Error Messages

Here are a few Error Messages that you may come across when using SpamPal:

Error Message	Causes and Solutions
a. Email program repeatedly asks for password b. There was a problem logging in to your mail server c. Bad Server Name d. Unable to Resolve Servername e. Your Username was rejected f. Your Password was rejected	(Answer to error messages a. to f.) The most likely cause of this error is that you have entered the wrong configuration info into your email client. Usually this is because you have put your normal email address into the UserID field instead of their userid@pop3servername. They look similar, but are not quite the same thing. Another common problem is that you have made a typo in the spelling. You can also get this error if you have specified the wrong type of POP3 connection for your email program set up. In SpamPal, go to Options, Connections. If your POP3 port is set to POP3 (Any Servername) then your email client must be configured with a userid of user@pop.server.name and a servername of 127.0.0.1 or localhost. This is the recommended configuration for SpamPal. However, if you have used these settings but configured SpamPal as POP3 (Specific Servername) you will get one of the above errors. If the above causes do not explain the problem, then it is probably the same as ERROR 10053.
No Server	If you are accessing the wrong port on your machine, you will get this error, e.g. if you have the incoming and outgoing port numbers the wrong way round in your email client. Normally, incoming POP3 mail is on port 110 and outgoing mail is on port 25.
Error 11001	In your email program, you have probably made a typo in the server field. localhost is a single word which must be typed exactly. If localhost will not work, try 127.0.0.1 instead.
Error 10053: Software caused Connection Abort	The most likely cause of this problem is that your firewall is stopping SpamPal accessing the Internet. You may have missed the prompt when you installed or upgraded SpamPal. Check your firewall settings to ensure SpamPal has full access to the Internet. You may also get this problem with some antivirus software. Try turning the AV software off for a few moments and see if that allows SpamPal to connect to the Internet.
Error 10061: Connection Refused	If you are connecting to the wrong port on SpamPal you will get this error message. SpamPal defaults to port 110 for its POP3 proxy. If, for some reason, it is unable to use port 110, it will attempt to find another port number, usually 1110. You should have had an error message about this when you started SpamPal. To check to see which port SpamPal is using, go to SpamPal, Options, Connections. If SpamPal is not using Port 110, you may need to find out what is, and decide if you need to chain it together with Spampal. Your internet connection may have locked. Check that you can access the Internet by other means, e.g. by surfing to sites you've never visited before (use Google and pick sites at random). You may also find rebooting your PC cures this problem. If you have ticked the Attempt APOP Authentication you may experience this problem. (One user reported this but I have been unable to replicate this) In your email client, check the value you have entered for the POP3 server address. If you have an invalid number in there, e.g. 127.1.1.1 instead of 127.0.0.1 then it will result in error 10061. If you are using localhost, try changing it to 127.0.0.1 in case some other software has changed your default localhost reference. If you are only accessing SpamPal locally, make sure the IP value listed at Tools, Options, Advanced, LAN Configuration is 127.0.0.1 If you are accessing SpamPal across a LAN, make sure the IP value listed at Tools, Options, Advanced, LAN Configuration is the same as the machine on which SpamPal is running and that the IP numbers of all machines allowed to use SpamPal, are listed in the Access list. If you have ticked the box in Outlook which says This server requires a secure connection you will get this error. For secure conenctions, you need Stunnel or similar.

For a list of other useful error codes, see this page

If you try to install SpamPal and port 110 is already in use, you get a warning message and SpamPal switches to a different port. If you don't know what is using port 110, it is a good idea to find out. It might be an obsolete av-scanner that needs removing. It could be another antispam product you tried once that didn't uninstall properly. It could be lots of things.

The latest version of Netstat in Windows XP has an option to display owners. This is run from the command prompt as:

C>NETSTAT -o

Please note this option is only available in the XP version, not 2000 or earlier, and I haven't used it so I don't know if it lists program names or just PID numbers.

For an easy-to-use utility that works with Winn98, 2000 and XP see:

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/source/tcpview.shtml

This small utility just runs out of the box, no setup needed. I suggest you start the program running then select:

View, Update Speed, Paused

Then look down the column labelled local addresses to find one which reads either:

127.0.0.1:110

or:

machine:pop3

where "machine" is the name you have assigned to your own machine in windows. To toggle between the two formats, use Ctrl/R. I found the first format easier to work with. When you find the line you want, double clicking on it displays the program path which will let you identify what it was and take remedial action if necessary.

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