With an Internet connection and an e-mail service, you can exchange e-mail messages with family, friends, and co-workers over the Internet.
The e-mail software from most service providers offers an Internet Connection Wizard to help you connect to the Internet and set up your e-mail account.
You need the following information from your Internet service provider (ISP) or local area network (LAN) administrator:
Account name and password
The names of your incoming and outgoing e-mail servers
NOTE: Windows Mail and Outlook Express are the default e-mail applications for Windows Vista® and Windows® XP respectively.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about using e-mail, see "Getting started with e-mail" in Windows Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
Windows Vista®
To add (or remove) a Windows Mail account:
Click Start®All Programs®Windows Mail.
Click Tools®Accounts.
Click Add or Remove, choose the type of account you want to add or
remove, click Next, and then follow the online instructions.
Windows® XP
To add (or remove) an e-mail account with Outlook Express:
Click Start® All Programs®Outlook Express.
Click Tools®Accounts.
In the Internet Accounts dialog box, click Add or Remove.
Select Mail or to open the Internet Connection Wizard, and then follow
the instructions to establish a connection with an e-mail or news server.
Managing and Organizing E-mail Messages
Many options are available for managing and organizing your e-mail messages. For instance, you can set up multiple e-mail folders, set up e-mail rules and filters, or delete unwanted e-mails.
Windows Vista
To add an e-mail folder:
Click Start®All Programs®Windows Mail.
Click File®Folder,®New.
Type the name of your folder in the Folder name box.
In the Select the folder in which to create the new folder list, click the
folder where you want to store your new folder.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about deleting or switching folders, see "Add, delete, or rename e-mail folders" in Windows Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
To create an e-mail rule:
Click Start®All Programs®Windows Mail.
Click the message you want to use as a basis for your rule.
Click Message®Create Rule from Message.
You can then select from a number of options, or "rules," that govern how an e-mail is managed in the future when newly received e-mails have "conditions" that match the e-mail you used as a basis for the rule.
EXAMPLE: You can use the Where the from line containscondition to set a rule so that all messages received from a specified entity (or having a specified word in the From field) are automatically sorted and filed in an e-mail folder that you specify.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about changing an e-mail rule or applying a rule to downloaded e-mail messages, see "Organize e-mail using rules and folders" in Windows Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
To delete an e-mail message:
Select the message you want to delete, and click Delete.
To select multiple messages, hold down the <Ctrl> key and click each
message you want to delete. Then click Delete.
Windows XP
To add an e-mail folder:
Click Start®Programs®Outlook Express.
On the File®Folder®New.
In the Folder name text box, type the name and then select the location
for the new folder.
To create an e-mail rule:
Click Start ®Programs®Outlook Express.
Select an e-mail message in the main window.
On the Message window, click Create Rule from Message.
This creates a simple e-mail rule based on the name of the person on the From line; no other information from the message, however, is entered into the rule.
To delete an e-mail message:
Click Start ®Programs®Outlook Express.
In the message list, click to highlight the message.
On the toolbar, click Delete.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about Outlook Express, see the Outlook Express Help.
Securing Your E-mail
Several options are available for you to make sure that the e-mail messages you receive are secure:
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about securing your e-mail messages, see the documentation from your e-mail service provider.
Reducing Spam
Set an appropriate security level in your e-mail software (Windows Mail for Windows Vista or Outlook Express for Windows XP) for sorting e-mail that you receive.
Windows Vista
Click Start®All Programs®Windows Mail.
Click Tools®Junk e-mail Options.
Select the protection level you want:
No Automatic Filtering. Click this option if you want to stop blocking junk e-mail messages altogether. However, Windows Mail continues to block messages from domain names and e-mail addresses on your Blocked Senders list.
Low. Click this option if you don't receive many junk e-mail messages and want to block only the most obvious junk e-mail messages.
High. Click this option if you receive a large volume of junk e-mail messages and want to block as many as possible. However, you should periodically review the messages in your junk e-mail folder to ensure that there are not any legitimate e-mail messages that might have been moved there as well.
Safe List Only. Click this option if you only want to receive messages from people or domain names on your Safe Senders list. E-mail messages from people or domain names not on your Safe Senders list will be treated as junk e-mail messages, so you should only choose this option if you are certain that every person or domain name you want to receive messages from is on your Safe Senders list.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about reducing spam in your e-mail messages, see "Block spam and other unwanted e-mail" in Windows Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
Windows XP
Click Start®Programs®Outlook Express.
Click Tools®Options®Security tab.
Under Download Images, click Block images and other external content
in HTML e-mail.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about reducing spam in your e-mail messages, see "Viewing e-mail images that are blocked" in Outlook Express Help.
Viruses and Phishing
You can choose from the following options to secure your e-mail messages from viruses and phishing:
Install an antivirus program.
Read e-mail messages in plain text.
Verify that attachments are from a secure source.
Do not open attachments with an extension of .exe.
Some e-mail services automatically block file types that commonly spread e-mail viruses. If an attachment is blocked, the Information bar displays a message, to let you know that it has done so, and lists the attachment that has been blocked.
Other e-mail services allow you to select file types to be blocked.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about e-mail attachments, see the Help information provided by your e-mail service provider.
Viewing E-mail Messages
Open your e-mail service by clicking the icon on your desktop or by
clicking Start®All Programs® and then clicking the name of the
e-mail service (for example, Windows Mail or Outlook Express).
Click the mail folder (such as Inbox) that contains the messages you want
to read.
To view the message, click the message in the message list.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about viewing e-mail in Windows Mail, see "View e-mail messages in Windows Mail" in Windows Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
Sending E-mail
After you compose an e-mail message, you are ready to send the e-mail message to a recipient.
Windows Vista
Click Start®All Programs®Windows Mail.
Click File®New®Mail Message to open a new message composition
window.
In the To box, type the e-mail address for each of your primary recipients.
In the Subject box, type the subject of your message.
Click in the main message window and type your message.
To send the message right away, click Send.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about sending e-mail in Windows Mail, see "Write an e-mail message" in Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
Windows XP
Click Start®Programs®Outlook Express.
On the toolbar, click Create Mail.
In the To box, type the e-mail name of the recipient.
In the Subject box, type a message title.
Type your message, and then click Send on the toolbar.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about sending e-mail in Outlook Express, see "To send an e-mail message" topic in Outlook Express Help.
Creating a Contact Group (Mailing List)
Contact groups (mailing lists) are useful when composing e-mails to multiple recipients. A contact group is a list of e-mail addresses. By creating contact groups, you can compose one e-mail and send it to multiple recipients.
Windows Vista
Click Start®All Programs®Windows Contacts.
On the toolbar, click New Contact Group, type a name in the Group
Name box, and then fill in the boxes on the Contact Group tab and
Contact Group Details tab. You do not have to fill in all the boxes; just
type as much information as you want about the new contact group you
are creating.
Add contacts to the contact group in any of the following ways:
To add individual contacts to the group from your existing contacts, click Add to Contact Group.
To create new contacts and add them to the contact group, click Create New Contact.
To add new people to the contact group without also adding them to your individual contacts, type the appropriate information in the Contact Name and E-Mail boxes, and then click Create for Group Only.
When you have finished creating your contact group, click OK.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about creating e-mail messages, see "Create contact groups (mailing lists)" in Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
Windows XP
Click Start®Programs®Outlook Express.
In the Address Book, select the folder in which you want to create a group.
Click New on the toolbar, and then click New Group.
The Properties dialog box opens. In the Group Name box, type the name
of the group.
Add contacts to the contact group in any of the following ways:
To add a person from your Address Book list, click Select Members, and then click a name from the Address Book list.
To add a person directly to the group without adding the name to your Address Book, type the person's name and e-mail address in the lower half of the Properties dialog box, and then click Add.
To add a person to both the group and your Address Book, click New Contact and fill in the appropriate information.
To use a directory service, click Select Members, and then click Find. Select a directory service from the drop-down list at the end of the text box. After finding and selecting an address, it is automatically added to your Address Book.
Repeat for each addition until your group is defined.
Backing Up E-mail Messages
You can back up your e-mail messages and other files for safekeeping while increasing (or freeing up) your disk space.
Windows Vista
Click Start®System and Maintenance®Backup and Restore
Center.
Click Back up files, and then follow the steps in the wizard. If you are
prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the
password or provide confirmation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about backing up e-mail messages, see "Back up your files" in Help and Support: click Startor ® Help and Support.
Windows XP
Click Start®Programs®Outlook Express.
Select an e-mail folder.
Click File®Folder®Compact.
To back up the folder, copy it to a backup folder, optical media, or network
drive. Outlook Express e-mail folders have a .dbx extension (for example,
Sent Items.dbx).
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about backing up e-mail messages, see "To compact and back up e-mail folders" in Outlook Express Help.
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