Email Client Setup Instructions

Overview

The two mail programs covered in this how-to document are Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Outlook. Web access to email is also available. For other email clients, refer to your programs help manual.

Features of the email system:

  1. All incoming mail from the system is encrypted (using SSL).
  2. All outgoing mail to the system is encrypted (using SSL).

These measures ensure that sensitive information such as passwords and message contents cannot be intercepted and read as they pass through the public Internet. It is considerably stronger security than most mail services.

In addition, we always use IMAP mailboxes - these leave the mail on the server unless you explicitly delete it, ensuring it is available from all of the mail clients that you use.

Mozilla Thunderbird (recommended)

Mozilla Thunderbird is highly recommended and the only email program the we use or support with any enthusiasm. It is available for free from
   http://www.mozilla.com/Thunderbird/
The version we're using is 2.0.0.6, but newer versions should work too.

Steps to update an existing account

1. Start Thunderbird.
2. In the left-hand pane, click on the existing account that you want to change with the right-mouse button and select "Properties". The "Account Settings" window will appear.
3. Select "Server Settings" in the left-hand pane just under the name of the account.
4. Check the "Use secure connection (SSL) check-box.
5. Click on the "Advanced..." button. The "Advanced Account Settings" window will appear. Click on the SMTP tab near the top of the window. Note down which server is being used. If it is not "mail.sustainablesoftware.com.au" then skip to step 7.
6. In the left-hand pane of the "Account Settings" window, right at the bottom should be "Outgoing Server (SMTP)". Click on this. Select "TLS" under "Use secure connection".
7. Close the "Account Settings" window by clicking the "OK" button.
8. Access your account's Inbox. Accept any certificates offered. You should be prompted for a password. Enter your new password and you should get access to your mail.
9. If you needed to perform step 6, test sending an email whilst you have this account selected.
   

NOTE: See also "Firewall Settings" below if you are having problems connecting to our mail service.

Steps to create a new account from scratch

1. Start Thunderbird. If you have just installed Thunderbird then it may show a "Account Wizard" to help you set up your first email account, in which case you can skip the next two steps.
2. Under the "Edit" menu, select "Account Settings". The "Account Settings" window will be displayed.
3. Click on "Add Account". The Thunderbird "Account Wizard" will appear.
4. The account wizard should have "Email account" selected. Leave it as is and click the "Next >" button.
5. Enter your name, and the email address for this account. I will use the fictional example "aperson@my.domain" for the remaining steps.
6. Click "Next >".
7. Select "IMAP" as the "type of incoming server", and enter "mail.sustainablesoftware.com.au" (without the quotes - the same goes for the rest of the steps - omit the quotes unless told otherwise) as the "name of your incoming server. If prompted for an "outgoing server" (this will happen if this is your first email account), also enter "mail.my.domain".
8. Click "Next >".
9. Enter your ENTIRE email address as the "incoming user name" (eg. "aperson@my.domain"). Do NOT add just "aperson", even if your mail program's wizard had already placed that in the box in an attempt to help you.
10. Click "Next >".
11. Enter a name for the account. This can be anything you like - it just determines how the account looks in Thunderbird. For example, you might use "A Person". You could even just leave it as "aperson@my.domain" - its up to you.
12. Click "Next >".
13. Verify that you have entered the details correctly with no typos.
14. Click "Finish" and return to Thunderbird's main window. You should now see your account listed in the left-hand pane. Thunderbird will attempt to connect but then it will fail ("connection refused") because of some extra security we have turned on. You must change a couple of things to make your account work.
15. In the left hand pane, use the right-hand mouse button to click on your account (not the "Inbox" below it), and select "Properties".
16. The "Account Settings" window will pop up again. You will see your account in the left-hand pane, and just below it, "Server Settings". Click on "Server Settings" now.
17. In the server setting box, check the "Use secure connection (SSL)" check-box. This will ensure that your password is encrypted when you try to retrieve mail. Indeed, our email system requires this - hence the failure in step 14.
18. While you're here, you might want to check the "Check messages at startup" box so that Thunderbird will start checking for new email as immediately every time you start it up.
19. That's the email receiving part taken care of. There is one more trick to get email sending working (unless you use another server to send email, in which case you are finished, so go to 21). In the "Account Settings" window, at bottom of the left-hand pane, you'll see "Outgoing Server (SMTP)". Click on this now.
20. Check the "Use name and password" check-box. Enter the your email address as the username, and select "TLS" under "Use secure connection". Again this ensures password encryption when you send email. Note that when you attempt to send an email later you will be asked for the password.
21. Click on "OK" to close the "Account Settings" window.
22. Click on the "Inbox" for your account. Thunderbird should connect and ask you to accept one or two certificates. Simply accept them. It will then prompt you for your password. Enter the password that you have been supplied with. You may wish to check the "Use password manager to remember this password" box before clicking "OK" so that your password will not need to be entered again.

NOTE: See also "Firewall Settings" below if you are having problems connecting to our mail service.

Microsoft Outlook (not recommended)

These instructions are for Outlook 2003 (which is not the same as Outlook Express). For other versions of Outlook, refer to your help manual if there are problems.

Steps to update an existing account

1. Start Microsoft Outlook.
2. Under the "Tools" menu, select "E-mail accounts". The "E-mail Accounts" wizard will appear.
3. Select "View or change existing e-mail accounts" if not already selected.
4. Click "Next >".
5. Select the email account to are going to update and click the "Change.." button. The "E-mail Account" wizard will appear.
6. Enter your new password in the "Password:" box.
7. Click on the "More Setting..." button. The "Internet E-mail Settings" window will appear.
8. Click on the "Advanced" tab near the top of the "Internet E-mail Settings" window. Check BOTH of the check-boxes labelled  "This server requires and encrypted connection (SSL)".
9. Click on "OK" to close the "Internet E-mail Settings" window.
10. Click "Next >" and the click the "Finish" button.
11. Click on the "Inbox" for your account. Outlook should connect and ask you to accept one or two certificates. Simply accept them. You should now be able to access your email.

NOTE: See also "Firewall Settings" below if you are having problems connecting to our mail service.

Steps to create a new account from scratch

1. Start Microsoft Outlook.
2. Under the "Tools" menu, select "E-mail accounts". The "E-mail Accounts" wizard will appear.
3. Select "Add new email account" (unless it is already selected):
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4. Click "Next >".
5. Select "IMAP":
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6. Click "Next >".
7. Enter your name, the email address supplied to you and for both "incoming mail server" and "Outgoing mail server", enter "mail.sustainablesoftware.com.au". We will use the fictional example "aperson@my.domain" as my email address the remaining steps.
8. Enter your ENTIRE email address as the "User Name". You will enter something like "aperson@my.domain" and  NOT just "aperson", even if the wizard had already placed that in the box in an attempt to help you. Also enter the password that was supplied to you. Do not check "Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)":
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9. Before clicking "Next >", click on the "More Settings" box. The "Internet E-mail Settings" window will appear.
10. Enter a name for the account. This can be anything you like - it just determines how the account is displayed in Outlook. For example, you might use your name.
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11. Click on the "Outgoing Server" tab near the top of the "Internet E-mail Settings" window. Check the "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication" box.  Leave "Use same settings as my incoming mail server" selected.
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12. Click on the "Advanced" tab near the top of the "Internet E-mail Settings" window. Check the "This server requires and encrypted connection" check-box for both "IMAP" and "SMTP".
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13. Click on "OK" to close the "Internet E-mail Settings" window.
14. Click on "Next >" in the "E-mail Accounts" wizard.
15. Click the "Finish" button.
16. Outlook will prompt you to accept a certificate. Accept it.
17. Outlook will then connect to the mail service.

NOTE: See also "Firewall Settings" below if you are having problems connecting to our mail service.

Webmail

Webmail is available for access to and sending of email. This is useful if you are in a situation where you can't contact the mail server - for example a lot of work places have a firewall that prevents direct email server access, but doesn't prevent web browsing. We still recommend using a full email client rather than webmail if possible.

The URL for webmail is:

http://mail.sustainablesoftware.com.au/mailbox/

Your username is your full email address (e.g. aperson@my.domain). Your password is the same as was given to you for normal email access.

Firewall settings

Most firewalls shouldn't have a problem.

We have no step by step instructions for this as each brand of firewall is different. Generally speaking, you need to be able make outgoing connections to ports 993 (IMAPS - for accessing email) and 25 (SMTP - for sending email). If you are inside an organisation, and the firewall has these ports closed, you need to ask your IT administration if they can be opened. Generally, I have found that universities wont do this. If not, you need to wait for webmail to become available.