Bear with it for now DW - I don't think anythings 'broken' its just something so obvious that we're missing it.

I think your right to take a break though. If you come back to it - as you will Go back to basics again and from a fresh boot, check that your firewall isn't blocking Outlook Express, make double sure your settings are exactly correct and try once more.

Meantime I'll check around and see what I can find out for you - Hotmail ain't the best first team to be playing with .

Sorry I couldn't be more help - I don't really feel that confident about advising other people - I can generally work through for myself - and don't mind sending myself down a blind alley but I'd hate to steer you up the creek and straight into a trojan horse

I would be fairly confident it is 'fixable' - might even be something as stupid as the firewall. OE has even been known just to need a reboot to sort itself out. Let me know if you do crack it.

http://www.3dmaileffects.com/

I've had this since version 2... Don't use it anymore, but it's kind of fun, different and functional.

DWatson - Seriously don't give in - all my stuff works perfectly but I just ran the same routine and those ports don't show up when I use the command prompt either in normal use. Also when I use Telnet mail.ISP.com.110 etc from the command prompt I can only get as far as entering my password before it fails. Sadly I can only go as far as this - not through lack of interest - just ability - I think the blind might be leading the blind already

This is a broadband help site/forums for SBC http://www.dslreports.com/forum/ilec,swbell - you may find something there.

It would still guess at the authentication settings tho if the firewall isn't blocking. I think I'm right in saying that SBC is amongst those ISP's that block port 25 in order to reduce the amount of spam - this is where the need for authentication has come increasingly into play ( I think ).

My Outlook Express settings include under General - check 'include this account when....... 'box
Under Server check 'remember password' and 'my server requires authentification'. Under advanced check only the box that says 'leave a copy of message on server'.

Perversely with Incredimail on mine the 'my server requires authentification box' must be 'unchecked' in direct contravention to the norm- I don't know why - but this is the only way it works.

There is also the possibility that the server is just playing silly sods and you'll be fine tomorrow regardless.

This is my last post on this unless you specifically ask for some advice cos I can here Jafo laughing at me - even from here
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Yeh, somehow I started getting out of my depth but couldn't stop it - each seemingly reasonable step was just another foot under. I lost sight of the Sun four hours ago Sorry guy - hope no harm done.

mmmm, never mind, I promised myself I wouldn't get into support issues anymore...

ever

I had Incredimail for all of about ten minutes.
Chuck it all and get Thunderbird.

Nevermind, I got it all working now

I know SpyBot is flawed....Adaware found things it missed....fair to say 'nothing found' does not mean 'nothing there'...

I installed 'Spybot Search and Destroy' today....and there are 4 DSO Exploits found that it's not able to get rid of....the explanation is that it's some kind of IE flaw....I seem to have 4 altered registry entries....among other problems....I'm not happy with whatever seems to make my system such a mess...I've gotten all my updates....run my scans and all that.....my firewall took a poop about a month ago...so I uninstalled it...it decided that it wasn't going to let me access the internet at all anymore. Symantec's tech support (both the online tutes and the email support were all yada yada yada...no help at all...so I just uninstalled it....

Things are probably an awful mess.....I keep finding weird files that open with the wrong programs....*sigh

Koasati had it right on the help boards.....windowblonde...I'd laugh but I'm afraid it might come out a little too hysterically to be credible as humor

dangit

I know this next statement belongs in the 'say something funny' thread too.....

believe it or not

having spent most of my time in lala land taking pictures and writing...and essentially not understanding most of any of the 'techtalk' I read....

I have no idea how to format a hard drive

arthritis prevents me from doing the required pushups...could I have a mere 'stand in the corner' instead??

Anybody out there that could recommend a step by step layman's terms guide to walk me through what obviously is going to be an excrutiatingly traumatic experience?

In other words....Jafo...is there a friendly person or place that might be able to hold my hand through the process...???

Since I saw this thread mentioned in the locked thread so I thought I'd pontificate since I can thus postpone some work for a bit.

RE: Incredimail spyware?

Search results at the old Spywareinfo.com forums: http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21985&hl=incredimail indicate that the folks there don't appear to consider Incredimail as "spyware" although the privacy policy and EULA wouldn't give them warm fuzzies. (The helpers at Spywareinfo spend a lot of time helping people get rid of spyware on their PC's so it's a place where the info is usually sound on the topic of spyware.)

In the security forums I frequent generally the most objections I've seen against Incredimail are related to aesthetics and potential security issues resulting from the use of HTML email rather than plain old plain text. Then there are those of course who object to adware of any kind (this in reference to the free version) no matter how innocuous. There's occasionally some argy bargy about it "phoning home" but that can be blocked via firewall rules if people are concerned and people I know who checked it out didn't find anything particularly nasty in that wooodshed.

FWIW I haven't seen any documented reports of Incredimail being a classic spyware product. And Ad-aware and SSD don't include it in their DB, which I wouldn't assume is necessarily a "flaw." Incredimail's been around for some time and is quite well known. If it was particularly noxious it would have been targeted some time ago and railed at by the antispyware advocates (the serious ones, I mean, not the ones who instill a universal fear of cookies). As for Pest Patrol's listing it as spyware based on a "tracking cookie" I've seen suggestions that this may be related to the use of targeted advertisements in the freeware version. But nothing otherwise nefarious in the same league with noted spyware apps.

As for Spy Sweeper's seeming detection of it as "spyware" by inclusion in the list Jafo posted, I note that "spyware blaster" is also on that list and the only "spyware blaster" of which I'm aware is most definitely NOT spyware or adware quite the opposite: it's an app for prevention of driveby spyware installations through one's browser. The inclusion of "spyware blaster" in SpySweeper's list is extremely curious. To me that list looks more like keywords one might use in a search rather than an actual list of specific SS database items. I wonder if that is the case and this list is more a bit of marketing appealing to a concerned potential user rather than a straight listing of DB entries. Remember, this is a commercial product and they do want to get downloads and sales. Perhaps they may also hit on a "tracking cookie" for Incredimail one can't tell from that list alone. But spyware blaster is not spyware or adware or anything that should be at all targeted by Spy Sweeper and yet it would appear to be on that list as well.

I also know some "paranoid" types who are concerned about privacy/security issues and they actually use Incredimail (the purchased version) because they think it's "purty." Go figure.

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I'll stick to outlook express and hotmail all the same thanks...