Ask Leo!: EMail

Phishing? What's Phishing?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -08:00

I've received an email from "suspend@msn.net" asking for billing details and threatening the end of my MSN service. Contacting MSN resulted in referral to a support alias, but no answer. Is this a problem, or a forgery?

]]> Phishing is a word you hear a lot in the news these days, and this question brought it to mind.

You're right to be suspicious: this definitely sounds like a phishing expedition.

What does "relaying denied" mean?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:06:13 -08:00

I hope you might be able to help with the following problem. When attempting to send email from 'Outlook Express' the error message "The message could not be sent because one of the recipients was rejected by the server. Relaying denied. Proper authentication required.'"

What does that mean, and how do I fix it?

]]> To understand what situations can result in this error, and thus how or if we can solve them, we need to look at exactly how email gets from your computer to its recipient.

It can be a short trip, or a lengthy one, depending on a number of factors.

And one of those factors is the relay.

Why is downloaded email disappearing immediately?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:59:20 -08:00

I have a problem with Outlook Express. Ever since I renewed my anti-virus subscription my Outlook Express mail rule no longer works. I had all my contacts highlighted in specific colors. When the emails are being received the colors show and then after revert back to the default which is of course black. I have Outlook Express 6 and Internet Explorer 7. Any suggestions as to why this is happening. Could it be my anti-virus provider? Or a setting in Outlook Express? I've tried everything until I'm blue in the face.

]]> I get variations on this question all the time. The symptoms in this example are actually rather mild - much more common are mails that are downloaded and then immediately disappear. It can also happen across a wide variety of email programs as well.

There is a common thread, though. In fact, the question above alludes to it. (And it has nothing to do with the color of your face .)

How do I add a signature with a picture to my emails?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:47:11 -08:00

How can I add a picture to my signature when I send out e-mails? I want it to be like a business card with my picture & signature at the bottom of the e-mail.

]]> First, we have to realize exactly what a signature is: it's nothing more than some additional content automatically added by your email program to the bottom of the body of an email when you send it.

Which in turn means that there is no single answer to your question, since signatures are a feature of your email program, and how you do it will depend entirely on which email program you're using.

So we'll look at it at a high level, and hopefully that'll point you in the right direction for whatever program that might be.

What does "conversation timed out" mean in an email bounce?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:05:05 -08:00

I get the following error message sending email to one specific address:

This is the Postfix program at host *****.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that the message returned
below could not be delivered to one or more destinations.

For further assistance, please send mail to postmaster

If you do so, please include this problem report. You can
delete your own text from the message returned below.

The Postfix program

<***@***.com>: conversation with ***.com[ 212.***.***.***] timed
out while sending RCPT TO

Why is this happening? It is only happing to the one address - all the other addresses are fine.

]]> Unfortunately there's no standard here ... the failure could be for many different reasons.

The best I can offer here are some guesses as to what might be happening given the clues at hand.