TCP connection errors

Is he using any VPN software (CheckPoint, etc.) to connect?  This sounds like a VPN problem.

Pat

Quote:

I'm unclear on this part - when he's connecting or logging into what? You say he's receiving a TCP error, yet email is typically either SMTP or IMAP. Is this error generated by his company servers, or from his HughesNet connection servers?

//greg//

Ah, webmail. Sort of a hybrid beast; a webmail server is in between the actual mail box and the web client, using the POP/IMAP and SMTP protocols on one side and the HTTP protocol on the other. Your friend opens a browser that employs HTTP/TCP to access the webmail server, which in turn fetches mail from the corporate POP/IMAP-SMTP server.

The issue may lie in the probability that your friend's browser is routed through the HughesNet HPEP (proxy) server - which is not present on the AOL dialup path. Since HPEP is a proprietary HTTP accelerator, there may be an incompatiblity issue with the corporate webmail server protocol. That "contact your network support team" message might be the webmail server saying it cannot make a proper connection with the HughesNet HPEP server.

I think the fix may be to make a configuration change in the modem's user interface that bypasses the HughesNet HPEP server. This would connect the user to the internet via HughesNet DNS instead of HPEP. But unfortunately that's like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Bypassing the HPEP server will almost certainly slow down ordinary web browsing and downloading.  So rather than start fooling straight away with modem properties, I recommend disabling PROXY in the browser's connection properties first, re-enabling PROXY after the webmail check has completed. If that works, your friend can download and install a simple free proxy switching utility.  - just for the purposes of checking email.

If it doesn't work, there's still the modem configuration change - but it's cumbersome in the face of frequent webmail activity. So I'd consider that as a last resort. A more practical alternative may be to abandon webmail altogether. Have your friend investigate the possibility of his company letting him log directly onto the corporate mail servers with his email client - rather than using the browser and webmail method.

//greg//