Changes to Qwest Internet

If you use Qwest internet, you have received an email from them recently stating that they were ending their partnership with MSN email and that you needed to make some changes before June 30, 2011.  The email is a bit confusing, so I thought I'd help explain it here.

If your bundled your TV, Phone, and internet with Qwest, then MSN was probably installed in your computer during the setup process.  That's because Qwest had an agreement with MSN where Qwest provided the internet service, and MSN could provide the email service.  Although you never needed to use MSN email if you didn't want to, many folks did because the setup process made it look like you did.

However, now that Qwest and MSN are going their separate ways, folks will have to make some changes to their email in order to ensure they keep getting email after June 30, 2011.  And the changes depend on your current email address.

If you were using MSN for email, your email address is something like "example@msn.com".   If your email address looks like this, then you'll have to make a choice.

1. If you want to keep your existing email address, you'll have to sign up (and pay) for a Premium MSN account.  So you'll not only be paying for Qwest internet, but also MSN email.
2. You could switch to a "example@q.com" email address and use the new Qwest internet system. 
3. You could sign up for a free Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail email account and use it instead (the advantage of doing this is that your email address will stay the same if you ever change your internet provider in the future).

If you  were using Qwest for your email, your email address was something like, "example@q.com".  If your email address looks like this, then you will need to switch to Qwest's new system (MyQwest.com).

For more information about the Qwest changes, click here.

Having Problems Connecting Yahoo Mail?

For months now, many of us have had problems connecting our Yahoo Email.  We've clicked our Yahoo Email shortcut in our favorite internet browser and then after practically and eternity, we finally see a blank white screen that reads, "Unable to Connect".  Then a few hours later, we can get in. And if that wasn't frustrating enough, some of our friends aren't having problems at all. 

Troubleshooting intermittent problems like these are challenging.  But last night I happen to be paying a little more attention and noticed one minor detail.  The shortcut I was clicking on pointed to a different location then the actual address where my email was stored.  In other words, it looks like Yahoo moved my email account to another server and my shortcut was still pointing to the old server.  

Since the old shortcut worked part of the time (but not all), I'm guessing Yahoo put a redirect in place so that when the old shortcuts were clicked, they would be redirected to the new servers ... but I'm guessing the redirect wasn't always working (which is why my problem was intermittent).

So next I deleted my old shortcut and used Google to get back to my Yahoo email and created a new shortcut.  So far that seems to have solved all of my Yahoo connection problems.

Send & Receive Faxes Through Email

Wish you can send and receive faxes through email? Now you can!  There's a web site that offers this service for $10/month (or $100/yr if you pay annually). 

This may sound like a lot of money to some ... but when you consider the fact that you no longer need a fax machine, second line, or have to pay for ink and paper, the fee sounds pretty reasonable.

Most home users don't fax enough enough to warrant the cost.  But folks running a small business may want to take a look at this service (especially if you're running the business the from your home).

Although email is popular, many people still rely on faxing as a means of communication.  That's because they have fax machines instead of scanners and it's quicker and easier to fax something than to scan it into the computer and email it.  Faxing is also more secure than emailing.  So the need to send and receive faxes won't be going away any time soon. 

Many small businesses don't currently offer faxing because of the expense (cost of fax machines, second lines, ink, paper, etc.).  This is a great alternative for these people.  Another advantage of using a service like MyFax.com is that because you can receive faxes via email, you don't have to be in the office to receive and read your faxes.  You can read them on your cell phone (if you pay for internet service) while you're out and and about.  So you don't have to worry about missing an important fax.

Many of my clients have asked how they can send and receive faxes through email, and until now, I didn't have a solution for them.  If this is something, you'd like to do, check out MyFax.com - Faxing Simplified, Anytime, Anywhere! Get a MyFax Number.

Can't Open Attachments in Outlook Express

Not being able to open attachments in Outlook Express is a common problem after updating Internet Explorer.  That's because Internet Explorer and Outlook Express are tied together and by default, a security setting is configured to prevent you from opening potentially harmful attachments. Only problem is that this setting prevents you from opening ALL attachments. 

To fix  the problem, follow the steps below:

1. Open Outlook Express
2. On the menu, select TOOLS and then OPTIONS (a small window till open)
3. Click the SECURITY tab on the newly opened window
4. Uncheck the box that reads, "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus".
5. Click the OK button to save the changes and close the window.

 

That should fix the problem.  Try opening your attachment again.  

If this didn't fix the problem ... there may be another security setting somewhere else that needs to be reconfigured.

No Longer Getting Cableone Email?

As many of you are aware ... Cableone has made some changes to their email servers which affects the way Cableone subscribers receive their email.  Those changes take effect this month and if you've haven't migrated your email account over to the new system, you will stop receiving email.

Here's what's happening ...

In the past, Cableone hosted their own in-house email servers.  Instead of continuing to do this, they have now partnered with Google to use the Gmail servers instead.  So what does this mean to you?

Not a whole lot, but you do need to follow some steps to migrate your email over to the new system.  First, here's what you need to know:

1. You do NOT need to sign up for Gmail 
2. Your email address will stay the same
3. You will be asked to create a new password that is at least 8 characters long (and contains a capital letter and number).  If you're password already met this requirement, then you won't need to create a new password.

Now that you  know all of that, you just need to follow the steps to migrate your email over to the new system.  To do so, you can click here to start the Cableone migration process.

The actual process consists of a couple of steps.

1. Log into your existing cableone account on the web and follow the prompts (creating a new password)
2. Click the link (when asked) to activate your new account
3. Reconfigure your email settings (if you use web mail, you don't need to do this step).

Many people struggle with reconfiguring their email settings.  If you're not comfortable doing this, you can call Cableone tech support to have them walk you through the steps (or schedule an appointment with me to help you).  Below is a summary of the new POP3, SMTP, and server settings you'll need:

• POP3:   pop3.gmail.com    (Port 995 with SSL)
• SMTP:  smtp.gmail.com    (Port 465 with SSL)

If you are comfortable reconfiguring your email settings, here are a few links to help you. 

If you use Outlook Express for email, click here for step by step instructions on reconfiguring your email.

If you use Windows Mail for email, click here for step by step instructions on reconfiguring your email.

For help reconfiguring other email clients (Outlook, Thunderbird, iPhone, etc.), click here.

If you'd like to speak with a Cableone tech, call 1-877-692-2253.

How to Backup Microsoft Outlook Email

Microsoft Outlook has a built-in backup feature that lets you back-up your email messages and address book family.  The instructions below were written for Outlook 2000, but they are similar for other versions of Outlook (pre-2007).

To Backup your Outlook Email, follow the steps below:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook
2. On the menu, select FILE and then IMPORT AND EXPORT (a window will pop up).

3. Click on EXPORT TO A FILE to highlight it in blue then click the NEXT button.
4. Click on PERSONAL FOLDER FILE (.pst) to highlight it in blue and then click NEXT
5. Scroll all the way to the top of the next window and click on PERSONAL FOLDERS and then click in the box reads "include subfolders" is to place a checkmark in it (this steps make sure all of your email messages are backed up).

Note:  If you only want to backup your address book (and not the messages), then highlight CONTACTS (instead of "Personal Folders"). and you don't put a checkmark in the "include subfolders" box.

6. By default, Outlook is backed up in the following folder (where "user" is replaced by your personal user folder):

C:\Documents and Settings\Userl\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\backup.pst

However you can change this folder if you want by clicking the BROWSE button on the next window and then selecting the location where you'd like to store the backup file.  I personally prefer to store my backups in the DOCUMENTS folder.

7. Click the FINISH button when done and then wait while the backup completes.

Saving Pictures from Windows Live Mail to Your Computer

It's not uncommon to get pictures or other attachments in email these days that we'd like to save.  One of the questions I frequently hear is, "how do I save pictures in email?".  Unfortunately, the answer is different for everybody asking because the answer mostly depends on which program use for email.  Although there could be a couple of factors that affect the answer to this question too.

Generally speaking, to save pictures from email to your computer, you have to "Save the Attachment".  Some programs will tell you to "download the attachment".  These two terms basically mean that you're saving the picture (or other attachment to your computer). 

It's too difficult to try and answer this question for all the different email programs in this one post.  So the instructions below only show you how to save pictures from Windows Live Mail to your computer.  If you are using MSN or Hotmail for your email, these instructions should work for you (assuming you're using the MSN, Hotmail, or Winodws Live Mail website to check your email).

1. Log into your Email account and find the message with the pictures (or attachment) you want to save.  Note that messages with attachments usually have a paperclip next to them. 
2. Open the email message with the attachment (or pictures).
3. If you see a yellow box with a message telling you the image or attachment has been blocked for your safety, you can click the link to "show content" in that box (assuming you trust the person who sent you that email).  Once you click that link, you should see the attached picture.
4. Click the image and a small gray window should pop up.  Make sure the box to "Save the image" is checked and then click OK.

Repeat the steps above until every image (or attachment is saved).  This is where it gets tricky.  Depending on how your computer is configured, the image may be saved in one of several different places.

If you're using a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows 7, then the image was most likely saved to your "Download" folder.  To get to that folder, just click your START button (lower left corner of taskbar) and then click your Username (which is usually your name).  After you do this, you should see a list of folders, one of which is named, "Download".  Open it, and the images you downloaded should be there.

If you don't have the download folder, then your image will most likely be saved in one of other places listed below.  Check them all.

1. The Desktop (the main screen on your computer)
2. The MY PICTURE (or PICTURE) folder
3. The MY DOCUMENTS (or DOCUMENTS) folder
4. You may also have a "DOWNLOAD" folder inside the MY DOCUMENTS folder.

In most cases, your saved pictures will be in one of the places mentioned above.

Can't Receive Email from MSN?

Yesterday, many of clients reported that their MSN email accounts weren't working.  Turns out, there was a change at MSN that caused the problem.

You may have seen an email a couple of weeks ago that stated you needed to download software if you used Outlook Express in order to continue receiving email.  And if you're like most people, you weren't sure you could trust the email given today's internet scams.  Making matters worse, when you tried to search the MSN website for more information (in order to determine if the email was legit), you were unable to find anything ... resulting in you being in more hesitant to follow the email instructions.  And now you can't receive or send email from MSN.

Don't feel bad.  You were right to be cautious and hesitant about downloading software based on an email.  However, this email does appear to be legit and if you asked me MSN / Qwest could have done a lot better job of spreading the word about the upcoming changes on their site in order to ease people's fears.

Okay, so here's the scoop.  Over the past year or so Microsoft has been in the process of re-branding themselves from "MSN" to "Widows Live".  So everything is being renamed ... Windows Live Mail (instead of Outlook Express), Windows Live Messenger (instead of MSN Messenger), etc.

Also in the past, MSN did not support POP3 or SMTP (normal email systems) and so you had to use HTTP to receive email through Outlook Epxress (which was designed for POP3 and SMTP).  This created a lot of headaches for people, especially since MSN refused to support the use of their email through Outlook Express.

So now, MSN has decided to help their users out a bit.  Users now have two options in which to receive their MSN email.

The first option is to download Windows Live Mail (which is the new Outlook Express).  If you own a computer running Windows Vista, then you already have Windows Live Mail and don't need to do this.  But if your computer is running Windows XP or an earlier version of Windows, Microsoft is now letting you download and install Windows Live Mail so you can use it instead of Outlook Express.  Personally, I don't like this option.

The other option now available is to configure a POP3 and SMTP account.  The advantage of this option is that you don't have to download or install any software.  You simply create a new MSN account that uses POP3 and SMTP, change the ports, and then delete the old account.  It's simple and only takes about 5 minutes to complete.

For more information about how to configure your email accounts for MSN, click here.

If you need more help with MSN email, click here.  Notice there is a chat link at the top of the page too in case you wish to speak with an MSN agent.

How to Open Emails with PowerPoint Attachments

One of the common email problems folks have is opening PowerPoint (or .pps and .ppt) attachments. There's a lot of cool stuff in PowerPoint format which is often forwarded to others via email, but if you don't have PowerPoint on your computer, you can't open the attachments.

Luckily, Microsoft provides an easy fix for this problem. You can download and install a free PowerPoint Viewer from the Microsoft website. This viewer will allow to view and print PowerPoint presentations, but not create or edit them. For most folks, this is fine.

You can get the PowerPoint viewer by clicking here, or by searching "PowerPoint viewer" in Google.

It's also worth noting that Microsoft also provides free viewers for Word and Excel which you can download and install. Again, these viewers allow you to open, view and print Word and Excel documents (but not create or edit them).

You can get the Word Viewer by clicking here.

You can get the Excel Viewer by clicking here.

Keep in mind that if you already have Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint installed on your computer, then you don't need to download and install the viewers.

Some new computers come with the PowerPoint viewer already installed, so it's a good idea to check your programs list before downloading and installing it.