How to Set Up an Email Account

Having an email account is a necessary part of today's world. No matter what ISP (Internet service provider) or mail service you use, there is some configuration required for you to properly send and receive email. While different email software packages have different features and functionality, there are some common items that are required to successfully enable any software to work seamlessly.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Email account with an ISP Email software

1. 
    
   Thunderbird is free email software, available from Mozilla.com.

   Decide what email software you want to use. There are packages that are included as part of the operating system on the computer (Outlook Express for Windows and Mail for Macintosh), or packages that are part of a larger suite, such as Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Entourage. There are also mail programs that are downloadable for free (Thunderbird, Eudora).

2. 
    
   Configuring your settings.

   Enter the required information into the fields in your email program. This is the user name, which is the name that will appear in the recipient's inbox, the email address, the POP (incoming) server and SMTP (outgoing mail) server.

3. 
    
   Microsoft Outlook is the most popular software for email.

   Find out from your ISP what the name of the POP server is. A POP server is the most common type of server offered to cable and DSL subscribers. it usually has a name like pop.domain.com or mail.domain.com. A POP server almost always requires authentication, which is a user name and password.

4. 
    
   Your Entourage inbox

   Similarly, find out the name of the SMTP server. Some SMTP servers require authentication as well, which, for the most part, is the same user name and password as the POP server. In addition, some require advanced security settings as well.

5. Configure any advanced settings, including whether you want to save mail on the email server, attaching any signatures and how often you want your software to check for mail. Remember, you can change these settings at any time, and although changes aren't retroactive (particularly when it comes to saving mail on the server), you will soon find the settings that best suits your needs.

Tips & Warnings

• When you are away from your email for more than a day, enable the auto respond feature that will let senders know your status.
• Give your email account a secure password.

Resources

• Mozilla