Duane,

I've been using Thunderbird for at least five years (probably longer), 
and I get the same password error message from time to time. I receive 
email from up to six accounts, and I tend to get the message with one or 
two (more often the Exchange accounts), not all at the same time. 
Sometimes I just ignore the message, and the problem clears up in a day 
or two. Other times, I go ahead and reenter the password, and the 
problem clears up right away. Still other times, the problem doesn't 
clear up on it's own, so I have to reenter the password. Like you, I 
have no problems reading my messages on my cell phone or alternative 
computer.

So I don't know what causes it to happen, but I do know it's safe to 
reenter the password.

Ciao





On 4/24/2016 7:20 AM, Duane Farrar wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
> I access my email using Thunderbird. My mail account is hosted on 
> Mindspring.com (Earthlink). It worked fine on Saturday evening, but on 
> Sunday morning I received an error attempting to access my incoming 
> mail server (pop.mindspring.com). The error said invalid user name or 
> password. I have not changed my password. (Note: I have no trouble 
> accessing the outgoing SMTP mail server, which is 
> smtpauth.earthlink.net, as witnessed by this message.)
>
>
> Also, I have no trouble downloading and accessing my incoming messages 
> using my iPhone.
>
>
> I poked around in the Thunderbird account settings but didn't see any 
> obvious problems. Now when I attempt to download my incoming mail 
> messages I am prompted to enter a password. I think that by poking 
> around in the account settings I may have reset something and now 
> Thunderbird is prompting me for the account password.
>
>
> But, I am suspicious and before I enter the password I want to be sure 
> this is not a malicious software virus or bot attempting to steal my 
> password. I have no idea why Thunderbird would have suddenly had 
> trouble accessing my incoming mail server, unless there was a problem 
> on the mail server itself. My anti-virus program (eSet NOD 32) has not 
> raised any alarms.
>
>
> So, I am wondering if it is safe for me to enter that password when I 
> am attempting to download email messages? Thoughts, anyone?
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Duane
>
>
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