By default, Mail includes one (or more) of these accounts when you first run it:

To add a Google account on a Mac, click on the Apple menu → Click on 'System Preferences' → Click on 'Internet Accounts' → Click on 'Google' → Enter your log-in information → Then, select the applications you'd like to use with your Google account. Standard User Accounts on a Mac. Creating a standard user account for each family member is a great way to share your Mac. Each user account gets its own home folder for storing documents, its own set of user preferences, its own music library, Safari bookmarks, Messages account, Contacts, and Photos library. Mark the Connect Using PPPoE check box to enable it and then enter the account name and password. If your ISP includes the Service Provider name and a PPPoE Service Name, you can enter those as well. To allow everyone who uses your Mac to access the Internet with this account, mark the Save Password check box to enable it.

• The account that you entered when you first installed Mac OS X: If you entered the information for an email account, it’s available.

• Your .Mac account: If you registered for a .Mac service account, it will be included.

• Upgraded accounts: If you upgraded an existing Mac OS system, your existing Mail accounts will be added to the Accounts list in Mail.

Speaking of the Accounts list, choose Mail –> Preferences and click the Accounts button to display the Accounts dialog box that you see in Figure 1. From here, you can add an account, edit an existing account, or remove an account from Mail. Although most folks still have only one email account, you can use a passel of them. For example, you might use one account for your personal email and one account for your business communications. To switch accounts, just click the account that you want to use from this list to make it the active account.

Figure 1: The Accounts list, where all is made clear (about your email accounts).

To add a new account within Mail, click the Add Account button, which carries a plus sign, to open an Account wizard that leads you through the process.

You can also add an account from the Preferences dialog box. Open the Preferences dialog box by clicking Mail and choosing Preferences; then click the Accounts button on the Preferences toolbar. Follow these steps:

1. Click the Add button at the bottom-left corner of the window, which (also) carries a plus sign.

2. On the General Information panel, click the Account Type drop-down list box and choose the protocol type to use for the account.

You can select an Apple .Mac account, a Post Office Protocol (POP) account, a Microsoft Exchange account, or an Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) account. If you’re adding an account from an Internet service provider (ISP), refer to the set-up information that you received to determine which is right. Most ISP accounts are POP accounts.

3. In the Description field, name the account to identify it within Mail and then press Tab to move to the next field.

For example, Work or Mom’s ISP are good choices.

4. In the Full Name field, type your full name — or, if this is to be an anonymous account, enter whatever you like as your identity — and then press Tab.

Messages that you send appear with this name in the From field in the recipient’s email application.

5. In the User Name field, type the username supplied by your ISP for login to your email account and then press Tab.

This is sometimes different from the username and password that you use to connect to the Internet.

6. In the Password field, type the password supplied by your ISP for login to your email account.

Again, this password may be different from your connection password.

7. Click Continue.

8. Click Continue on the Account Summary sheet.

9. Click Done on the Conclusion sheet.

You’re done! The new account appears in the Accounts list.

Okay, so you sign up for Internet access, and your ISP sends you a sheet of paper covered with indecipherable stuff that looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics. Don’t worry; those are the settings that you need to connect to your ISP. After you get them in Mac OS X, you should be surfing the Web like an old pro.

Before you jump into this configuration, make sure that you’ve configured the Internet settings within System Preferences. That way, you’ll already have entered your default email and Web settings.

Using your internal modem

Follow these steps to set up your Internet connection if you’re using your Mac’s internal modem:

Internet Account Preferences Mac

1. Click the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Network.

2. Select Internal Modem from the Show drop-down list.

3. Click the TCP/IP tab (as shown in Figure 1) and enter the settings for the type of connection that your ISP provides:

• If your ISP tells you to use PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol): Click the Configure IPv4 drop-down list and choose Using PPP. If your ISP provided you with DNS Server or Search Domain addresses, type them now in the corresponding boxes.

• If you’re using AOL: Click the Configure IPv4 drop-down list and choose AOL Dialup. If AOL provided you with DNS Server or Search Domain addresses, click in the corresponding box and type them now.

• If you’re using a manual connection: Click the Configure IPv4 drop-down list box and choose Manually. Then click in the IP Address, DNS Servers, and Search Domains fields and enter the respective settings provided by your ISP.

Figure 1: The Network settings for an internal modem Internet connection.

4. Click the PPP tab to display the settings shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Adding PPP settings.

5. In their respective fields, enter the account name, password, telephone number, and (optionally) the service provider name and an alternate telephone number provided by your ISP.

6. Press COMMAND+Q to exit System Preferences and save your changes.

Using Ethernet hardware

Follow these steps to set up your Internet connection if you’re using a network, cable modem, or DSL connection:

1. Click the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Network.

2. Select Built-in Ethernet from the Show drop-down list to display the settings that you see in Figure 3.

Figure 3: The Network settings for an Ethernet Internet connection.

3. Enter the settings for the type of connection that your ISP provides:

• If your ISP tells you to use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP): Select Using DHCP from the Configure IPv4 drop-down list, and your ISP can automatically set up virtually all the TCP/IP settings for you! (No wonder DHCP is so popular these days.)

• If you won’t be using DHCP, select Manually from the Configure IPv4 drop-down list box. Then enter the settings provided by your ISP in the IP Address, Subnet Mask, Router, and DNS Servers fields.

4. If your ISP uses PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet), click the PPPoE tab to display the settings shown in Figure 4.

Internet Account Password Mac

5. Mark the Connect Using PPPoE check box to enable it and then enter the account name and password.

If your ISP includes the Service Provider name and a PPPoE Service Name, you can enter those as well.

6. To allow everyone who uses your Mac to access the Internet with this account, mark the Save Password check box to enable it.

Internet Accounts Mac Not Working

Enable the Show PPPoE Status in Menu Bar check box. When you do, Mac OS X displays a menu bar icon that lets you know the status of your PPPoE connection.

7. Press COMMAND+Q to exit System Preferences and save your changes.