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September 18, 2006
Upgrade your Email
I have been getting lots of calls recently from clients complaining about the amount of Spam they receive. As you may recall I gave some tips on avoiding spam in a previous article, but I decided to dive in a little deeper and give you some advice on how to upgrade your email account.
First and foremost, you need a good email program. If you are on a Mac, keep using Apple’s Mail program. It’s great. If you have a PC, most people either use Outlook or Outlook Express, Microsoft’s free version of Outlook. Although Outlook is not my favorite, it does an adequate job. If you use Outlook Express, however, you should upgrade to Mozilla’s “Thunderbird.” It has built in spam protection, spell checker, anti-phishing protection, automatic updates, supports multiple email accounts, and best of all, it’s free! Download it now. When you download and setup Thunderbird, it will automatically try to import all your mail settings and contacts from Outlook or Outlook Express.
The built in spam protection needs to be “trained” and learns over time what you mark as spam and keeps it from getting into your inbox. If you have it, Thunderbird will also use your e-mail provider’s spam filters for increased protection.
Phishing, as discussed in a previous article, is spam’s cousin, that tries to get personal information from you by sending you a fake notice from say eBay or PayPal. Thunderbird has a built in Phishing protection and will notify you if it thinks an email is a scam.
Of course, for those of us with spelling problems, Thunderbird has a built in spell checker and can check your spelling as you type or before you send your email, or both!
Thunderbird is a free program that is always being updated. When these updates become available, Thunderbird can automatically download and install the latest version.
You can customize Thunderbird be downloading free “extensions” and “themes.” Extensions are small programs that add new functionality to Thunderbird such as a toolbar button or a completely new feature. My favorite is the Mozilla Calendar. With it, you can create appointments, reminders, tasks, etc.
Themes are also known as “skins” and allow you to change the look and feel of Thunderbird to match your personality. There are dozens to choose from any you can even create your own. Take a look here.
Finally, no email upgrade can be complete without adding a “Signature.” A signature, in the digital email sense, is a small file placed at the bottom of every email. This file usually consists of your name, business name and phone numbers. Before you can add a signature, you need to type one up. Open up Notepad (Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad), type in the information you want to appear, and save the file. Next open up Thunderbird, select Tools, then Account Settings. Select the account name on the left, and click the checkbox next to “Attach this signature” on the right. Locate the signature file you just created on your computer, double click on it, and then click OK. You should now see the signature at the bottom of every new email.
Email is something that many of us use everyday, so why not treat yourself to an upgrade. After all, it’s free and I bet you’ll enjoy not having to sort through so much spam.
