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Email
Using Non-supported Clients
Definition of Terms
Storing Mail Locally
Common Settings
Configuring
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Information Security Office (ISO)
This document is intended to offer some assistance to campus affiliates who have chosen to use an e-mail client that is NOT supported by Computing Services. The Computing Services Help Center does not support the e-mail clients referenced here. Please follow these instructions at your own discretion.

Definition of Terms

The following are terms with which you will need to be familiar in order to configure an e-mail client.

Clear-text - An unencrypted method of transferring user ID and password information. Effective April 1, 2006, clear-text is prohibited on the campus servers, including the campus e-mail servers.

IMAP - The type of connection that the campus incoming mail server, Cyrus, prefers. By default, IMAP will store mail on the server. This allows you to read the same messages regardless of what computer you are accessing from.

LDAP - The Carnegie Mellon University directory. This allows your mail client to verify that a name/e-mail address is valid.

POP - A type of incoming mail server connection which downloads mail to your local computer by default. Pop is unsupported and not recommended. It prevents you from reading the same messages if you use a different computer. Note that you can configure some mail clients so that the POP server stores mail on the server.

SMTP - The outgoing/send mail server.

SMTP Auth - Enables you to send mail through Carnegie Mellon University, using your Andrew ID, regardless of how you are connected to the network. SMTP Auth also allows you to post to restricted bboards.

SSL or TLS-SSL (Secure Socket Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security)are forms of encryption that protect your userID and password as they travel over the network. They are used on both our incoming and outgoing mail servers. 

Unsupported Mail Clients

Eudora - Not recommended because of its poor ability to deal with Carnegie Mellon University bboards.

Apple Mail - When configured properly to use SSL, this can be an acceptable client for use on Mac computers. Additional information on configuring Apple Mail for use on campus can be found at the http://www.cmu.edu/computing/doc/email/applemail/.

Mozilla - When configured properly to use SSL or TLS, this can be an acceptable client for use on Windows or Mac computers.
 
Netscape - Both versions 4 and 6 are extremely slow performing certain tasks, such as reading/finding bboards at Carnegie Mellon.
 
Netscape 4 - Not recommended as it will give a "No User Certificate" error every time you send mail; the only choice is "OK". The mail will be sent, but the error message is annoying.

Netscape 6 - Not recommended or supported as the underlying browser.

Outlook Express - This mail client has no security/antivirus functionality built-in. Due to the way it auto-runs certain scripts embedded in HTML, it is commonly used to propagate viruses.

Thunderbird - When configured properly to use SSL or TLS, this can be an acceptable client for use on Windows or Mac computers. Additional information on configuring Thunderbird for use on campus can be found at the http://www.cmu.edu/computing/doc/email/thunderbird/.

Last Updated: 1/4/07