FAQ Mail

From Ctwiki

Contents 1 What are the host names of the IMAP and POP servers? 2 Which webmail do I have to use? 3 How to set vacation message? 4 How to set mail forwarding? 5 How to define mail delivery filter rules? 6 What to do with SPAM tagged mails? 7 Can I configure black and white lists for incoming mail to my account? 8 What is the maximum size of a message including attachments? 9 How to create a Mailman mailing list owned by you? 10 Do you want to know this?

What are the host names of the IMAP and POP servers?

• IMAP imap.nikhef.nl or imaps.nikhef.nl.

• POP pop3.nikhef.nl or pop3s.nikhef.nl.

Find here more information about mail client configuration setings.

Which webmail do I have to use?

Go to webmail.nikhef.nl. Use the Login form on the page and enter your single sign-on Nikhef account name and password to access your mail.

How to set vacation message?

Use webmail to set your vacation message:

• Login to the webmail client (select Dynamic mode)
• Select Filters from the menu on the left side.
• Select Vacation.
• Compose your vacation message.
• Save and enable.

How to set mail forwarding?

Use webmail to forward your mail:

• Login to the webmail client (select Dynamic mode)
• Select Filters from the menu on the left side.
• Select Forward.
• Enter forward addres(ses) into text box.
• Click check box "Keep a copy of messages in this account? " if you want to keep copies of the mails in your Nikhef account.

Note: The default sequence in the filter is first handle spam mail (store it into a folder, throw it away, etc) and then forward the (non-spam) mail.

How to define mail delivery filter rules?

Use webmail to define the filter rules for the delivery of the mail in your mail folders:

• Login to the webmail client (select Dynamic mode)
• Select Filters from the menu on the left side.
• Select Filter Rules.
• You will noticed some predefined rules, you can enable or disable these rules and add your own rules.

Note: Be aware of the sequence of the rules in the folder. For instance do not put your spam filtering rule at the end of the list.

The filter rules are processed on the IMAP server (effective for all mail clients you use).

Alternative methods are available for implementing filter rules into the Sieve mail filtering language, e.g via an extension for Thunderbird mail client or a command line interface for Linux. Be aware, do not mix different methods, changes might be overwritten.

What to do with SPAM tagged mails?

The SURFmailfilter takes a decision to tag a mail as SPAM or not (more info). You can decide what to do with SPAM tagged mails: nothing, store in folder or throw away.

• Do nothing: easy, mails labeled with '***SPAM***' in the header will be stored in your inbox folder.
• Store in a Folder: The default place to store your SPAM mails is the folder Spam. You have to configure a filter rule that does this job for you. There are many possibilities to do this, the following is recommended:
  • Login to webmail(select Dynamic mode)
  • Select Filters from the menu on the left side.
  • Select the Spam icon on the top of the page.
  • From the drop-down menu Folder to receive spam select the folder named Spam.
  • Optionally: modify the field Spam Level (only when you know what you are doing).
  • Activate the Spam rule by clicking on the button Save and Enable.
• Throw away: you have to define a specific filter rule which stores SPAM mails into the special folder /dev/null. Follow the steps as described in the previous question 'How to define mail delivery filter rules?'.

Can I configure black and white lists for incoming mail to my account?

Yes, you can! Use the SURFmailfilter do the job for you.

• Login into your personal web site of the external SURFmailfilter. Here you can find how to do this.
• Be sure the Enable customization option is enabled
• On the menu click Rules and select one submenu items, e.g. Senders to add a rule to always reject (black listing) or always accept (white listing) an e-mail address. You can add all kind of rules to the filter for the incoming mail. Be sure that you know what you are doing, consult CT helpdesk in case you need advise.

WARNING: It is not recommended to use the white listing in the webmail.nikhef.nl interface. The SURFmailfilter is the first level filtering. If this filter rejects a mail, you will never see the mail appear on the second level filter in the webmail.

What is the maximum size of a message including attachments?

The maximum message size for incoming and internal mail messages is set to 20MB. In the case you want to deal with larger attachments it is recommended to use a web-based file transfer service like dropbox or WeTransfer.

How to create a Mailman mailing list owned by you?

You can not create a Mailman type mailing list yourself, contact CT helpdesk to create one for you.

Do you want to know this?

• Mail migration information