Using Thunderbird 1.07 on Windows 98SE computer. Set up Avast 4.6 using earthlink's recommended servers, smtpauth.earthlink for outgoing and net pop.earthlink.net for incoming. Unable to send mail. Some confusion with regard to receiving mail, but I think that I am getting what mail is up on the server.
After composing a message and clicking send, a window requesting password and username appears. I fill it in and press enter. After a bit of activity during which the Avast symbol rotates and the Zone Alarm icon indicates network activity, the window for password and username reappears. This continues for as many times as I have patience to play the game. The message doesn't get sent!
Checked settings on another machine that was working ok. On that machine the outgoing server was smtp.earthlink.net. Changed the outgoing server on the machine in question (in the AVAST "ini" file with a corresponding change in the mail client thunderbird) and sending was allowed.
Immediately after installing Thunderbird with earthlink's recommended server names, email functioned correctly, but Avast symbol didn't rotate when sending or receiving mail. I then used the Avast wizard. The resulting username in thunderbird for ingoing and outgoing servers was username#pop.earthlink.net and username#smtpauth.earthlink.net, respectively, with corresponding server names in the AVAST ini file. The Thunderbird servers were both the expected 127.0.0.1
That gave me the problem with sending mail. Changing the outgoing server in AVAST ini file to smtp.earthlink.net and the Thunderbird outgoing username to username#smtp.earthlink.net made it all work
Information on Earthlink's website suggests that the outgoing mail server's name change was a security measure, suggesting they may have implemented authentication. I understand that Avast 4.6 doesn't support authentication. I fear that Earthlink may soon disable the smtp.earthlink.net server altogether. If authentication is the problem, then I'll be forced to abandon Avast?
Have I diagnosed the situation correctly? For now I am using the outgoing server that works, but I am concerned that it may not continue to do so &/or my email is less secure than it might otherwise be.
