error 17896

All of a sudden, I cannot send mail using Entourage.

error 17896 syas, "Your Mac OS Network Preferences are not configured to allow automatic connections. You can manually dial up first, or you can change this setting in you modem Preferences, click PPP Options, and hten select the "Connect automatically" check box."

I have Mac OS Mavericks 10.9.2 running on my Macbook Pro and I use Entourage 12.3.6 for mail. I do not see any of the above phrases in either Mavericks Preferences, or Entourage Preferences or Entourage Account Settings.