Every once in awhile I like to spice things up with a little change. Like rearranging my sock drawer or switching the art on my walls. So why shouldn't the same rule apply to your inbox? Well, now it can. In the latest beta release of webmail, you can adorn your inbox with over 45 themes. Here's a video showing you how:

These themes are some of my personal favorites:

Aloha is perfect for getting serious about that exotic tropical vacation I''ve been pondering for the past five years (but can't ever seem to find the money for).



When it's really cold outside, I pour myself a cup of hot coffee, put on my fuzzy slippers and select Cozy Cozy while I read my mail.



Galaxy is always good when I've got that NASA feeling.



And when I'm feeling nostalgic for the house I grew up in, I pick the Paneling theme and reminisce about memories of my parent's rumpus room in the late seventies.



You'll probably be glad to know that we've taken extra special care to make sure our themes are designed to be fun BUT aren't so distracting that they get in the way of reading your mail - this has always been a pet peeve of ours with themes on other products out there.

So take 'em for a spin. And drop us a line with your favorite ones - we'd love to hear about YOUR favorite themes. Or if you've got a good idea for a new one, send it our way. We'll be busy making more for upcoming releases.

- Penned by Bill Wetherell, Director of UI Design

Our New Plug-in Gallery Offers One-Click Access to Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Other Sites
New Skins Offer a More Personalized Experience

We are pleased to announce today's launch of an updated beta version of Web Mail, beta.webmail.aol.com, which now offers users one-click access to their Gmail and Yahoo! Mail accounts and other popular sites, customization capabilities and over-the-air mobile sync of Calendar and Address Book.

Plug-in to a New Mail Experience

Web Mail's new plug-in gallery offers more than 30 plug-ins and gadgets, including four plug-ins showcasing use of Google's open standard for container development. Users can place an unlimited number of plug-ins on a customizable toolbar on the right-hand side of the page, providing easy access to AIM, popular websites, third-party e-mail accounts, stock updates, weather and much, much more.

A new set of APIs will also be made available to third party developers and advertisers interested in creating special themes and plug-ins for the site. For now, third-party developers can sign-up on http://dev.aol.com/mail for more information on creating plug-ins.

Skins-tastic!

Users can choose from more than 45 new "skins" or themes to personalize the Web Mail page.








Stay in Sync with Yourself

This newest version of Web Mail also includes over-the-air mobile sync of Calendar and Address Book, allowing users to make real-time updates to both applications from a variety of wireless devices including the BlackBerry and iPhone. In addition, this version of the product includes true iCal support, giving users the opportunity to create a calendar or subscribe to an existing one from a third-party provider.

We are planning to make the product available for general release in January. In the meantime, leave us a comment and let us know what you think!

New AOL Sync Feature Allows Real-Time Mobile Updates to AOL Calendar and Address Book
By Mike Chowla, Principal Product Manager, AOL Mail

AOL introduced the new AOL Sync for beta testing at http://aolsync.aol.com. The new features let users sync their AOL Calendar and Address Book with a wide range of mobile devices including the iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, and many phones from Nokia, Motorola and Samsung. AOL Sync supports "Over the Air" synchronization so users can make real-time updates to their calendar and list of contacts over the cell network. In addition, AOL Sync also supports synchronizing with Microsoft Outlook.

To bring users the Sync feature that makes calendar and address book access a portable and 100% mobile experience, AOL partnered with Funambol, the open source provider of push email and mobile sync for the mass market. Funambol's open source approach to making push e-mail and mobile data available on any device means AOL users can now access their personal information anywhere, anytime.

To get started with the new AOL Sync, check out the demo below.

Users who sign up to use the feature during the beta test will automatically transition to the final product when it is introduced in a few weeks.

To set up AOL Sync
1) Go to http://aolsync.aol.com/
2) Click "Register your phone"
3) Enter your mobile number, mobile carrier and device manufacturer and click "Send Code"
4) When the verification code arrives on your mobile phone, enter it and click "Verify"
5) Select your phone model and click "Continue"
6) To sync additional calendars or auto added contacts, check them; Click "Configure Now"
7) For iPhone*, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry devices, the next step is to download a sync client; For other devices, you'll receive instructions on how to configure your phone's built-in sync client

*iPhone users must download the app from Apple's App Store.

iGoogle users with an AOL, AIM or tunome.com identity can use the new gadget to access their mail. Users in the United States who are already using the existing AOL Mail gadget to preview mail on the iGoogle homepage should click here to add the new gadget and also remove the old gadget from their homepage.

Recently, we have gotten several concerned calls from AOL users who are receiving emails from themselves that they didn't send. Most of the time, the content is inappropriate and users are troubled that their email address is connected to this content, and even more concerned that this is a sure sign their AOL account has been hacked and is being used by someone else.

Although it is possible that the account has been compromised, it's more likely that these users are being "spoofed." In other words, the email is most likely coming from a source outside of AOL that is "spoofing" the From address. Automated bots are often used by spammers to fill in the From: address with the To: address, making it look like the person has sent mail to themselves.

Why aren't the AOL spam filters catching these spoofs?

AOL actually catches most spoof emails before they reach the intended recipients. In fact, we block more than 2 billion pieces of spam each day before it even reaches our users. We continually modify our spam filters in response to new spam trends and threats, based on user feedback via the "Report Spam" feature.

What should I do with the spoof emails I am receiving? Should I send them to AOL?

When you receive any piece of mail that you consider to be spam, you should immediately hit the "Report Spam" button. This helps to ensure that future mail from this source will go to your spam folder in the future. Rest assured that by hitting the "Report Spam" button you are not blocking or reporting yourself; but, helping us identify the source of the spoof email.

What if I still suspect unauthorized use of my account?

If you suspect unauthorized use of your account, immediately check your Sent folder for any emails that were sent without your consent. If you see any unexpected messages, immediately change your password. This will lockout the unauthorized user and re-secure your account.

How do you tell the difference between a spoof and a compromised account?

Differentiating between the two can be difficult, but your best bet is to be vigilant about protecting your account, your computer and your privacy. Follow these tips:

**Use a secure password and change it frequently. AOL recommends that you immediately change your password if you suspect any unauthorized usage of your screen name. Only authorized users can change passwords. If you have stored the password on your computer, remember to update that, too.

**Make sure you are running up-to-date virus and spyware protection software.

For more information on spoofing, we also recommend that you take a look at this article: http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Email-Spoofing.html.

Happy Halloween Gmail! We knew you would have the best costume at the party, and who can blame you? We think it's great that you're using this holiday to pay homage to the one who started it all, who got 35 million people online at once, gave them all email, great content and messaging capabilities, and even created a forum that encouraged them to speak in emoticons.

That costume is fabulous...clearly, the devil is in the details... and what's that you've got there? An "experimental" instant-messaging feature built right into your mail service so people can use it to send text messages to their contacts' phones? We love it – that was such a hit when we first introduced it so many years ago. We tried to make it easy: telling users to simply open the AIM panel in their email type "+1 and the 10-digit cell phone number" into the To: Screen Name box. It's kind of fun, too – good choice!

And those sidebar options – talk about getting it right... Adding gadgets to email that allow people to manage their calendars, access their favorite content and best Websites? Nice work. The idea of adding a side panel like that was one of our best. Giving people the ability to get to their favorite places on the Web, manage their schedules and IM right from their email home page tripled the convenience of our service. We're sure you'll get lots of compliments.

Finally, is that an "attachment warning" popping up on your back? Nice touch. We know nothing is more embarrassing than having to send an email twice because you forgot the attachment. Our users love this little reminder, and they have been praising it since we first implemented it back in 2007.

They say imitation is the best form of flattery, so Gmail, we thank you and we are indeed very flattered. Putting together a costume that is so dead-on could not have been easy, and you've got it down pat. Trying to convince all the other kids at the party that the only thing to use is Gmail and putting out a press release every time you add a new button to the service is just so 1998. We're telling you – this outfit brings back memories!

Here's a tip though... the Web's getting more personal, and people are really savvy at customizing their own services. When you don this same costume next year, make sure you check out www.tunome.com first and add some third party services (see our new Yahoo! plug-in) – you can't be all Gmail all the time any more – it won't be such a big hit next year!

Happy Halloween!

Welcome to the new home for the AOL Mail Blog!

We've moved our Blog to one hosted by the powerful Blogsmith platform. Stay tuned for continued updates.

Written by Rose Kwok, Product Manager, AOL Mail

You asked for it. We heard it.

The WebSuite team has been working diligently to implement web-based drafts for our AOL users. You will now be able to start composing your message and save as a draft to be sent out in the future. You can also access these drafts on the go whenever WebSuite is available. Just follow these simple steps below to use drafts.

1. Click on Compose as you would normally to begin writing a message. You will now see a new "Save Draft" button. When you are ready to save, click on the button.



2. You will see that the Drafts folder now indicates that there is 1 draft saved in the folder. When you are ready to complete your message, click on the draft message to open and continue composing.



3. Your draft message will open, with the message you have previously composed. Make changes as you'd like. When you are ready, just click Send as you normally do.



Saving drafts is now as easy as counting 1, 2, 3. We'd love to hear your feedback on this new feature.

As always, enjoy and thanks for using AOL!

Rose

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