Setting up

Setting up your e-mail is pretty easy. It just takes a few minutes and then you're ready to go.

Who are you?

Before you can use your e-mail program to send and receive messages, you need to set it up so the computer and other computers know who you are. You do this by entering in your sign-up details.

When you buy your computer or sign-up for internet access, your ISP will send you all the details needed to set up your e-mail in a letter.

This letter will contain information such as your user name, your e-mail address, your password, your incoming mail (POP3) server, and your outgoing mail (SMTP) server.

This may seem complicated, but this is all the information you'll need to type in to get started.

To help you know exactly what you're looking for we've provided some details for a WebWise ISP user called Candace Kent as an example.

Your username and e-mail address

Your user name is the electronic name your ISP knows you by. It helps the ISP tell you from all its other users. E.g. candace.kent

Your e-mail address is the only thing you need to give people so they can then send you messages.

Your e-mail address is made up of three parts: your user name, the '@' symbol and your ISP name.

Your user name or real name comes before the @. The @ symbol stands for the word 'at', and your ISP's name comes after the @. E.g. candace.kent@webwiseisp.com

Your password

Your password is like the pin number for your cash point card that prevents anyone accessing your e-mail account without your permission.

A good password has a mixture of big and small letters, numbers and symbols in it. E.g. 5Psy7?4Q

You should always keep your password private and don't write it down on a scrap of paper that could be lost.

Incoming mail (POP3) server

Incoming mail servers receive the e-mails other people send you - e-mails that are 'incoming'.

You have to enter the address of this server so that your e-mail program knows where to go to get incoming e-mails. The address will look something like this: pop3.webwiseisp.com

The 'pop3' part tells the computer it is an 'incoming' mail server and the second half of the address is who owns the server - the internet service provider.

Outgoing mail (SMTP) server

Like the incoming mail server, your e-mail program needs to know the address of your outgoing mail server so it can send out e-mails to other people.

The address of the outgoing mail server will look something like this: smtp.webwiseisp.com

The 'outgoing' mail server is recognised by the 'smtp' at the beginning of the address and the name of the ISP
at the end.

Enter this information

Most e-mail programs will ask you for all this information the first time you use it. It will then remember your details so you don't need to enter them every time you use it.

However, you may not have e-mail access set up straight away, or you may need to make changes later, so make sure you keep your details in a safe place for later use.

With all those details entered in to your e-mail program all you'll have to do is go online and you will be sending and receiving e-mail messages in no time at all.