I recently ran into issues of my outgoing mail not going through. I either got error messages or I didn't; it was weird. What I found was that Earthlink has added an authentication routine in order to block virus borne spam. I don't know about virus borne spam, but it sure blocked me!

Here's the fix:

1. Open Outlook.
2. From the Tools menu, choose E-mail Accounts.
3. Click the View or change existing e-mail accounts radio button in the E-mail area.
4. Click the Next button.
5. Choose the email account you want to configure SMTP authentication for from the list.
6. Click the Change button.
7. Delete the contents of the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field, and type: smtpauth.earthlink.net
8. Click the More Settings button.
9. Click on the Outgoing Server tab.
10. Check the box next to My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.
11. Select Log on using.
12. In the User Name field, type your entire email address (e.g., johndoe@earthlink.net).
13. In the Password field, type your password.
14. Check the box next to Remember password.
15. Click the OK button.
16. Click the Next button.
17. Click the Finish button.

I think the procedure is similar with Outlook Express.

FWIW

Or, you can just use Eudora or anything other than Outlook products.

While I prefer almost any email program to Outlook (I use Eudora). The setting Rebel is talking about are due to changes at the EarthLink end and apply to all email clients. See http://support.earthlink.net/mu/1/psc/img/walkthroughs/Help_FAQ/7280.psc.html

I kind of figured that was the case, but didn't know for sure.

Thanks Allen!

Considering that I work for Earthlink, I ought to be able to weigh in on this one...

The information you have been given seems to be faulty. That mail server has been available to people for some time. However, smtp.earthlink.net and mail.mindspring.com still continue to work without authentication. the thing is, they only work if you are connected via an Earthlink dialup/DSL/cable connection. If online via any other connection, you have to use the smtpauth option.

Funny. Different strokes for different folks.

I am an old Mindspring user. Never had a problem. I've used Eudora and hated it. I like Outlook because I can sync my office computer and my laptop via my Palm PDA. If one of the three crashes I've got two complete backups (the Palm crashed once and it all worked perfectly when I re-sync'd the data).

It all depends on what floats your boat!

I personally would never place my email on the current generation of PDA's. Not enough security. But Eudora can synchronize to the palm as well.

I picked Eudora because it allowed me write filtering. Then the Spammers got sneakier, so I had my mail hosting let me write filters in Perl so that the email would be filtered before it was placed in my mail box. Then the spammers got sneakier, so I had my mail hosting company install SpamAssassin. Which does a good job of catching SPAM.

I hate SPAM!

If anyone wants my work emails they can have them. Why have a PDA for business if you are not going to store information on it.

After Robert tried to beam something to my PDA without me knowing I have turned off beaming on my PDA. Someone would have to find my PDA if I lost it or steal it. People can hack into your computer if they really want to if you are hooked up to the internet. Security is what it is.

Work email who cares about work email? I just don't want my wives and girl friends finding about each other by reading my personal email.

I leave the Beam Receive off, but that is to save batteries.

As the first computer security person I ever talked with told me, the only truly secure computer is the one turned off, unplugged, stored in steel safe, at the bottom of the ocean. However that isn’t a very useful computer. But I have far more security set up on my home computer that I can even install on the current PDA’s. The trick to computer security and home security in fact, is to make the cost of getting by the security more than the perceived value of getting by it. Since I can't increase the security on my PDA, I lower the value of the data on it.

I HATE SPAM, TOO!
Apple Mail allows me to 'bounce' the junk mail back to the sender. I use MailWasher on the PeeCee to do the same thing. My ISP uses Brightmail to try and filter some of it out, but them dang spammers are slick. Of course with the forged headers most Spammers use, at first I got a lot of 'Returned' mail back to my account. Over a period of time, tho, my Spam has greatly diminished.
You'll never get rid of it all tho.

I set my Email filter up to bounce suspected SPAM. That use to do some good, as some spammers would remove an email address if it caused a bounce. However it seems that a majority of spammers these days just use a forged email addresses. So I am thinking about turning it off, because it most likely is just bothering some innocent person who had their address used by the spammer.

Good point, as you and I both knows how that feels.

I hate spam too. What I hate most of all are the virii that disguise themselves by spoofing the sender's address by selecting randomly from an infected machine's address book. My virus stuff catches it, but it is a pain.

What's bad is that I got a slew of them today with a known person's return address. He's fine, his computer is fine. Someone out there has both his address and mine in an infected computer's address book. Grrr. Most likely someone somewhere is getting a virus and they think I sent it. Double grrr.