Brian's email has been down for a week, and he's looking to make a change to Gmail. Leo says that's exactly what Brian should do. It's free, and you can set it up to go get your email from your other email server. Your local ISP email is almost always terrible, so go with Gmail.
Mark's mom has macular degeneration and can't read her email. What can she get to read her email for her? Leo says that Windows does have text to speech (TTS) built-in, so he can try that. Microsoft Outlook also has voice commands. Leo usually recommends contacting the local Foundation for the Blind. Maybe they can set her up with a JAWS screen reader. He could also try a web-based solution through an email provider. They may have accessibility features like using Google Text to Speech.
Do not open email attachments, as they are one of the most common causes of innocent computer users getting infected with malicious malware. Email attachments are "the kiss of death." Ask the sender to place the attachment in Dropbox, etc. or other safer alternatives. Furthermore, Mac and Windows 10 users can open PDF files by themselves, so no need to download and install additional software like Adobe Reader. There are too many vulnerabilities these days regarding email attachments and outdated Adobe software.
Valerie is having issues with her email, she can receive but she can't send. Leo says that's due to a validation issue since her email provider doesn't support standard protocols. Google will block email IP addresses due to spam. Leo recommends using Gmail or other well-known email providers. So get a new email provider!
Pamela is so inundated with spam, she wants to get rid of her Gmail account. How can she back up the email she wants? Leo says the concept of cleaning out your inbox is called INBOX Zero. It's basically spring cleaning for your email account. Leo says that the archive is designed to remove all the email you don't want to see, but still have access to it by a searchable database. That's much better than throwing it away and realizing you lost something important.
Mark called a customer service line at Guitar Center and then afterward, got an email asking to take a survey. But he never gave them his email. Leo says that the computer system had caller ID turned on and then used that phone number to data mine and find your email. It's quite easy.
Yogi has moved to LA and he's had a Comcast email, but Comcast isn't in LA. How can he get his email remotely? Leo says that Comcast has a webmail interface, so all you need to do is log into Comcast from their Webmail page via Xfinity. Here's how - https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/sign-in-to-email-or-voicemail-on-xfinity. But you have to do it within 90 days or it goes inactive.
If you are scanning important, sensitive documents with your cell phone and sending those files over the internet, make sure to use an app from a reputable, reliable company. Do not use apps from relatively unknown developers, where images could potentially be intercepted. On Android phones, use Google Drive's scan option. On iPhone, open the Notes app and hit the + sign, then tap the "Scan Documents" option. Evernote Scannable is also a legitimate high-quality (free) scanning app.
Ann is frustrated because she can't send email, while her family can. Her computers will also bluescreen when she touches the keyboard. And it doesn't matter what device she touches. What is happening? Leo says that static electricity can cause issues like this. So make sure you're grounded by touching metal. Computer technicians use a grounding bracelet.
But that is a very uncommon thing to happen.
Perry uses Outlook and he doesn't get attachments. Plus Outlook keeps freezing. Leo says that he can go into the settings and enable "include attachments", but it's turned off by default for security reasons. As for the freezing, Outlook saves data in a PST file and sometimes it gets corrupted. When it does, it can cause Outlook to freeze. Run SCAN PST to fix it. But Leo says that Outlook is a bag of hurt and another email program would be much easier to deal with.
