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Email Issues
Where do I log into my webmail?
http://yourdomain.com/webmail/
The trailing slash is important.
You will be prompted for your username and password.
There is a choice of NeoMail, Horde, and SquirrelMail.
You can also access Neomail from the control panel by clicking \"Read Mail\" under the Email selections.
How do I set up an email account?
We get more questions about email set-up than ANY other topic. It can be confusing.
Email involves your ISP (how you connect to the internet), your email client (Outlook, or Thunderbird, for instance), your control panel settings here at Gryphyn Media, the entire Internet network between you and the server, and the function of the hosting server. If you have DSL, it can also involve router settings. If you email does not work, it is usually NOT because "the server is down."
Every email client is different. We can only give you approximate instructions. You should become familiar with your own email software and the instruction of the company that developed it.
Problems can occur at any point... but MANY problems can be resolved by following these instructions:
You can set up new email accounts using the hosting control panel immediately after you sign up for a new account, but you cannot use the email addresses until AFTER the domain name resolves. If you can type your domain name into a browser and see the Gryphyn Media default page (or the page you uploaded), it has resolved.
1. Go to the control panel using your browser at http://yourdomainname.com/cpanel
2. Set up a POP3 email account by clicking "Manage Accounts" and then "Add Account." Entering the email address you want, along with a password of your choice. Make NOTE of that password... we can reset it if you forget, but we cannot tell you what it is. Note that each EMAIL account password is different than your HOSTING account password (unless you choose to make them the same).
You may also choose to simply forward ALL of your email from the domain to an email address of your choice. Be cautious with this - when you forward all your email, you are also bypassing our spam filters and forwarding all of your spam to the other address. The ISP you are using may start to regard you as source of spam and block all of your email.
If you do not want to use an email program on your own computer, you may always read your email right on the web by using our webmail features, described in other FAQ articles. (
TO READ EMAIL ON YOUR OWN COMPUTER: Open your email client (Outlook, Thunderbird, Eudora, etc) on your computer. There will be some way to add a new email account, which varies with each program. Use these settings:
username: yourname@yourdomain.com
(Yes, use the WHOLE email address as a username.)
password: ********
(Whatever you picked on the control panel as an EMAIL password)
POP3 Incoming Server:
yourdomain.com
SMTP Outgoing Server:
yourdomain.com
DO ENABLE SMTP AUTHENTICATION. On Outlook, this is a checkbox that says, "Outgoing Server Authentication." Check it. Use your EMAIL username and password to fill in the settings. If you do not use Outlook, check the instructions for your email program. You MUST use an email program that allows SMTP Authentication (most do, unless they are outdated versions).
Do not confuse this with "SECURE Server Authentication." That is something else entirely, even though it has a similar name. Do not check the box for Secure Authentication.
Test your email by using another email account, or having someone send you mail that you return to them. If you can receive but not SEND mail, is is likely that your ISP (internet provider, like Comcast or Verizon) requires you to use their SMTP settings. Go back into the account settings on your computer's email program, and enter your ISP's SMTP settings - your ISP can tell you what they are. Then, ALSO change your SMTP Authenication settings to use your ISP username and password (it is the same as the ones your computer uses to get on the internet). Again, your ISP can tell you what they are. When you have done that, you should be able to send email. Test again.
EXAMPLE: If you have VerizonDSL, for instance, use mail.verizon.com (or whatever they specify), and use SMTP Authentication. Again, SMTP Authentication is called "Outgoing Server Authentication" in Outlook and you click "Settings" to enter your ISP username and password (the same one that signs you onto the internet).
So, you are going to use SMTP Authentication no matter what... the question is whether your ISP requires it (and you must then use the user/pass THEY assigned you) or whether you are just using your email account user/pass that you set up on your Gryphyn Media-hosted domain control panel.
I should have webmail and I don't see any.
Go to
http://yourdomain.com/webmail/
Enter the email address you want to check... use the WHOLE ADDRESS name@domain.com as a username, then the password.
No email and you think there should be some? If you left your computer connected at home, with Outlook open and running, it has been downloading your email, so nothing is left on the server. Close Outlook at home before you leave.
I can't RECEIVE email... is it bouncing back to people emailing me?!
Probably not. If you pointed your domain name to th new Gryphyn Media servers, they your email is being collected in your default account, waiting for you to download it or read it via webmail.
If you meant to forward it all to another address, log into the Control Panel and look for "Defualt Address" and/or "Forwarders" in the Mail Menu.
Do you support IMAP?
Yes.
We have three system webmail clients ready to use:
Neomail http://www.neomail.org/
Horde http://horde.org
Squirrelmail http://www.squirrelmail.org/
Horde and Squirrel support IMAP. You may also configure your own email client to use IMAP. I know Eudora supports it, but I have not experiemented with others. Check the support docs for your email program to see if you can use it with IMAP.
I run the University of Washington’s IMAP, UWIMAPD, (imap-devel-2001a-10 and imap-2001a-10).
http://www.washington.edu/imap/
What is IMAP?
http://www.imap.org/about/whatisIMAP.html
You may also install your own version of Squirrel on your account, rather than using the system installation, so you can make mods or install some of the many open source plugins available. Learn more at the Squirrel website and on their email lists.
Can I forward email to TWO addresses?
Yup. Just make to separate email forwarders. You can set them up from your control panel under the "Mail Management" menu.
How can I gracefully "expire" an email address getting heavy spam?
One or more of your email addresses may fall into the hands of spammers. Sometimes, people set up autoresponders, so that "real" senders to use another email address. Two problems with that: 1) you send your new address to the spammers, too, and they now harvest from autoresponders, and 2) YOU get all the bounced email when spammers send to the old address using a false return address.
Here's a more graceful way of doing it using Cpanel... set up your 'bad' email with a forwarder to :fail: but add a text message after this and this message will appear in the 'fail' reply that the sender gets.
For example, "bad@yourdomain.com" forwards to ...
:fail: This email address is no longer valid. Please contact us using the form at http://yourdomain.com
Someone is using my address to send spam... will I be shut down?
This is annoying, but generally not a huge issue. Check the FULL headers to see where the email really came from.
They are probably not using your SMTP... they are just using your domains for false "from" addresses. Called "spoofing." It usually dies out after a bit... the spammers seem to only use people's addresses for a short time, then move on to another. Most email servers are unsophisticated and don't "see" the difference between a fake header and a real email source. But any "real" anti-spam program that would report you in some way CAN detect spoofing.
There was a LOT of that when the SoBig virus was going strong... it stole addresses (including GryphynMedia.com addresses) from people's address books and used them to send spam. I got 900 bounces one day. It will pass.
If you think someone is REALLY using your account to send spam, forward me some bounced messages immediately. If the messages were going out in large volume, we probably already stopped it and we will figure out the problem, with your help.
Outlook keeps asking for my password over and over.
This is NOT related to your hosting. It has nothing to do with the server or the way your email account is set up at your domain. This is a conflict between Windows and Outlook on your computer. Blame Microsoft. They do tell you how to fix it on the Microsoft site, but it involves messing with the registry. If you are on a corporate system, you will need your Administrator's help. BE CAREFUL.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=264672
I can receive my email, but not SEND it.
Ahh... the biggest email configuration issue around.
Sending email involves FOUR factors:
1. Your email client/program: Outlook, Pegasus, Mac Mail, etc. Know which version you use.
2. Your ISP: the service that connects you to the Internet - Verizon, Comcast, Earthlink, AOL, etc.
3. Your hosting: That's Gryphyn Media, and that's where you have set up your email POP account.
4. The email recipient: there can be a problem at the receiving end.
Troubleshooting can involve all four of these factors, which is what makes is difficult to get it right in one shot.
Here are some things to check when trouble shooting:
First, check the email set-up instructions at http://gryphynmedia.com/cgi-bin/faq2/smartfaq.cgi?answer=1060062680
Then, look for error mesages from your email program. Is it saying "550 Error?" That usually has to do with SMTP configuration being set up incorrectly.
Is is saying "Host not found" or "User/Pass Mistmatch"? Look VERY carefully for mispellings of your domain name, email address, username, or password. Eliminate blank spaces before or after your entries. I can't tell you how often the problem turns out to be an overlooked typo.
Make sure you are using the right password for the right account. Make sure you typed in the WHOLE email address as your email username.
Does it look like the email was sent, but it never arrived? Look for problems at the receiving end.
There could be a network problem delaying delivery. We have come to expect "instant" delivery, but delays of minutes or hours can be caused by network problems, especially if there is a big virus clogging the Internet.
Mail delays are normal. Do you have a burning need to know where the delay is? Examine the timestamps in the full headers of an email message. Check the instructions for your email program to find out how to view full headers.
Could the recipient's inbox be full? Could the recipient not know how to pick up email? Don't assume you are the only person having trouble.
Do you send a message with an attachment that might be rejected? Or of such size that it was rejected? Or might it have been filtered by an overzealous spam filter?
Did it go to AOL? AOL is rejecting all sorts of email now... the AOL recipient must put you in their whitelist. We CANNOT troubleshoot AOL issues. All we can suggest is that if this is important email, do not send it to an AOL address.
These are just a few common problems. But let us say here that MOST problems have NOTHING to do with your hosting server. "Broken" inboxes are vary rare. Badly configured email programs are FAR FAR more common.
WARNING: We will help when we can, but be aware that asking us to install your email program and teach it to you is WAY beyond the scope of our support services, and we may ask you to buy paid support if you repeatedly ask us to solve email problems that are not hosting-related.
Email to me bounced... are certain attachments not permitted?
We use Exim for email management. It is configured to block attachments of the following types:
ade adp bas bat chm cmd com cpl crt eml exe hlp hta inf ins isp jse lnk mdb mde msc msi msp mst pcd pif reg scr sct shs url vbs vbe wsf wsh wsc
E-mails including blocked attachment types will not be delivered, but will instead bounce back to the sender, with an "attachment not permitted" message.
This filtering is intended to protect you from file types commonly exploited for worms and viruses.
If you need to send a file with one of these types, ZIP it up.
I have a virus!
You have our sympathy.
Make sure you HAVE a virus, not just email backwash from someone who used your email address to send virus spam.
Have you installed a good virus protection program, and, more importantly, do you update its files at least daily? DAILY. Not once a month. Many virus programs now have automatic update features, so you don't have to remember to do it.
WE CANNOT HELP YOU DETECT AND REPAIR VIRUS OR INTRUSION PROBLEMS. Do we filter some attachments at the server level, but you MUST run your own virus protection and/or firewall.
I am confused about POP3 accounts, forwarders, and autoresponders.
You are NOT alone. Look at these examples and see if it helps:
1. Create a POP3 account called "jimbob@domain.com". All mail sent to "jimbob@domain.com" will go to that POP3 account.
2. Create a forwarding address (alias) called "susan@domain.com". DO NOT create a "susan@domain.com" POP3 account. All mail sent to "susan@domain.com" will be forwarded to wherever you've specified.
3. Create an autoresponder address called "chuck@domain.com". DO NOT create "chuck@domain.com" POP3 account or a "chuck@domain.com" forwarding alias. All mail sent to "chuck@domain.com" will go nowhere, but the sender will receive the autoresponse message.
4. Create a POP3 account called "jimbob@domain.com". Create a forwarding address (alias) called "jimbob@domain.com". Create an autoresponder address called "jimbob@domain.com". All mail sent to "jimbob@domain.com" will be go into the POP3 account AND a copy will be forwarded to wherever you've specified AND the sender will receive the autoresponse message.
Remember that mal for a POP3 account sits on the server until you either A) download it to an email program like Outlook, Eudora, or Pegasus; or B) access it using a webmail program and read/delete/forward it. We offer three webmail programs: NeoMail, Horde, and SquirrelMail.
Why can't I email people at AOL?
UPDATE - January 2007: Be aware that since AOL has become a free email provider, the level of customer support has gone down even further. The firing of thousands of support employees was widely reported in the press. AOL has become even less likely to be able to respond to complaints about blocking legitimate email. If you use AOL for business email, we cannot assure the delivery of email under any circumstances. If you need a free email address, we recommend Google's Gmail, which has much better spam -handling policies.
ALERT: AOL 9.0 blocks a lot of the legitimate email that AOLers receive. Try to contact the AOL user by phone and ask them to put you in their address book, so AOL is more likely to let your email through. Let them know that they are not receiving email that they would want to get.
AOL continues to be a very poor choice for business emails. It is a consumer entertainment platform, not a business platform. AOL is not at all responsive to contact from the rest of the Internet industry, so it is nearly impossible to solve problems with them. If your AOL friend is a business person, let them know that they are probably missing orders, receipts, newsletters they have requested, and other messages from friends and clients.
If your only problem with email is that you cannot reach someone at AOL, please be aware that we do not consider this to be a hosting support issue. It is an AOL support issue, and can only be resolved by the person you want to reach.
My email list is growing. Do I need to do anything differently?
If your email list is starting is getting to 300+ subscribers, it is time to think about that. Shared servers are not the best environment for moderate-large lists.
Let's assume your list is still in the 500-1000 subscriber range:
I would read this article about picking a list host:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=2221
It's geared to larger lists from big corporations, but much of the advice holds true for smaller lists. You can also buy a detailed report about list hosts there, but it is again geared to larger email operations. If you do a lot with email newsletters, I heartily recommend signing up for the free EmailSherpa newsletter.
Look at these options (last price-checked Oct '03):
Intellicontact
Up to 500 subscribers for $10/mo
http://www.intellicontact.com/
Constant Contact
Up to 250 subscribers for $10/mo
Free 60-day trial for 100 subscribers
http://constantcontact.com/
Zinester
Up to 10,000 messages per month for under $10.
http://www.zinester.com/
When you grow, there are more sophisticated feature-laden services.
Avoid Yahoo and Topica (which have paid ad-free services) because their IPs tend to get blocked. And don't use a free service... you get no support and they are often blacklisted.
If the list is part of a website that is growing overall, it might be time to think about hosting the site differently... ask us about VPS and managed server options.
What do you mean I'm spamming!?
The fact of the matter is that YOU may not think so, but
I might have to treat you like a spammer unless you follow
some rules. A respected Gryphyn Media client recently found
itself in serious hot water over this. Use their painful
lesson to your advantage.
Spam is generally "bulk unsolicited commercial email."
TRUE OR FALSE?
"Real spammers send out millions of emails. I am only
sending 250 or so. It will not be considered spam."
False. There is no minimum number to be considered a "bulk"
mailer. Obviously, large mailings get examined more closely.
But if you send out 50 emails, and we receive spam
complaints, it can be considered spam. I may not know if you
are deliberately sending email, or if you have been
hijacked, but a big blast of email can slow down a shared
server for everyone. Be a good neighbor and use an email
list management program that spreads out the mailing in
smaller batches. Talk to me when you plan a big mailing.
Another rule of thumb: don't use Outlook for big mailings;
it's the wrong tool and will annoy your ISP.
TRUE OR FALSE?
"I have carefully assembed a list of people in my industry
who would WANT to know what I am telling them... it is news,
not spam."
False. The key word here is "solicited." They did not ask
for the mail. You do not have their permission to decide
what they need to know and send them email about it. If you
blast out an email announcement, you are spamming. You need
to contact them a few at a time and ASK them to join your
newsletter list... if they don't find your offer attractive,
do NOT email them again!
TRUE OR FALSE?
"I am not a marketing business. I am sending out email to
my own contacts. No one will come after me for that."
False. The recent CAN-SPAM Act just went into effect. ISPs
and hosts are on alert. The law is confusing and inexact;
it does not exclude newsletters. The big ISPs like AOL,
Yahoo and Hotmail do not care if your email has "commercial"
content. They only check how big your mailing is, whether
your recipients "whitelisted" you, and how many reported you
as spam (fairly or not). Be extremely careful with a new
domain name... you are not on ANYone's whitelist when you
are new. Ask me how to get permission from people you want
to email.
If we get spam alerts, or complaints from the big ISPs, they
will threaten to blacklist our whole IP block. We will have
no choice but to shut you down, even if your mistake was innocent. We are all part of a network, and email from our servers CAN be blocked by important carriers if we do not respond to spam complaints by taking action.
We MUST act to protect everyone on the server. You MUST
become literate about email and spam issues. Or you may be
considered part of the problem that plagues us all.
We will be providing more details about these issues as they develop. Make sure you read the newsletters that we send.
How can I keep my email address from being harvested from my website?
Sick of having your email addresses harvested from your website? Here is a little trick for hiding them in plain view. Convert the "regular" ASCII characters to Unicode and use that in place of your email address in the HTML code. Simple tool to generate Unicode for your addresses:
http://gryphynmedia.com/emailhide.html
How can transfer large files to other people without using email?
Email is not the right tool to transfer large images and other files. In fact, email with attachments may be filtered out completely at the receiving end. Use an upload/download manager. Here is one that is easy to install, easy to configure and customize, easy transfer of files between you and your associates.
Demo: http://gryphynmedia.com/fileupload/
Username: upload
Password: demo
Download here: Peak Development
You will see that the maximum file size can be changed in the script, but if you want to upload files larger than 2Mb (the default PHP file size limit) you will have to add new settings to your .htacess file.
Here is an example for a 10 Mb limit... you can see where to make changes if you need a higher limit. Don't forget that these files count toward your storage limit:
php_value max_execution_time 1200
php_value memory_limit 10M
php_value post_max_size 10M
php_value upload_max_filesize 10M
What are my POP3 and SMTP settings?
POP3: yourdomain.com
SMTP: yourdomain.com
DO ENABLE SMTP AUTHENTICATION. On Outlook, this is a checkbox that says, "Outgoing Server Authentication." Check it. Use your EMAIL username and password to fill in the settings. If you do not use Outlook, check the instructions for your email program. You MUST use an email program that allows SMTP Authentication (most do, unless they are old versions).
Do not confuse this with "SECURE Server Authentication." That is something else entirely, even though it has a similar name.
Test your email by using another email account, or having someone send you mail that you return to them. If you can receive but not SEND mail, try changing the SMTP setting to mail.yourISP.net
(Because that means your ISP has their relays blocked, which is increasingly common, and a good practice.)
If you have VerizonDSL, for instance, use mail.verizon.com (or whatever they specify), and use SMTP Authentication. Again, SMTP Authentication is called "Outgoing Server Authentication" in Outlook and you click "Settings" to enter your ISP username and password (the same one that signs you onto the internet).
So, you are going to use SMTP Authentication no matter what... the question is whether your ISP requires it (and you must then use the user/pass THEY assigned you) or whether you are just using your email account user/pass that you set up on your domain control panel.
I have a BIG email list... can you host it?
Probably, unless it is *very* large. We will need to talk about the details before I can give you a price.
There are also hundreds of list hosting services you might consider. As a host, I tend to use in-house solutions, so I do not have direct experience with a wide variety of list hosts.
If you want to consider that, here is a "buying guide" for finding a list host. Might be very useful for making such an important decision, but you can use the list on that page to check out some other companies.
You (and/or your client) should consider subscribing to EmailSherpa's newsletter... it is a top-rated resource for organizations that market with email. It's free and they send case studies, articles about various techniques, reports on regulations that affect email marketers, etc.
What are the options for sending an email list or newsletter?
1. Using DESKTOP software. This includes Outlook, Entourage, and other
email clients, but also includes contact managers like ACT, and assorted
marketing and client mangement packages. They are have one thing in
common: they use your ISP (your internet connection) to send email. If
you should be accused to sending spam, your ISP will shut down your WHOLE
account and will be resistant to restoring your service, which disrupts
your business in a major way until you get a new provider. I have seen
this happen... and ISPs are under increasing pressure to control spam. Don't use this if you have more than 50 subscribers.
2. Using your HOSTED domain account (or server). This involves installing
software that you use to personally manage your own list, like PHPlist, DadaMail, and other free or purchased packages. This gets it
away from your ISP, without putting it in someone else's hands. There are
a lot of good programs; I like PHPlist and DadaMail best. You will have a
lot of tools you don't get using Entourage: list templates, much better
bounce handling, sunscriber opt-in and opt-out (which helps meet the
requirements of the federal CAN-SPAM act), multiple list admininstration,
mesage archiving and lots more. Your regular domain account can handle this for lists of 10-500 maybe larger, with batch handling). Ask us for help. We have options for larger lists, including a larger osting account on a higher-volume server or VPS account.
3. Using GRYPHYN MEDIA. We can give you a price for managing a list of almost any size. On a hosted domain, on a managed server, or using out list hosting partner. We will send you a list-hositng questionnaire on request.
4. Using a LIST HOST. Here is where you can get some powerful and
affordable list mangement tools without building and maintaining them
yourself... but here is also where you can lose control of your list.
Someone else has to HAVE the list to host it for you. If you go this
route, just be sure to choose a well-known list host, where you can feel
confident that they are more interested in being known as a good list host
than in making money in the background by selling it. Do no choose the
least expensive provider for this. Search this FAQ for "list" to find recommendations for selecting a list host.
How can I add an SPF record for my domain?
Use a wizard to create the record, then paste it into a helpdesk ticket. We will add it to your DNS file. There is a handy wizard, and more information about SPF records, at OpenSPF.
We recommend making SPF records for each of your domains, and encourage your clients to do so as well. A common obstacle is that even expert email users do not know how their email is sent, so they do not know how to answer the SPF questions. Non-expert users will need assistance. Be sure to see the list of Common Mistakes at the OpenSPF website.
You can enter a generic SPF record that allows all SMTP server to send email from you, as a temporary measure:
v=spf1 +all
If you have hosted domains that do not send email at all - no POP3 accounts or aliases - you should publish a null record, to help stop the use the domain by spammers:
v=spf1 -all
Where can I find a good tell-a-friend referral script?
Let's look more closely at the idea, first. The current state of spam and email delivery has killed much of the utility of referral forms.
Referral scripts are notoriously easy to exploit. Even when they are used by "real" people to send messages to their friends, they are still sending unsolicited email that the receipient did not request - that makes it real spam. It often gets reported as spam to ISPs like AOL and gmail, leading to them block or spam-folder ALL email from your domain or IP.
What are you trying to achieve with the form? If you want to collect new addresses for marketing, this is a bad way, since you don't have the permission of the recipient to email them again (you didn't even have their permission the first time).
If you truly believe that site visitors need help telling their friends about you, an alternative is to offer to send them something to forward to their personal email lists. Let them sign up for a white paper, or a newsletter, or some other resource feed they can blog about or forward by email. Or add a member sign-up that lets them receive notices about events, discounts, member-only articles, or genuine on-topic news that they will want to send to their friends on their own. Don't use an autoresponder for white paper delivery - use a sign-up script (see HotScripts.com for examples) that collects the email addresses neatly, records the request, lets them opt in to a newsletter, and lets you follow up.
If you install a script for either sign-up or a referral form - or ANY form these days - make sure it has a graphic validation feature that makes the user enter random characters from an image at the bottom of the form - I am sure you have seen examples of that. Use only recently developed or updated scripts that are more likely to have enhanced security features.
Also, make sure the form sends the email honestly from a real POP3 account on your domain, rather than spoofing the address of the referrer - that will get much of your email blocked before it goes anywhere at all. Also, by using your own 'from' address, you will receive the bounces and abuse reports, so you can quickly see if your form is being exploited or your email blocked.
But don't rely on those security features:
Real example: A regional candidate for office had a referral form that let supporters send a campaign platform message to their friends. But the opposing candidate had a fleet of volunteers exploit the form by manually sending thousands of individual referral messages to AOL addresses, using the voter data list of the opposing party - so they were promptly reported as spam, leading AOL to block the entire server. Lots of consumers (and voters, and campaign volunteers) are AOL users, so that hurt everyone on the server. Ouch.
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