A Guide to Windows Mail

Windows Vista comes with a free mail client simply named Mail. This program comes with all versions of Vista and offers standard mail program features, including mail search, junk filters, phishing protection, and Newsgroup features. Most people buy their computers for email and the Internet. Windows Mail gives everyone an opportunity to fetch mail through a simple, free mail client.

In this guide, we’ll look at setting up email accounts with Windows Mail, adding contacts, creating new messages, using the junk filters, and managing old emails. This guide should not be confused with Microsoft Outlook, although some of the setup features are the same.

How to Setup Windows Mail for the First Time

When you first unpackaged your computer or fired up WIndows Vista freshly installed, you felt the thrill of the new purchase. Now you need to start using your computer to send and receive emails to family and friends. Windows Mail helps you download mail from your existing email account and organize those messages for safe keeping in the future. Using a local mail client (a mail client on your computer as oppossed to one online like hotmail or gamil) enables you to safeguard against losing messages, since you can keep copies inside Windows Mail and also on the web through your existing account. While this may seem like duplicity, it really can be useful a year or two down the road when the online service may experience hiccups or your computer nosedives into disrepair.

First off, let’s figure out what email account you have. Do you have an email address? There are many popular and free online mail services. You may have an email address with one of them.

• MSN Hotmail
• Yahoo! Mail
• Gmail by Google

If you don’t have an email address from these providers, then you may have an email address from your Internet provider. Any email address can be setup through Windows Mail. It’s important to remember that Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, and your ISP’s email server all have different settings. Before attempting to setup a new email account in Windows Mail, be sure to check their FAQ sections to see if detailed instructions exist.

When we go through the steps for Yahoo! Mail, you simply need to change a few variables to your own email service’s information. Let’s begin.

How to “Pop” Yahoo! Mail to Windows Mail

1. Open Windows Mail.
2. Select Tools, Accounts from the upper toolbar.
3. Add from the dialog window that appears.
   
   

   

4. Email Account as the account type.
   
   
   
5. Type your name as you want it to appear to others when you send email.
   
   
   
6. Type your email address.
   
   
   
7. Select POP3 as the Incoming Mail Server Setting.  
8. Type “plus.pop.mail.yahoo.com” into the Incoming mail server field.  
9. Type “plus.smtp.mail.yahoo.com” into the Outgoing email server name field.  
10. Do not check the Outgoing server requires authentication box. Click Next. 
    
    
     
     
11. Type your Email Username. With Yahoo! Mail, the username is everything before the “@” symbol in your email address. Some webmail programs require the full email address for the login. Please, consult your email provider for more information on what they require.
    
    

    

12. Select Finish. Windows Mail will attempt to access your mail. However, with Yahoo! Mail, a few more settings must be entered before accessing your mail.