Not mentioned, but one very definite solution to the several problems posed by using AOL-based e-mail would be to move away from AOL as your e-mail client and/or ISP. This need not be so radical, painful, expensive or time-consuming as it may at first seem. I should also add that my posting implies no criticism of AOL - i.e. I am not bashing AOL ! Given the relative insecurity of even the biggest ISPs these days I would recommend anyone even vaguely serious about utilizing the internet for e-mail or web surfing/hosting seriously considers choosing and registering their own domain name (e.g. johnlonsdale.net). This can be done for as little as $10 per year and is incredibly simple to do. To use your domain name as your e-mail address you need to have e-mail 'pointed' to your domain by signing up with a hosting company. Again, this is very straightforward and cheap - you can get 10 e-mail addresses at your domain for as little as $4.95 per month (e.g. john @johnlonsdale.net, thecats @johnlonsdale.net, .........). As an AOL subscriber you can do all this and stay with AOL as your ISP, and access your domain e-mail using Outlook Express (OE), for example, but that might be rather wasteful. I would recommend changing your ISP to any that offers cheap, reliable no-frills internet access, then use OE and Internet Explorer (IE), (or equivalents) as your stand-alone e-mail and browsing clients. If your new ISP gives you an e-mail account with them - just ignore it. This route also gets you away from the restrictions imposed by using AOL's built in and highly customized version of IE, with attendant ads, pop-ups etc. My daughter wanted to keep her AOL screen name for AOL Instant Messenger and we changed her subscription to web access only to facilitate this - and she also gets to access web mail via AOL if she chooses. AOL charges $2.95 per month for this (but doesn't advertise this option very widely). The bottom line is that by doing the above you get your own e-mail addresses for life, and independent stand-alone e-mail programs and web browsers that you can customize as you wish. You also get the freedom to choose your own ISP and change as often as you like without compromising your e-mail addresses. All for less than you pay now for AOL's 'full-featured' service. You also get to choose to send HTML-free e-mails, which is where this started ! I would recommend easycgi.com for any domain registration or web/e-mail hosting accounts. I use them and they are fast, friendly, exceptionally helpful and offer great value for money. I have no affiliation with them, other than as a very satisfied customer. I'll be happy to answer any further questions. J. Dr John T Lonsdale 407 Edgewood Drive, Exton, Pennsylvania 19341, USA Phone: 610 594 9232 Fax: 801 327 1266 Visit "Edgewood" - The Lonsdale Garden at http://www.johnlonsdale.net/ Zone 6b