It was working fine and then it broke!
It was working fine on the new computer until yesterday. Now I get a pop-up box that says: ' Unable to connect The connection was refused when attempting to contact localhost.
The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.
If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection. If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure Thunderbird is permitted to access the web.
All Replies (3)
What is your operating system? I will assume Windows
What is your Anti-Virus, if any?
Do you use a VPN?
"Localhost" refers to your local computer. Normally Thunderbird interacts with the Internet directly. There should be no local proxy involved unless you intentionally use one.
This can often be caused by an Anti-Virus program inserting itself between the mail agent (Thunderbird) and the Internet in order to "helpfully" scan your emails. It could also be caused by malware doing the same thing for less "helpful" reasons.
Some things to try:
- Check the Thunderbird setting <Settings | General | Network & Disk Space | Connection> and click the "Settings" button. The default setting is "Use system proxy settings". A clue could be if "Manual proxy configuration" is something you don't recognize. Try temporarily changing it to "No proxy" and restart Thunderbird.
- Turn off your VPN, if you use one.
- Temporarily disable your AV or disable any of its options to scan your email.
- Restart Windows in Safe Mode with Networking. This temporarily disables the AV.
Please report your results.
Well, that didn't work! I do have Windows 11. My anti-virus is PCMatic. I don't use a VPN. I did all of the "Some things to try" with no success! I can't find any settings in PCMatic to scan email. I don't know how to restart Windows in Safe Mode. I will try to figure that out!
What happened when you tried to change the proxy setting?
I feel certain that it's PCMatic that is the problem here. Anything that forces Thunderbird to use Localhost is an external program, not part of Thunderbird. I notice that they have a bunch of service features and offerings, including a firewall, VPN, ad-blockers, etc. I'm guessing there's a mail scanning feature buried in there somewhere. I don't know anything about the program, so if you're having trouble controlling it, I'm afraid you'll have to check with their tech support or forums..
Restarting in Safe Mode with Networking should disable PCMatic temporarily. There are many descriptions on how to use Safe Mode - here's one (I can't vouch for it being the "best" or most understandable.)
https://windowsforum.com/threads/how-to-boot-windows-11-safe-mode-all-methods-and-tips.385256/
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