"Connection to [POP3 SERVER] was reset"

[semigeek]

Today I get this error in a small box at lower right of screen every time I try to access my CenturyLink POP3 email with Thunderbird. What does it actually mean? If I make and then undo a change in Server Settings and then manually enter my password at the prompt, getting mail will work just once, and then I start seeing this error again. Meanwhile Gmail works fine.

Edit: a couple of hours later, this problem seems to have resolved itself, but I'm still curious what it could have been.

[tanstaafl]

It usually means some other software (such as your anti-virus scanner) is blocking the tcp-ip connection to the mail server. Not clear why it would only effect one account.

[semigeek]

Thanks, I did see reports about that online but I don't run any AV other than Windows Defender, and had no problem until (briefly) yesterday, and only on this mail provider and not the other. Very odd.

On the other hand, CenturyLink has had glitches of their own in the past with certificates, and brief periods when sending mail just failed, so perhaps this was another such occasion. I just hadn't seen this specific error before and was curious what "reset" indicated.