Netstar
The star which shines the net
(The site is in developing stage. if you find any links not working they may not be there. so we beg your pardon)
This site is intended for helping you to answer your questions and requests. If you have any request, submit your request.If you want a particular picture or a website specifies by you we will mail it to you or want knowledge about software's. Our email address is dennisntstar@aim.com.
Recent Query
Can I use America Online (AOL) as my Internet Service Provider, but actually use a different web browser -- Firefox -- rather than the browser that's included with the AOL software suite? Also, how about email programs?
In the old days, AOL used to force you to use their own tools, but somewhere along the way, a few years ago, they changed their configuration and you can now use any Internet applications you want, from instant message clients to the iTunes store, Firefox to Thunderbird.
The key is to log in to your AOL account and stay logged in. Some configurations might require that you do something within the AOL framework every hour or so, to keep the connection alive, but my experimentation suggests that if you're using the Internet at all through the AOL wire, that's good enough for it to keep you online.
To browse the Web with Firefox, for example, connect to your AOL account as you normally do -- and this works with their free 1000 hour accounts too, by the way -- then leave that program running and launch Firefox. It'll automatically use the AOL account as your dialup Internet access and you're good to go.
The only wrinkle here is that it appears that AOL still sporadically blocks outbound mail connections from other mail programs (us tech types call this "SMTP" for the simple mail transfer protocol). I get around the problem by using an SSH Tunnel but if you're persistent on your send attempts it eventually seems to work without any fuss.
Oh, you can't use the AOL Address Book or other AOL features in these third party programs, so if you want to have user@aol.com as your email address, you're in a bit of a tricky situation. I believe that there are third-party email programs that can access your AOL mailbox, but I'm not sure. Perhaps someone else can comment on that?
To create a new e-mail account in Outlook Express
Sign on to AOL.
Open Outlook Express. (If Outlook Express is not your default mail client, you may be prompted to specify whether you want to use it as the default by clicking OK).
From the Outlook Express Tools menu, click Accounts.
In the Internet Accounts dialog box, click Add and then click Mail.
In the Internet Connection Wizard, in the Display name field, enter your name as you would like it to appear on your outgoing e-mail messages.
Click Next.
In the E-mail address field, enter your full e-mail address, e.g., GabbyGrace@aol.com.
Click Next.
On the E-mail Server Names screen, select IMAP from the drop-down menu.
In the Incoming mail server field, enter: imap.aol.com.
In the Outgoing mail server field, enter: smtp.aol.com.
Click Next.
On the Internet Mail Logon screen, enter your AOL screen name in the Account name field.
Enter the password for your AOL account in the Password field.
If you want Outlook Express to save your password, leave the Remember password check box selected.
Click Next.
Click Finish.
To configure your Outlook Express e-mail account
When you are returned to the Internet Accounts dialog box, click the Mail tab. (If the Internet Accounts dialog box is not open, click the Tools menu and then click Accounts).
Select your AOL IMAP account.
Click Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Servers tab.
In the Outgoing Mail Server section, click the My server requires authentication check box.
Click Apply.
Click the Advanced tab.
In the Outgoing mail (SMTP): field, change the number that displays to 587.
Click Apply.
Click the IMAP tab.
In the Special Folders section, click the Store special folders on IMAP server check box to deselect it.
Click Apply.
Click OK.
Click Close.
Note
if you are using aim use aim instead of aol.
(courtesy davetaylor)
