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Email Access
One of the many features you get when you're a Hurricane Electric Webhosting customer is email hosting associated with your domain. This means, if your website's domain name is example.com, you can setup luke@example.com, jessica@example.com, and anyone else associated with your organization.
Your users can access the mailboxes via webmail or any standard mail software, including Outlook and Thunderbird, or with any web-capable device, like a smartphone.
POP3 Authenticated SMTP
POP3 Authenticated SMTP is included with all web accounts. This feature allows you to use the server your account is on for outgoing mail (SMTP) simply by checking your POP3 mailbox before sending mail. By checking your email using POP3 you enable the SMTP server for outgoing mail from your IP address for the next several hours.
Many customers have asked for an SMTP gateway they could use for outgoing mail because some dialup ISPs either don't offer one or restrict the outgoing email addresses to be from their domain name only. ISPs restrict access because spammers scan the net looking for open mail servers. When they find one they send millions of emails through it. By implementing POP3 Authenticated SMTP we can allow you access to the SMTP server which is already on the web server your account is on without the risk of it getting co-opted by a spammer.
Use the name of the server your account is on and simply check your email with POP3 once to enable the SMTP server for your IP address for several hours.
Creating Email Boxes
You can setup email boxes at Hurricane Electric's admin page, using the "Add Mailbox" command.
The following are the entry fields on the "Add Mailbox" page, and what you should fill them with:
- Mailbox Name: Fill in the 'user' part here, i.e., the part before the '@'. Ex: For the mailbox clint@example.com, simply type in clint.
- Password: This field will contain a random password that has been generated for you by the webpage. Handy! You can use this, or one of your own choosing. It must be eight characters long and contain at least one numeral. Ex: qexu0rx6 (strong) or hawkeye2 (weak).
- Mail Info To: If you put in someone else's email address, we will email them the username and password you're creating, as well as some basic instructions for email software setup.
"Not Authorized" or "Relay Denied" Errors
You need to make sure that you have your email software (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) set to check for new mail first. Each email client has a different way of doing this, so you will need to check your software help files for specific information on the method. The reason for this is HE's servers are set to validate that a person trying to send email has authorized use of the server. Checking email accomplishes this.
Extra Charges for Email
If you received an extra storage charge for mail it is most likely resulting from accumulated mail in your main email box or the use of IMAP. For obvious reasons, Hurricane Electric does not delete client email. If you do not have your POP3 email account set up to remove mail from the server when it connects to get your email, it can accumulate to the point where you either cannot retrieve email, are charged extra for the storage for the email, or possibly both.
Using IMAP to do your email is different on many levels, but in this it is common. If you use mail folders under the email account to store email, you are storing it on the server. You can, alternatively, store the email under personal folders which are local to your computer only, however this negates the advantages of using IMAP for your email. For this, you may want to consider storing locally only any larger emails or those with attachments instead of the normal mail folders.
Make sure you are deleting the messages off the server. It is important to check your mail client settings so messages are deleted off the server after you retrieve them if you use POP3. Typically this option reads "Leave messages on server" under the advanced settings. Make sure this is NOT checked.
Forwarding Email
You may use the "set forwarding" function at https://admin.he.net, though we recommend you not forward email to an address outside of your site hosted with us. Many ISPs do not distinguish between legitimate forwarded email and spam, which can cause problems for your offsite email addresses.
File Attachments
You can send file attachments through email to addresses outside our network, although not every email client can handle it.
Generally, attachments work best between people that correspond frequently and test it out first.
Redirecting Email
Due to increased email security, we do not recommend forwarding email unless you are forwarding it to another Hurricane Electric hosted account address. We recommend you use the service you want the mail to go to in order to "pull" the mail to that mailbox through that service. Most email providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail offer this as part of their webmail client services and would be configured as most normal email clients are done.
Unable to send Email?
There can be several reasons for this problem. The first, and easiest to check for, is your outgoing (SMTP) mail port setting. Many DSL and cable internet providers have begun blocking port 25 for SMTP traffic in order to curb problems with spam mailers. We offer the alternate port of 587 for SMTP for our clients, and this port is, at this point in time, being left open by those providers blocking port 25.
Though it is beyond the scope of this FAQ to be a tutorial on where to find it in all email clients, it is generally found in the Advanced settings under your Email account options. If you are unsure where to find the advanced settings or where to edit the mail port, you can call and ask us here at he.net or you can check your mail client vendor's help files or online help for this.
Problems emailing Yahoo! customers
Unfortunately, you're not alone if you are having this issue. Many of our customers are receiving bounce back messages from Yahoo! mail, as well as delays in sending to Yahoo! After much investigation, many legitimate mail providers are experiencing this issue, and it appears there's not much that can be done.
We've contacted Yahoo! on multiple occasions, and their solution is:
"We suggest that you ask your users to set up a filter in Yahoo! Mail to ensure that they get your email messages in their Inbox.
Yahoo! Mail users may find more information regarding filters at http://help.yahoo.com/help/mail/manage/manage-06.html"
