Webbit Support - Email FAQs

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How do I change the default email client?
How do I know which version of Outlook I am using?
How do I find my email headers?
What is the difference between IMAP and POP?
I received an email that was addressed to another person. Why would I receive someone else's email?
How do I set up my email?

How do I change the default email client?
This can be done through Internet Explorer. Click on the Tools menu, select Internet Options. Select the Programs tab and use the drop down menu for the Email category to select the email client you wish to use as the default. Follow that by clicking Apply and OK.

How do I know which version of Outlook I am using?
>Within Outlook, click on the Help menu and select About Microsoft Office Outlook. You will see the version at the top of the window there. You can also tell by clicking on the Tools menu. If you see Accounts it is Outlook 2000. Outlook 2002 and 2003 will show Email Accounts (there is very little difference between 2002 and 2003). In Outlook 2007, it will show Account Settings.

How do I find my email headers?
Outlook Express

1. Open Outlook Express
2. Right Click on any message
3. Left click on Properties
4. Click the Details tab
5. Click the Message Source button

Outlook 2002-2007

1. Right click on the email in the Inbox
2. Select Options or Message Options
3. The headers are available under the Internet Headers field

Thunderbird
To read the email headers in the Mozilla Thunderbird email client, simply open the email. On the menu bar, go to View | Headers and select All. The headers are then displayed.

Mac Mail

1. After you open the Mail app, click the on the Mail drop-down menu and select Preferences
2. Click on the Viewing icon
3. Click on the arrow on the Show header detail and select All
4. You will now see the full headers of each message you view

What is the difference between IMAP and POP?
IMAP and POP are both protocols for receiving email but they work in different ways. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods.

POP mail is probably the most common method of receiving email. Someone sends you an email and it is received at your email provider's mail server. It stays there until you open up your email client and download all of the email from that server. Your email is then stored on your own PC inside that email client and is no longer on the server.

When using IMAP, the email still arrives at your email provider's mail server, however, when you open up your email client, rather than download all of the email and taking it off of the server, your email client makes a mirror image of all the email and all the email folders off of the server and places them in your email client. The email stays on the provider's mail server unless it is deleted from the email client or directly from the server.

The advantage of using IMAP is that you can set up the same email on multiple computers, or mobile devices and the email in one will be the same as in another. IMAP also works better with mobile devices. The problem with IMAP is that you have to manage your email much better. Because no email is being removed from the server (unless it is deleted), it is taking up disk space on the server, and if email isn't cleared out, you can quickly fill up your mailbox and find your email bouncing because you are over quota.

POP usually doesn't have this issue because when the email client is opened, it takes all the email off of the server and places it locally on the PC. On the other hand, if you want to access the same email from different PCs, it is not as easy because once one of the email clients grabs the email, the other one won't be able to. It also won't sync outgoing mail or any other mail folders. Mobile devices also don't work particularly well using POP mail. They will often not close a connection to the mailbox properly which will effectively lock you out of accessing your email from another email client.

I received an email that was addressed to another person. Why would I receive someone else's email?
This is a common spammer tactic. The FROM and TO fields in an email are really cosmetic only. In other words, they can be faked and it won't affect where the email actually goes to. What determines who gets an email is the RCPT TO: command which is given during the SMTP session (basically even though the TO field says one thing, the headers of the email are sending it elsewhere). So it is possible to create an email that says it's FROM santa.claus@northpole.com and TO santa.claus@northpole.com and make it actually go to anyone.

How do I set up my email?
For help setting up your email client click here