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[ocelittle]

I have my own domain with hosting (hostgator), and when I got my laptop, I added my email account and I was able to get mail.

However, I have not been able to reply to the mail. I just get an error saying something about the server, I double checked the settings on my desktop, and they were the exact same.

Retarded.

Anyways, this leads to my biggest problem, I get about 120 junk msg's a day, and that number just keeps climbing. And I can't reply to them telling them not to give me junk because I can't reply...

BTW, I'm using Outlook Express 6.

Also, what's the best program to get rid of spyware? A friend doesn't even have the internet and her computer gets popups...I did a check with Norton AND MS AntiSpyware and they showed nothing.

?

 

[galeninjapan]

Crap Cleaner is pretty damn good for getting rid of spyware.

 

[ocelittle]

Hm I'll check it out quickly.

Thanks man, love the avatar.

Anyone know about the mail problem?

(EDIT)
Just got rid of 1 gb of files...normal? Doesn't seem like it, but I did it anyways.

 

[DJ_Tet]

I get about 120 junk msg's a day, and that number just keeps climbing. And I can't reply to them telling them not to give me junk because I can't reply...

That's your problem. By replying to the spam, they know your email address is active. So maybe they won't email you again, but they now have an active address which is worth more to other companies. It's a viscious cycle, I wouldn't recommend replying to any spam, ever.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

I use Thunderbird. It took a while to get all of the junk mail marked, but now it goes into the junkmail folder and is deleted. I went from from 100+ spam messages crowding my inbox per day to around 3 or 4 new ones per day now.

 

[Macam]

Barring any spyware issues, your best bet is to use a secondary e-mail address and use it to forward mail to your main account if possible in addition to using a junk filter. In particular, e-mail aliases, if available, are great since you can create and cancel them as needed. I'm one of the few people that I know of that gets literally gets zero spam.

Regarding not being able to reply to e-mails, I imagine you mean sending e-mails on your laptop while connected to an outside network such as a WiFi hotspot. I had a similar problem and the problem turned out to be what's described below. You probably have to create a new Outbound SMTP Server setting, which shouldn't be a problem since your mail program should allow you to save multiple settings. Just be sure to switch back to your normal one for your home network when you're at home if this does indeed solve the problem.

I do contract work for a small ISP outside of Chicago and around the middle of last week, it appears SBC started denying outbound SMTP traffic destine to non-SBC servers. The ISP I do work for started getting a large volume of support calls based on these changes.

Here's how the problem unfolds. Let say I have the following setup.

e-mail address "sjobs@fergie.net" and my mail server is hosted by some company other than SBC.

My incoming POP3 server is mail.fergie.net
My outgoing SMTP server is mail.fergie.net
My ISP is let say, DSL service thru SBC

When SBC started blocking outbound non-SBC traffic. I would be able to receive mail without any problem, but outgoing mail would stay in my outbox and would refuse to send. If I changed my outgoing SMTP server to one of SBCs servers, let say for example smtp.sbcglobal.net outbound mail should start flowing again. In some cases you might also needs to set your mail client preferences to use outgoing mail authentication.

 

[ocelittle]

Hey guys, thanks for replying. I'll take a look at thunderbird, for sure.

Two things:

1. I can't reply to the spam, so they're not getting my email address more than they should be. So I guess my inability to ever send mail out has saved me a little stress.
2. I can't send mail out from any network, my home one included. I just use my outlook account for intake, and I send from gmail...it's annoying.

I'll try that fix, though...might do something.

Thanks again.

 

[Macam]

If you can't send e-mail even from home, you may just have incorrect account settings. I would double check those again since you shouldn't be having any problems there.

As for spyware, the best spyware removal program is Spy Sweeper. It's not free, but they do offer a free 30-day trial. You can download it here: http://www.download.com/Webroot-Spy-Sweeper/3000-8022_4-10373771.html. Lavasoft's Ad-Aware (free for the SE Personal version) is a good runner-up and can be found on that same site. Spybot Search & Destroy is okay as well, but not what it used to be; it's also free.

Your friend's computer can have a host of problems causing pop-ups. It could be MSN Messenger if that service is still on, spyware not caught by Norton (MS AntiSpyware is rather useless), a trojan, etc. Check the running processes, note anything odd, and Google away (or track down HijackThis! and follow the instructions).