Can't send or reply to emails

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Since Nov.15, I've been unable to send or reply to emails using Thunderbird.  I've tried uninstalling, reinstalling, removing and then adding my email account, and safe mode.

I finally tried disabling Avast, and Thunderbird started working normally again.  Is there a workaround which I can use with Avast or does it no longer work with Thunderbird thus requiring a change?

Before Nov. Thunderbird had worked normally for years and I also tried going back to an earlier version but unless I disable Avast, I still cannot send or reply.

Colin B

[DavidR]

What email or avast errors are being displayed ?

Crucially what happened in November ?

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As far as I know, nothing happened in Nov.  I have Avast autoupdating set but NOT Windows, etc.  Still using XP SP3.

Emails received ok, but message received when trying to send, is :-

"There was a problem including the file file:///C:/DOCUME~1/CDBEF~1.BRO/LOCALS~1/Temp/nsemail.html in the message. Would you like to continue sending the message without this file?"

If I disable Avast, I can send normally.

Thanks for any help.

Colin B

[DavidR]

As you can see from my signature I also use XP Pro SP3 and Thunderbird 38.5.1, have you got this latest of Thunderbird ?

What version of avast are you using, current release version is 2016.11.1.2245 ?

Do your email servers use, require SSL/TLS secure connection protocol ?

As temp measure you don't have to disable avast, try this (assume you are using avast 2016):
AvastUI > Settings > Active Protection > Mail Shield - Customise > uncheck the 'Scan SSL connections' option.

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I'm using 38.4. I tried 38.5.1 but reverted to the old due to all of the problems.

Avast is 11.1.2245.

Not sure, but SSL/TLS is a choice under connection security.

Unchecked "Scan SSL connections", but problem remains, together with the error message box.

Thanks for trying.  Any other suggestions?

Colin B

[DavidR]

Yes it may be a choice under connection security, but basically it is your ISP or email services that states the connection method.

Many do insist on secure connection, so instead of port 25 and port 110. The old POP3 ports they may have is set to POP3 995 and SMTP set to secure port 465 (or Thunderbird-587).

So you need to check with your ISPs settings for email ports.

What are the port numbers for POP3 and SMTP set to at present ?

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Ports are set to 110 and 587.

I've checked my ISP's settings page and they all comply. ISP is Talktalk who aren't very helpful when using 3rd party progs.

Thanks again.

Colin B

[DavidR]

Well the SMTP port is a secure one, so avast would be trying to establish this SSL/TLS connection to send emails,,, so it would need to have SSL scanning enabled.

Have you Exported the avast email certificate ?
AvastUI > Active Protection > Mail Shield - Customise > use the Export Certificate (see my previous image Reply #3).

You would then have to import that certificate into thunderbird.

EDIT:  You would also have to stop and restart the Mail Shield and possibly thunderbird for these changes to come into effect.

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I imported the certificate into Thunderbird as you suggested.  I set SSL scanning to enabled.  Lo & behold, it now sends the text typed, and there is no error message now.  I wont mess around with anything else while it's working.

THANKYOU very much. You seem to be the only person on the forums I have tried, who could sort it out.

Once again, thankyou

Colin B

[DavidR]

You're welcome.

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After a lot of pop-ups to update,  I did, to 38.5.1.

I'm now worse off than before. It wont send any content even with Avast disabled.

I tried to export/import the certificate as before, but it says the certificate is already present.

Could it be something in the update upsetting my system and should I revert to 38.4 and forget about future updates if I can get it working again with the older programme?

Thanks for your help

Colin B

Edit:-  It is working now if I disable Avast.

[DavidR]

It is still working for me on thunderbird 38.5.1.

I would suggest reading this topic again and ensure that you have the setup in both avast and thunderbird correctly set.

You could try deleting the current avast certificate, close tbird and reopen it, now export and import the certificate again.

When you say "It is working now if I disable Avast."
Exactly what do you mean by that, as it can be as much as disabling all of avast shields, just the mail shield or just disabling SSL scanning ?

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If I disable Avast for 10 mins using the icon in the system tray, then Thunderbird does work normally for sending emails.

With Avast enabled fully, I get the message box in post #3, (reply #2 on 25th Jan) and it doesn't send any typed message,  only attachments.

Colin B

[DavidR]

That is a more brute force method and doesn't pinpoint exactly what is blocking, by starting with just disabling SSL, this gives a better indication.

This error message still confuses the hell out of me,

"There was a problem including the file file:///C:/DOCUME~1/CDBEF~1.BRO/LOCALS~1/Temp/nsemail.html in the message.

Why would your email client be trying to load this html file is beyond me, even more so given it is from a temp location. I thought that you had previously excluded this nsemail.html file and location. See this old topic on adding it to the exclusions, https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=78428.0.

A search on this nsemail.html file returns many hits https://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?p=nsemail.html&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz35 the first few seem relevant

The message-box you mention, my image Reply #3 is an avastUI interface window and I really don't see why that would appear, it isn't a standard error/message window.

[REDACTED]

Once again, I am in your debt!  I checked your link, and excluded nsemail.html and it is now working again properly.

I too, was confused by that file because it didn't show up in any search and I couldn't find that folder.

So, once again, thankyou very much  and I hope that solves it for good. In case it doesn't, I've bookmarked your link!

Colin B