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INTRODUCTION
These days many people manage their email on the web using services such
as Gmail or Hotmail. These services offer access to email accounts through
any web browser. It is convenient because you can get your email from almost
any computer. If you live in New York and you are backpacking in Thailand, just
find an Internet cafe, log on to a computer, and check your email.
Another way to handle your email is to use an email client program installed on
your own computer. A program like this offers many advantages over using a
web email client. It lets you organize your email exactly how you want, it
enables you to check email when you are not connected to the Internet, and
you can manage multiple email accounts in one place. That said, desktop
email clients and web email clients can coexist side-by-side. Using an email
client at home doesn't preclude you from using web email when you want to
check your account while you are on the road.
Mozilla Thunderbird is a feature-rich, reliable, and
secure tool for managing your email. It's free and
open source and it comes from the folks at Mozilla,
the people who created the Firefox web browser.
Thunderbird has been around since 2004, and is used
by many people around the world. Best of all, it runs
on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. You can connect to
many email services with it, including Gmail, Hotmail,
and GMX. Finally, Mozilla regularly releases new
versions of the software that keep Thunderbird secure and up to date.
This manual shows you how to use Thunderbird to manage your email. It takes
you through the steps of downloading, installing, configuring, and using
Thunderbird. If you have problems using the program, there are chapters with
help on how to resolve problems and that show where to get additional
support.
THUNDERBIRD'S FEATURES
If you're wondering why you should use Thunderbird, its range of features give
the program a lot of flexibility. Here's a list of Thunderbird's main features:
Rich-text email composition
Email account set up wizards
Secure connection to email accounts
Password protection
Tabbed interface
Junk mail and phishing protection
Customizable look and feel
Smart folders
Add-ons for feature enhancements
Email search and filtering
Message archiving
Address book
Update manager
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