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Business & Advanced Mail Administration

The following information will teach you more about your possibilities with Mail Administration.


Login to OS4

Point your web browser to http://hosting.netins.net/OS4 . You will be asked to login. Login using your domain name and the Admin password.

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Account Setup

The EasyMail Accounts function allows you to manage various aspects of your mail setup. Using this function you can:

To access the Accounts function, click the Accounts tab from the EasyMail main page.

Creating a regular mail account

A regular account has a physical mailbox on the system that can be accessed by any POP or IMAP mail client as well as WebMail. It can also be forwarded temporarily to another address by using the Forward To option.

The Accounts function allows you to create regular new mail accounts. To create a new account, click the Create button from the Accounts main page. The Add page will be displayed. Enter a username and password for the new account. A valid username must start with a letter or number a-z, 0-9 and may contain a-z, 0-9, ".", and "-" characters. Two "." characters in a row is not valid. A "." can neither be preceded by nor followed by a "-" and no account can end in "." or "-". Remember that some mailers may not support usernames longer than 16 characters. Email addresses are case insensitive.

If you want to forward your new mail account, enter the "Forward To" email address(es) in the Forward To textbox. To forward your account to more than one email address, you must enter them in the Forward To textbox separated by commas with no spaces. The guidelines described above for email account names should be followed.

When you forward the new account, you can choose to keep a copy of incoming mail in the forwarded account mailbox. To activate this option, click the Keep a copy of forwarded email in this account's mailbox check box.

Click the Apply button to save your changes. Click the OK button to save your changes and exit EasyMail.

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View mail accounts information

You can view your domain's regular email accounts and associated passwords using the Accounts function. This function displays your domain's regular email accounts in the Regular Accounts list.

Account password can be viewed by clicking on the name of the account from the Regular Accounts list. The account's password will be displayed in the Password textbox.

If an account is forwarded, you can view the "Forward To" email address(es) by selecting the account from the Regular Accounts list. The forward to email address(es) will be displayed in the Forward To textbox.

The total number of regular accounts available is shown below the Regular Accounts list.

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Delete a mail account

To delete a regular mail account, select an account from the Regular Accounts list and click the Delete button to complete the operation. By deleting an account, its entire mailbox contents are deleted as well. This process cannot be reversed.

To recreate a deleted account, you must create it using the Create option. Messages held in the account (regular account) before deletion can not be recovered. The mail account deletion process is permanent.

Note: that when you delete an account, it will be queued for deletion and the account will be removed the next day.

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Changing a mail account password

To change the password for any email user's account, select a regular account from the Regular Accounts list. The account's password will be displayed in the Password textbox. Enter the new password in the Password textbox. Click the Apply button to save the new password or click the OK button to save the new password and exit EasyMail. To cancel the operation and exit EasyMail, click the Cancel button.

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Email forwarding setup

The Accounts function allows you to forward your regular email accounts to another email address.

To forward an email account, choose the account from the Regular Accounts list and enter an existing email address in the Forward To textbox. This email address can be either an external address (e.g. a hotmail account) or one of your domain's regular accounts. You can forward an account to multiple addresses by entering the addresses in the Forward To textbox separated by commas and with no space.

To change the forward to account(s), enter the new email account(s) in the Forward To textbox.

You have also the option of keeping a copy of email in the forwarded account mailbox after forwarding the account. Click the Keep a copy of forwarded email in this account's mailbox checkbox to activate this option.

Email forwarding can be cancelled by deleting the "Forward To" account(s).

After making the necessary changes click the Apply button to complete the operation or click the OK button to save changes and exit EasyMail. Click the Cancel button to cancel the changes and exit EasyMail.

Note: Please expect a 10 to 15 minute delay before any email forwarding changes become active.

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Account Aliases

Alias accounts are email accounts that do not have a physical mailbox on the system, and must be forwarded to an existing regular account.

The EasyMail Aliases function allows you to manage your alias mail accounts. The aliases function includes:

To access the Aliases function, click the Aliases tab from the EasyMail main page.

Note: Autoresponders do not work for forwarded and alias accounts.

Creating an alias mail account

The Aliases function allows you to create Alias mail accounts. Alias accounts are email accounts that do not have a physical mailbox and must be forwarded to an existing regular account.

To create a new alias account, click the Create button from the Aliases main page. The Create Alias page will be displayed. Enter a username for the new Alias account in the Username textbox. Enter the email address you want the new Alias account to be forwarded to in the Forward To textbox. This email address can be either an external address (e.g. a hotmail account) or one of your domain's regular accounts.

You can forward an alias account to multiple addresses by entering the addresses in the Forward To textbox, separated by commas and with no space. Click the Apply button to save the new account or click the OK button to save the new account and return to the Aliases main page. Click the Cancel button to cancel the operation and return to the Aliases main page.

Note: Autoresponders do not work with Alias email addresses.

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Viewing alias accounts information

The Aliases function allows you to view all your Alias accounts and associated "Forward To" email addresses.

Alias accounts are email accounts that do not have a physical mailbox and must be forwarded to a regular existing account.

To view the email account(s) your Alias account is forwarded to, select the Alias account from the Alias Accounts list. The "Forward To" account(s) will be displayed in the "Forward To" textbox.

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Deleting an alias account

To delete an alias mail account, select an account from the Alias Accounts list and click the Delete button to complete the operation.

To recreate a deleted account, you must create it using the Create option. The mail account deletion process is permanent. Please remember that when you delete an account, it will be queued for deletion and the account will be removed the next day.

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Changing alias forwarding

Alias accounts must be forwarded to one or multiple existing email accounts when they are created, since they do not have a physical mailbox. The Aliases function allows you to change the "Forward To" email address(es) associated with the alias accounts.

To change the "Forward To" accounts, select your desired alias account from the Alias Accounts list. The "Forward To" email address(es) will be displayed in the "Forward To" textbox. You can forward an alias account to multiple addresses by entering the addresses in the "Forward To" textbox separated by commas and with no space. Enter the new email address(es) in the "Forward To" text box and click the Apply button to complete the operation or click the OK button to save changes and exit EasyMail. To cancel the operation and exit EasyMail, click the Cancel button.

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Autoresponders

The Autoresponder function allows you to automatically reply with a pre-written message to all or certain email sent to an email address. For example you could set up an autoresponder when you are out of office for a few days or alert those emailing you that you are away.

Click the Autoresponder tab from the EasyMail main page and the Autoresponder page will be displayed.

Note: Autoresponders do not work for forwarded and alias accounts.

Creating an autoresponder

To create an autoresponder for an email account, choose the account from the drop-down list and click the Add button from the Autoresponder main page. A new page will be displayed that allows you to create a new autoresponder for the specified account. You can create as many autoresponders as you need for each account.

Enter a name for the autoresponder in the Responder name textbox.

The next step is to specify the email messages that you want this autoresponder to reply to by setting a condition. Email messages that meet this condition will receive this autoresponder as their reply. If you want the message sent to everyone who sends an email to the account, choose no condition from the Email Header Field list and leave the Search Text textbox blank. This is the default.

If you want the autoresponder to reply to messages from a specific address, choose the From an address option from the Email Header Field drop-down list and enter the desired email address in the Search Text textbox. You can enter multiple email addresses in the Search Text textbox. The addresses must be separated by commas with no spaces.

You can set the autoresponder to reply to the email messages that are sent to a specific address. For example, if an email has the specified address in its CC: field, the autoresponder will apply to it. Choose the To an address option from the Email Header list and enter the email address in the Search Text textbox. You can enter multiple email addresses in the Search Text textbox. The addresses must be separated by commas with no spaces.

You can reply to messages who's subject contains some specific text. Select the where Subject contains option from the Email Header Field list and enter the text in the Search Text textbox.

Enter the autoresponder's message in the Responder Message text area and click the Apply button to complete the operation or OK button to save the autoresponder and return to the Autoresponder main page. Click the Cancel button to cancel the operation and return to the Autoresponder main page.

Note: Autoresponders do not work for forwarded and alias accounts.

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Activating and deactivating an autoresponder

In order for an autoresponder to work, you must activate it.

To activate an autoresponder choose the account the autoresponder belongs to from the drop-down list. The list of autoresponders associated with that account will be displayed in the Inactive Responders list. Highlight the desired responder and click the On button. The autoresponder will be moved to the Active Responders list.

To deactivate an autoresponder, select it from the Active Responders list and click the Off button. The autoresponder will be moved to the Inactive Responders list.

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Editing an autoresponder

You can edit an existing responder by using the Edit option of Autoresponder.

If the responder you want to edit is active, you must deactivate it first, because the Autoresponder function does not allow an active responder to be edited.

Highlight the responder you want to edit from the Inactive Responder list and click the Edit button. The responder details will be displayed. Make the necessary changes to the responder fields and click the Apply button to complete the operation or OK button to save changes and return to the Autoresponder main page. Click the Cancel button to cancel the operation and return to the Autoresponder main page.

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Deleting an autoresponder

To delete an autoresponder, choose the account the responder is associated with. The account's active and inactive autoresponders will be displayed.

If the responder you want to delete is active, you must deactivate it first, because the Autoresponder function does not allow an active responder to be deleted.

Highlight the responder you want to delete from the Inactive Responder list and click the Remove button. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion. The responder will be removed permanently. To recreate the responder you must use the Add option.

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SPAM filtering

The SPAM filtering function of EasyMail allows you to prevent unsolicited email (SPAM) from reaching your mailbox.

By enabling SPAM filtering for an account, your email is sorted into three categories:

  • Blocked: Mail flagged as probable SPAM, but is not necessarily SPAM. This also includes specific email addresses you may mark as "blocked" under the Advanced SPAM Filtering options.
  • Bulk: Mail that is determined to be legitimate mass-email, such as known opt-in email lists, e.g. legitimate newsletters.
  • SPAM: Mail that is, according to the filter, definitely SPAM.

All of these categories of email are saved by default in the following folders:

  • BLOCKED.mail
  • BULK.mail
  • SPAM.mail

You may elect to delete any incoming email in these categories in the Advanced SPAM Filtering interface. Each folder is created the first time you receive any email that falls into these categories. To access these folders you must be using either WebMail or PINE. In WebMail you can view these folders and their contents by clicking on the Folder Management button.

By disabling SPAM filtering for an account, all email will be delivered directly to your mailbox.

The EasyMail SPAM Filtering function uses SPAM Bouncer version 1.5.

Enabling SPAM filtering

To enable SPAM filtering for an account, open the EasyMail setup application and click on the SPAM Filtering tab. Select the account you wish to filter and check the Enable SPAM Filtering checkbox. Click either the Apply button or the OK button to turn the SPAM filtering on.

To disable SPAM filtering for an account, follow the above instructions. When you select the account, you will see that the Enable SPAM Filtering checkbox is already checked. Remove the checkmark and click either the Apply button or the OK button to complete the removal.

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Enabling advanced SPAM filtering

To configure advanced SPAM filtering for an account, open the EasyMail setup application and click on the SPAM Filtering tab. Select the account you wish to configure and ensure that the Enable SPAM Filtering option is checked. Click the Advanced button to configure advanced SPAM filtering. In the interface that comes up, the settings are divided into four categories:

When you have finished configuring the advanced features, click OK or Apply to save your settings. For more information on these categories, please refer to the other topics in this section.

To disable advanced SPAM filtering for an account, open up the advanced settings for that account and click on the button labeled Restore Defaults. Then click on OK or Apply to save the default settings.

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SPAM Storage

 

This section allows you to choose your storage preferences for the various types of mail that the SPAM filter identifies (i.e. SPAM, blocked, bulk). You may elect to either save or automatically delete each type of email the SPAM filter recognizes.

 

Please keep in mind that there is always a risk that the SPAM filter may classify legitimate email as SPAM. You may not want to enable the deletion of SPAM, blocked, and bulk mail, if you are concerned about this possibility.

 

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Blocked languages

 

This section of the Advanced SPAM Filter functionality deals with incoming emails that use multilingual character sets. Email written in the following languages are automatically blocked when checked:

  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Cyrillic
  • Greek
  • Hebrew
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Russian
  • Turkish

If you receive legitimate email in one or more of these languages, please be sure to uncheck those languages in this section of the settings.

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SPAM filtering lists

SPAM filtering lists are maintained by independent organizations which track where and how SPAM is delivered. By electing to use one or more of these lists, you will increase the spam filter's ability to catch incoming SPAM. Following, you will find an explanation outlining what each list available to the SPAM filter tracks. This will allow you to decide which, if any, of the filtering lists you wish to use.

DSBLCHECK: Blacklist of single-stage open relays -- IP addresses of SMTP servers that relay email for any user on the Internet, addressed to any other user on the Internet. This list contains the IP addresses of confirmed open SMTP relays, open proxy servers, and web sites with insecure formmail.pl scripts. Entries to this list are from trusted users only. The DSBL is a "Son of ORBZ" blacklist, and as such is somewhat aggressive.

DULCHECK: Blacklist of dynamic IP addresses assigned to dial-up users. Now a pay service and available only if you have subscribed.

NOTE: If you enable this blacklist without first subscribing to it, all queries against it will result in a negative response. No spam will be detected.

FTSGRSSCHECK: Blacklist of single-stage open relays -- IP addresses of SMTP servers that relay email for any user on the Internet, addressed to any other user on the Internet.

MONKEYFORMMAILCHECK: Blacklist of web sites with insecure versions of the formmail.pl script, which SPAMmers can abuse to send SPAM with untraceable headers.

OSORCHECK: Blacklist of single-stage open relays verified as open by the Osirusoft tester. This is a respected open relay list, but more aggressive than RSLCHECK.

RFCIPWHOISCHECK: Blacklist of IP blocks with blank or invalid whois information.

RSLCHECK: Blacklist of single-stage open relays hosted at visi.com. The RSL is the most conservative open relay blacklist supported by the SPAM filter; it removes all entries after 90 days and will remove any entry on request. This list will block relatively less non-SPAM email than other blacklists of open relays, but may also not block some SPAM that others would have.

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Miscellaneous features

The following features can be configured in this section:

Always Allow List

When an email is received from an address placed on the Always Allow list, that email automatically bypasses all SPAM filtering processes and is delivered to your inbox. Add email addresses to this list if there are particular addresses you wish to be certain you receive email from, no matter how you have configured the SPAM filter.

Always Block List

Similar to the always allow list, except this list automatically blocks emails sent from the specified addresses.

Filtering Bypass Phrase

This field allows you to define a code word which, if it appears in the subject line of any incoming email, will automatically bypass all filtering processes and be delivered to your inbox. This is useful if you want to ensure that certain people will always be able to send email to you, regardless of what email address they are using.

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More information about SPAM filtering
SPAM Bouncer
www.spambouncer.org

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