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Issue #370: Aug 24-30, 2014

Q: My account was hacked. I can log into my yahoo account, I can send messages but cannot receive them.

– Paul P.
Valencia, California

A: I doubt you’ve been “hacked”, Paul. One typical sign of such hacking would be for the hacker to change your password to lock you out of your own account. Since you say that you can log in, it seems more likely that some setting is out of whack for one reason or another (notice the usage of high-tech Geek lingo there). On the other hand, if you truly believe your account was hacked, Yahoo! has some advice on how you can tell. Visit tinyurl.com/mqg4hto for more details.

Regardless of whether you’ve actually been “hacked”, we need to get your e-mail flowing again. One huge detail you left out when you wrote me was whether you’re using an e-mail client, or accessing your account via webmail, which would also partially-imply whether you’re using a free or paid Yahoo! account. There are critically important settings when you use e-mail client software that aren’t even available to you when you use webmail. That’s because webmail is a direct connection to the mail provider, using an interface that they designed, where e-mail client software is more generic, and uses standardized protocols to access many different providers’ e-mail servers. If you’re using web-based mail, there’s not a whole lot that can go wrong. Here’s another link to Yahoo! help that provides some advice: tinyurl.com/k3fo327. If nothing there helps, you’ll need to contact Yahoo! directly for assistance.

If you’re using an e-mail client, it’s a completely different world. First, you need to understand that e-mail clients use different protocols and services for receiving e-mail than they do for sending e-mail. That’s important – same provider, same account, but different mechanisms by which the mail moves. The different protocols all require a special PORT (a numbered connection), on a special SERVER (a dedicated computer attached to the Internet, running special software), which speaks the protocol’s language. When you send, you probably use a protocol called SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. Yahoo! Mail uses port 465 or 587 on a server named smtp.mail.yahoo.com. To receive mail, you probably use POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) or perhaps IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). Yahoo!’s POP3 uses port 995 on server pop.mail.yahoo.com. Their IMAP service uses port 993 on server imap.mail.yahoo.com. The settings for the protocol you’re using must be correct in your e-mail client software, as well as your account name and password, plus security settings, such as whether the connection should be encrypted with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer – yes, it should).

These are only some of the complex, Geeky things that might have gone wrong with your mail configuration. My suggestion to you is to verify your account settings, and if you still can’t get your mail, it might be time to check in with the support team over at Yahoo! itself. After all, they have an interest in keeping people’s e-mail flowing, or they wouldn’t be in business doing it in the first place. Hopefully you can reach a helpful technician who is able to guide you step-by-step through getting your mail going again. Tell ‘em The Geek sent you.


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