DarkSerge Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Does anyone know about some email client called Incredimail? My mom uses it. This weekend I'm heading to my parent's house to reformat their computer. I was going to give them Thunderbird for email but I think she wants to use this Incredimail client that has all these cutesy graphics and such.Any reasons to avoid it? (Other than all the cutesy graphics my mom likes to put in her emails from it.) I would prefer she stick to Thunderbird, but really I don't want to tell her not to install it without good reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmaledeer Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Incredimail used to have quite a bad reputation. When I google incredimail+malware, enough turns up that I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. Perhaps thay are okay, but cutesy graphics aren't worth the risk. In fact, cutesy graphics worry me all by themselves. They are the the sort of thing used to draw people where they shouldn't go. Free cutesy graphics from what is obviously a substantial operation worry me even more. One has to wonder where the money comes from if not from Bad Behavior of some sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbdietz Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Incredimail used to have quite a bad reputation. When I google incredimail+malware, enough turns up that I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. Perhaps thay are okay, but cutesy graphics aren't worth the risk. In fact, cutesy graphics worry me all by themselves. They are the the sort of thing used to draw people where they shouldn't go. Free cutesy graphics from what is obviously a substantial operation worry me even more. One has to wonder where the money comes from if not from Bad Behavior of some sort.Haven't been exposed to incredimail for a couple of years now, but unless things have changed drastically in that time I don't believe incredimail is a problem in and of itself. I think the cutsey graphics attract naif users. My sister and a friend of hers used incredimail for years with out problem. However those trouble free years were proceeded by an number of infection incidents - it took them both several trips to the school of hard knocks to learn: 1)Do not open every email (ignore spam). 2) Never open attachments. 3) If you're going to ignore point three, CONFIRM that the signed sender is the real sender and they intended to send you the attachment. 4) Never click on links in email. (If you're a geek, all of those points have caveats. If you're a complete novice attracted to cutesy graphics, no caveats are required.)When you install incredimail there is an option to use their cutesyfied google based search page as your default search. I think that and similar are where they primarily make their money.If you don't find an "Export email database" (or similar name) option in Incredimail's menus, your Mom is using an ancient version of incredimail. Upgrade in place to the current version and you'll be able to save her old emails to a CD/DVD/Thumb Drive prior to the reformat.As always. YMMV.Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Incredimail also doesn't render correctly in many mail clients, so her email to some people may arrive looking nothing like what she sent. Some email clients automatically strip HTML out of messages, again rendering incredimail emails looking weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbdietz Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Incredimail also doesn't render correctly in many mail clients, so her email to some people may arrive looking nothing like what she sent. Some email clients automatically strip HTML out of messages, again rendering incredimail emails looking weird.All too true. And all very good reasons not to choose incredimail as your email client. But I wonder how much weight those arguments will carry with DarkSerge's mom who's already chosen it as her email client?For some people (that sister of mine for instance), cute is at least as addictive as nicotine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 Incredimail also doesn't render correctly in many mail clients, so her email to some people may arrive looking nothing like what she sent. Some email clients automatically strip HTML out of messages, again rendering incredimail emails looking weird.Yeah, I can't reply to some of my mom's emails by clicking "reply" cause the graphics sometimes don't load properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Ah, you now may have a good reason to get her to change email programs. She'll want to hear from her son! If you have a problem replying, she might not hear back from you as often.Also tell her that some people she emails might not see what she wants them to see. What is the point of using backgrounds when no one else sees it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hello,IncrediMail uses an affiliate-based marketing scheme to sell its software. I was getting spammed by one of their affiliates and ended up having to send email to the executives in their New York office in order to make it stop (mentioning that the New York State Attorney General was my next step may have been a contributing factor).Regards,Aryeh Goretsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camper913 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hello,IncrediMail uses an affiliate-based marketing scheme to sell its software. I was getting spammed by one of their affiliates and ended up having to send email to the executives in their New York office in order to make it stop (mentioning that the New York State Attorney General was my next step may have been a contributing factor).Regards,Aryeh Goretsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 I'm back at my parent's house. Tomorrow I'm wiping their computer and starting it over from scratch. I think I've convinced them to not use Incredimail. I told them I would set them up with Thunderbird, and if they still want Incredimail, they'll have to do that sometime later on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbdietz Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 I'm back at my parent's house. Tomorrow I'm wiping their computer and starting it over from scratch. I think I've convinced them to not use Incredimail. I told them I would set them up with Thunderbird, and if they still want Incredimail, they'll have to do that sometime later on their own.You've got to LOVE the added security of Thunderbird'sView > Message Bodies As > Simple HTML setting.(Basic HTML only - no remote images - no javascript). Be sure to point it out to your parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 I reformatted my parent's computer. Much to my surprise, Dell's packaged software came on seperate discs. The Windows XP disc was just that, the OS, no bundled stuff, so I got a pretty clean install without the need to decrapify. :)I've got them using Thunderbird, no Incredimail this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Great job! Incredimail sucks and also uses web beacon images that load from the web identifying the recipients IP addy ... I enourage any clients away from this piece of crap software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 I too use Thunderbird and set it to not load images inline and plain text unless I trust the sender enough to load any HTML, even simple HTML. But that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 May I ask what model Dell?I was under the assumption that Dell's either came with a hidden recovery partition or restore/recovery disks.I have two Dells in the house: Dimension 2400 (which is now ours and has no disks - but that could be because my friend threw them out or never got them - the computer was from someone who died) and an Inspiron 1150 which has a recovery partition (that may have come with disks but my friend who owns it is very disorganized so the disks could be anywhere). If I were to guess, I'd say both might be from 2004 - 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 May I ask what model Dell?I was under the assumption that Dell's either came with a hidden recovery partition or restore/recovery disks.Dimension 3000 seriesIt did come with a hidden recovery partition. I deleted it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) It did come with a hidden recovery partition. I deleted it. Why did you delete it?? They only take up 2 ~ 3 GB of space. If you ever lose the CDs, it could come in handy someday. Edited February 7, 2010 by Tushman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 If you have the discs (including a Windows XP install disk unlike Restore Disks like today that you have to built for yourself), like DarkSerge did, then the couple gigs used by the restore partition could actually come in handy; especially with older Dells where the hard drives were much smaller than they are today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) If you have the discs (including a Windows XP install disk unlike Restore Disks like today that you have to built for yourself), like DarkSerge did, then the couple gigs used by the restore partition could actually come in handy; especially with older Dells where the hard drives were much smaller than they are today.For me I'd like to error on the side of safety. I've dealt with too many careless customers in the past who didn't have a clue what those discs were used for and either misplaced them or threw them out by accident.Personally I couldn't do much with 2 GB of HDD space. As much as I move/copy/store large files, that 2 GB space wouldn't last more than a couple of days for me. I suppose it all depends on the primary uses for the computer. Edited February 7, 2010 by Tushman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Thanks DarkSerge - I'll make a note of the model/number.My newest computer came with a hidden partition but also directions on creating restore DVDs in case the hd died. That was one of the first things I did - burn restore DVDs and a program and driver CD following the instructions. If windows loads, I can use the restore partition; if it doesn't, I can use the DVDs.I just recently also burned an Image now that I have the "bonus software" removed and all the updates done. I tend to use my images the most but if I ever donate the PC, the restore DVD will come in handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 I deleted that partition a long time ago. This weekend I reinstalled everything and the missing partition had no effect on the process. Everything installed and the computer is running fine without that partition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I deleted that partition a long time ago. This weekend I reinstalled everything and the missing partition had no effect on the process. Everything installed and the computer is running fine without that partition.Removing the partition shouldn't have any bearing on the operating system installation. The only point I was making is that it's nice to have a safety net in case the CDs become lost or damaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Removing the partition shouldn't have any bearing on the operating system installation. The only point I was making is that it's nice to have a safety net in case the CDs become lost or damaged.Yeah. I'm one of those people, I'd rather do a clean wipe and install than run OEM backups. Of course, I see your point if the OS disc falls under unfortunate fate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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