If you are experiencing difficulties sending or receiving email after installing ESET Smart Security, first disable the firewall to see if it is affecting the connection between your computer and the mail server. See the steps below for details:
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Open ESET Smart Security by clicking the icon
in your Windows system tray or by clicking Start ? All Programs ? Eset ? ESET Smart Security
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Switch to Advanced Mode by clicking Toggle Advanced mode in the lower left corner of the main window, or by pressing CTRL + M on your keyboard.
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In the left column, click Setup ? Personal Firewall ? Disable filtering: allow all traffic.
The Firewall is now disabled. Check to see if email can be successfully sent and received.

Fig. 1-1
If the issue is not resolved, uninstall ESET Smart Security and check to to see if email can be successfully sent and received. If not, please verify that:
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You have an active Internet connection
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You can send/receive emails when accessing your account directly through the website. (ex: http://www.hotmail.com/)
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Microsoft Outlook has been configured correctly to retrieve your email
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No other firewall is currently installed
Modifying Personal Firewall Settings
If uninstalling ESET Smart Security or disabling the firewall resolves the issue, adjustments need to be made to the firewall rules, or the rules need to be returned to default. Follow the steps below to adjust the firewall settings.
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Open ESET Smart Security.
- While in Advanced mode, click Setup ? Personal firewall and then click Advanced Personal firewall setup... at the bottom of the main page (See Fig. 1-2 below).
Fig. 1-2
NOTE: To Return Personal Firewall Settings To Default, skip to 1 of that section. Otherwise, continue with step 3 immediately below.
- Select Interactive mode from the Filtering mode drop-down menu.
- In the left column under Personal firewall, click Rules and Zones.
- In the Zone and rule editor section, click the Setup button (See Fig. 1-4 below).
Fig. 1-3
- The Zone and rule setup window will appear. Under the Rules tab, edit or delete existing rules to resolve the communication issue. Use the Edit or Delete buttons at the bottom of the window to accomplish this (See Fig. 1-4 below).

Fig. 1-4
For more information on firewall rules and configuration, please refer to our online documentation. If adjusting the settings does not allow you to successfully send/receive email, try returning the firewall configuration back to default settings. See the steps below.
Return Personal Firewall Settings To Default
Starting after step 2 of the "Modifying Personal Firewall Settings" instructions above, follow the steps below:
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Click the Default button at the bottom-right corner of the ESET Smart Security Setup window.
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The Default Settings window will appear. Select the Revert only "Personal firewall" settings to defaults option, and click Yes (See Fig. 1-5 below). Click OK to return to the ESET Smart Security main window.
