Inbox

Compiled by MICHAEL FOREMAN

Welcome to Inbox, where we attempt to answer your internet questions.

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Margaret has recently changed her internet service provider but she cannot rid herself of the ghost of her former service provider: "Now after I have dialled up with the new ISP, the dialup box for the old ISP pops up and tries to connect," she writes. "I then get a message telling me that the connection cannot be made because the address cannot be located. How can I get rid of this?"

Simple - go to start/settings/internet options and click on the connections tab. You should see two listings under dialup settings - one for your present ISP and one for your previous provider. Select the entry for your old ISP and click remove and the ghost will be exorcised.

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"Occasionally, for no obvious reason, the computer tries to connect to the internet 'by itself'," Pam writes. "Is there some setting that needs to be changed to stop this from happening?"

One likely explanation is that your e-mail program is trying to check your inbox, and if no connection exists it may be dialling up by itself. With Outlook Express you can stop this happening by clicking on tools/options/general and selecting "do not connect" in the box marked "if my computer is not connected at this time."

Another possibility stems from the increasing tendency of certain programs, especially anti-virus software and media players, to access the internet to look for updates whether their users want them to or not. For example, when these programs are installed, you might be asked the question: "search for updates every month/week/session?" with no option to say "never." One way around this problem is to install a firewall program called Zone Alarm, available free at Zone Labs, which allows you to decide which programs may use the net and which may not.

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John asks: "When you hit the send/receive button in Outlook Express, the program sends the messages first, and then retrieves e-mails. Is there a way to reverse that order?"

There is a way, John, but it's a bit messy. First, you'll have to make sure that OE does not issue send and receive commands automatically. Do this by going to tools/options/send and make sure the "send messages immediately" box is unchecked and click "apply." This will hold all messages in the Outbox until a send command is issued. Now go to tools/options/general and make sure the boxes marked "send and receive messages at start up" and "check for new messages every ... " are not ticked and click apply.

Phew! Now OE will only send and receive when you tell it to, but you'll need to get used to using a different command. Instead of clicking on the Send/Recv button, go to tools/send and receive and click on "receive all" followed by "send all."

Links:


Zonelabs

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