Sometimes Does Not Connect

[Alan]

I have what I think is a strange problem. I use Windows Mail and
Verizon as an ISP. Email will be working perfectly for a few weeks,
then it won`t connect to the email server --- I can neither send nor
receive. Once this happens, the error consistently happens while I am
still logged onto my Windows user account. When email is working, it
works consistently while I am logged in, as far as I remember.

Some recent experimentation seems to indicate that logging out and
back in clears up the problem. This happens on multiple Windows and
email accounts. No account, email configuration or security
configuration changes are made by me between it working and not
working.

Windows Firewall is off. I use Symantec Endpoint Protection for
anti-virus. It`s Internet Email Auto-Protect setting is off, and its
Network Threat Protection is off.

Any ideas on what I should check? Thanks, Alan

 

[Alan]

I forgot to include the error I get in Windows Mail:

The connection to the server has failed. Account: 'Verizon', Server:
'incoming.verizon.net', Protocol: POP3, Port: 110, Secure(SSL): No,
Socket Error: 10061, Error Number: 0x800CCC0E

Alan

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Your email account settings look fine (as shown by the error
message in another post).
That type of error is often caused by interference from a non-
compatible antivirus program. I am not familiar with Symantec
Endpoint Protection, but their Norton antivirus is one of the top
troublemakers for Windows Mail. Turning off email scanning in
the antivirus may not be sufficient to eliminate all bad effects.

The only way you could prove or disprove that your antivirus is
the culprit is to uninstall it. Another option is upgrading to
Windows Live Mail, because it is less prone to suffering bad
effects from overly aggressive antivirus programs.
http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview

 

[Alan]

Gary,
I installed Live Mail and still get errors, e.g.,

Unable to send or receive messages for the Verizon account. The
connection to the server has failed.

Server: 'incoming.verizon.net'
Windows Live Mail Error ID: 0x800CCC0E
Protocol: POP3
Port: 110
Secure(SSL): No
Socket Error: 10061

Do you suggest I get another anti-virus program?

Alan

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

That type of error is often caused by interference from a non-
compatible antivirus program. Which antivirus are you running?
As a minimum, email scanning in the antivirus must be turned off,
although that may not be sufficient to eliminate all bad effects.
For more information on why email scanning is bad, see
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm

 

[Alan]

Symantec Endpoint Protection for
anti-virus. It`s Internet Email Auto-Protect setting is off, and its
Network Threat Protection is off.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

As I responded last Friday, I am not familiar with Symantec
Endpoint Protection, but Symantec's Norton antivirus is one of the
top troublemakers for Windows Mail. Turning off email scanning in
the antivirus may not be sufficient to eliminate all bad effects.

The only way you could prove or disprove that your Symantec
program is the culprit is to uninstall it. If uninstalling it results
in improvement, we can recommend a free replacement antivirus.

 

[Alan]

Gary,
Can you go ahead and recommend a good, free anti-virus
program? This way I can check this out and --- if that`s the problem
--- install the new software.

As I mentioned, I am running Vista 32. Thanks, Alan

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Of the free antivirus programs, the ones that are compatible
with Windows Mail are:

AVG free edition:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=aff
or
Avast free edition:
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

However, with either of those, during the install phase you must select
'custom' install, and then deselect the email scanning module so it won't install.

 

[Alan]

I completely uninstalled Symantec and installed AVG. This seems to
have fixed the problem.

I did have another problem with my router configuration that
preventing me from pinging external servers. However, this happened
consistently and does not appear related to the Mail problem.

Thanks, Alan

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Good to hear another success story. Thanks for your feedback.