If, like many people, you choose to use Microsoft Outlook Express as your client for sending and receiving mail, you may have come across a 0×800cccod error at some point.

This error usually restricts a user from sending email, despite still being able to receive new mail from the POP server. You may receive an error that mentions invalid passwords, or invalid usernames. In some cases, receiving mail is also disabled and the user may have difficulty in connecting to the ISP’s mail servers.

The first step to take should be to evaluate whether the problem still exists with a firewall disabled. Many anti-Virus suites, for example, will try to scan new mail and they may alter the username and password leading to an error when it gets sent to the server. This is a simple problem to troubleshoot.

Temporarily disable the protection, try to send your message, and if it goes through successfully, you know that the anti-Virus software is causing a collision. It’s possible to disable the firewall for email services but that’s a drastic measure to take. Especially given that many viruses are spread through email communications.

You can breathe a sigh of relief though because even when you do download a virus via email attachment, most anti-Virus programmes will spot the file when you try to copy it across to the hard drive. It has to be downloaded, remember.

Most firewalls are easily accessible through the control panel of your anti-Virus software. There should be an option for “email scanning”. Turn this off and you will notice that sending and receiving mail becomes a lot quicker, not just in connecting but in downloading files too.

Another possibility, and probably more likely scenario, is that you’ve already been affected by a virus. There are many malicious applications which mess with the outgoing email, preventing a user from sending and in some cases, receiving too. Some viruses are easy to spot, while others are much more discrete. It’s not always viruses that cause the problems either.

A 0×800cccod error can even be triggered by spyware and adware. To prevent this kind of corruption, you should run a regular scan of your system. There are many free scanning utilities available on the web, and it’ll reduce the likelihood of an email problem if you have a clean hard drive.

If a system clean-up isn’t enough to solve the 0×800cccod error, you may want to re-enter your account details for the email client. This can sometimes reset the connection so that you can send to the SMTP server, and receive with POP.

Ensure that the details of the mail server settings are correct. If you are unsure of this, you will have to contact your ISP and retrieve the correct information. It’s possible, but wholly unlikely, that the ISP might change your log-in details without informing you. While we’d be surprised if this is the case, it would certainly explain why you can’t connect to send or receive mail! Such problems will usually be marked with an Invalid Username / Password message.

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The error, 0×800ccc79, is generally associated with problems sending and receiving email from a server. It could be down to the authentication levels, or it could simply be a configuration issue in Outlook Express.

If you’re receiving this message, it’s unlikely that you’re capable of using mail in your standard client. In some instances, the error has been known to occur without affecting the delivery of the mail, but in most, this is not the case.

So how can we fix it?

Firstly, let’s take a look at a couple of the error variants that you might find.

‘The server does not support a SSL connection. Account; pop.xxx.com Server smtp.xxx.com.’ Protocol SMTP, server response ‘250 HELP’ Port; 25, Secure (SSL) Yes, Server Error 250, error number 0×800CCC7D.’

The message could not be sent because one of the recipients was rejected by the server. The rejected e-mail address was ‘recipient@address.com’ . Subject ‘My Subject’, Account: ‘My Account’, Server: ’smtp.xxx.xxx’, Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: ‘550 relaying to prohibited by administrator’, Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 550, Error Number: 0×800CCC79

Both of these errors are due to the email client being configured to use SSL, Secure Socket Layer, when it is not needed.

If you’re using Microsoft’s Outlook Express, you will need to adjust the settings to bypass the SSL.

To do this, follow the steps below.

• Go to Tools.
• From the new dialogue, click Accounts.
• Select the account which applies to the email that you are trying to send or receive. Go to Properties.
• Go to Advanced Settings
• Locate; “This server requires a secure connection” for “Outgoing mail (SMTP)” and “Incoming mail (POP3)”.
• Remove the checks from the two boxes.
• Save the settings and exit
• Reload Outlook Express.

This should allow you to send and receive your mail.

Another problem commonly associated with Outlook Express involves just the sending of mail, while it’s still possible to receive them without errors.

You may be receiving a 0×800ccc79 error if your account provider has stipulated that you must already be logged on to the SMTP server in order to send new mail. This can be quite confusing because if you opt to receive mail first, you’ll usually connect and the gateway will be opened for mail to be sent.

This is down to what’s known as the “POP before SMTP” rule.

Either way, it’s possible to log straight on to the SMTP server by supplying a username and password to be automatically authenticated when you open Outlook Express. To do this, follow the next step of steps.

• Go to Extras.
• Click on Accounts
• Select the account which applies to the email that you are trying to send. Go to Properties.
• When the window opens, click on Server.
• Check the box under Outgoing Mail Server which says “My server requires authentication.”
• Save your settings and exit.

It’s then a simple matter of entering your designated username and password at the relevant screen. This will be passed on to the SMTP server and you should be able to send new mail without the frustration of a 0×800ccc79 error.

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