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.

Get a Free Online Diagnostic Scan with RegCure PC Optimizer (Download Takes 2 Mins)

No Comments »

It’s rare for a large company like TrendMicro to offer freebie software which could potentially harm its own sales. But in House Call, they’ve released an anti-Virus utility which is almost as effective as their much heralded PC-cillin suite.

The utility is free to download, and TrendMicro has surely released it as an incentive for users to eventually upgrade to the PC-cillin package. The only trouble is, they’re giving a lot away for free. So much, in fact, those users might be tempted to stick with what they know works.

House Call is extremely efficient at what it does. Sitting on the user’s operating system, it acts as a barrier between the local hard drive and harmful viruses which a user might encounter on the web. Not only does it protect from online dangers, but it has scanning facilities to detect and destroy Trojans and worms that are already in place on the system.

The first thing you’ll notice about House Call - after the quick download - is the intuitive interface. It’s very simple to navigate between the various settings and even novice users will find the information that they need. House Call looks to break away from the complexities that can arise with some of the more comprehensive anti-Virus suites on the market. It keeps things simple and makes no effort to be more than it is.

When you install HouseCall for the first time, you’ll be asked to download a plug-in for your web browser. The plug-in allows the software to scan your system’s memory and it will also search for harmful files in any storage disks that you have attached. One of the features which distinguish House Call over its premium rivals is the support for virus definitions.

House Call keeps an online virus database which the software connects to and automatically transfers every time there are new additions. The benefits of this are obvious. When you purchase packages like Norton, or indeed PC-cillin, you have to make a constant effort to stay on top of new sophisticated threats. This means connecting your application and manually searching for new fixes. While the software is usually better equipped to tackle such viruses, how many of us actually check for new updates every day?

You don’t need to worry about manually updating House Call. It looks after itself. You can carry on browsing the Internet, and the software will quietly make upgrades as new definitions become available. If you encounter a virus or a file without the required certificate, House Call will pop up and offer you options for how to deal with the file.

Of course, there’s a reason why House Call is free and PC-cillin isn’t. While HouseCall is more than capable of dealing with the most basic threats, it will openly let you know if it detects a virus which it doesn’t have a fix for. On top of that, you’ll be referred to PC-cillin. So it’s clear to see how TrendMicro are hoping to make their money, but to be fair, we found that most of the viruses you’d expect to encounter are dealt with efficiently by this free utility. Trojans and worms can be eliminated, along with spyware and bundled adware which we could all do without.

House Call offers a helpful “Auto Clean” feature which will automatically filter through the files on a webpage, or your local system if stated, and get rid of threats. It’s particularly good at detecting security issues in embedded code.

Sometimes the software can be a little over-protective in denying access to pages which are poorly coded rather than designed with malicious intent. But this is easily fixable can be toggled on and off as you please.

Better yet, the utility will offer step by step advice for eliminating threats which the software isn’t fit to deal with on its own. This is a nice addition and with the database of virus definitions being constantly updated, you can usually get a solution for most security issues.

Of course, many experienced users will opt for the widely praised PC-cillin as their anti-virus package of choice. And if you have the money, we certainly wouldn’t deem that unwise. But if you’re interested in anti-Virus protection, and you probably should be, House Call provides a brilliantly effective freeware solution. Head over to the Trend Micro website for more information, and a link to the download mirror.

Get a Free Online Diagnostic Scan with RegCure PC Optimizer (Download 2 Mins)

No Comments »

An Autofix program is a small application that has been designed to run on your computer system to adjust system settings, usually back to their defaults. This will eliminate the need to manually edit the registry or other settings in your computer system to fix problems. Most of the Autofix programs found online today are written using Windows Scripting Host.

There are a couple of different ways that you can run an Autofix program on your computer. The first is by selecting the button or link to download the Autofix program and then selecting “Run” rather than “Save” when the download window appears. At this point the web browser will download the files needed and run the Autofix program. Some Autofix programs will ask you if you would like to apply the repair or give you other information about the changes that it is about to make to your system. The other way that you can run the Autofix on your computer is very similar, but when you get the download window on your display you will select “Save” and choose a folder on your computer to put the application. The only advantage to this is that you can choose to run the Autofix program at a later time if it is more convenient. You can also keep a copy of the program so that if it works for you, you can correct problems on your computer in the event that they happen again.

You are going to want to be careful about running an Autofix on your computer system however as many of them cannot be undone once they are executed. Many of these Autofixes will delete files or create others depending on what they are meant to do. Also note that most of the Autofix programs will return settings to their default values so many customizations that you have done will be lost depending on what the Autofix is written to do.

There are also a few things that can cause problems when you try and run an Autofix program. It is possible that antivirus software will prevent the program from running, a browser utility may corrupt the Autofix program by modifying the text in the program, Advertisement blocking software may modify the code of the Autofix program or the scripting on your computer may need to be updated, especially if you are running an older version of the Windows operating system.

There is also a version of an Autofix program that is offered on the Microsoft website. This file, called Autofix.exe is used to scan your computer for defective AutoPlay settings. If it finds any during the scan it will attempt to set them back to their default values. Of course the download is offered for free from Microsoft, but you have to validate your version of Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 before they will allow you access to the file. For more information about this Autofix in particular, be sure to visit the Microsoft Website and search for Autofix.