to set a specific e-mail client as the default program in Vista is to go to the Start button and type “Default Programs” in the Search bar. Click the Default Programs icon followed by the Set Your Default Programs link. Find your desired e-mail client in the list and click “Set this program as default.”

Setting up an E-mail Client to Work with MSN Hotmail

MSN Hotmail can be accessed either through the Web interface or via a locally installed e-mail client. You will need to configure your e-mail client to access the MSN service before you can begin sending and receiving e-mail in it. However, keep in mind that Windows Mail does NOT support MSN Hotmail accounts while Windows Live Mail does. So, unless you have a different e-mail client in mind with MSN support, you might have to live with Windows Live Mail. Setting up access is easy, though. Simply go to Tools > Accounts > Add and then follow the prompts to add your MSN mail credentials.