Email Setup

What is SMTP?

Smtp stands for simple mail transfer protocol and is used for mail delivery to the mail server.
You have probably arrived here because you have received a report of suspicious email sending from your ADSL service.

What does this report you received mean?

This report is generated when the ISP servers detect that you are attempting to send email overseas using port 25 which is used for unsecured email delivery and because the servers are not clever enough (too much info to keep track of) if this is legitimate use or if it is malware (a worm, a trojan or root kit infection) trying to send spam, we like most email providers block this activity to protect our reputation and yours too most probably.

If you see just one or maybe two IP numbers reported it is most probable you have a email account with an overseas provider and if you get a whole list of IP numbers it is more likely you have something nasty desperately trying to max out your ADSL bill.

You also need to take into account if you have a friend from overseas visiting and using your ADSL connection they will most likely trigger this report when they attempt to send mail with their "normal" settings !

TIP open a command window and put: ping -a xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (xxx = the ip number from your email) to return a ping with the hostname to see if you recognise the destination.
On apple go to your networking apps do a ping or traceroute
OR
go here http://www.mxtoolbox.com/ and investigate. (do the smtp test) to get info.
this is a useful site for all sorts of things like checking DNS from out there in WWW land.

What do I need to do?

Well if you don't have an overseas visitor in your house or you don't have an internet based email account administered by a email client, then you have an internet based overseas villain hiding in your computer which means you probably should evict it before it invites its friends to help it party! That is get your computer checked for Malware by your support person.

More likely you have someone visiting or have not set your/their non local email account correctly. There are two possible solutions:
The First Preferred method requires you to find out the settings you need to connect or authenticate securely to your/their non local email provider and put these in the accounts settings. Go to your email providers website and search for smtp settings or even the FAQ section. Normally you have to insert smtp server name, check the box for authenticate and change the port used, away from 25!
Below you may find Links to known email provider help pages, that we have found.

The second one is simpler but does not always work and that is to use our local smtp server smtp.ninet.nf to do your sending for you. Because you are connected by ADSL the mail server assumes you are OK and will send your mail for you and because it is known by its peers they too will except mail sent this way. We only recommend this method as a temporary or cheap fix only! (AOL, Lycos and Mail.com appear to be happy with this)
SPF filtering may be a problem here, hence the aprehension with using it.
To achieve this you need to go to your account setup windows and set smtp.ninet.nf as your SMTP server for "this" account. Do not adjust your POP/IMAP (incoming) settings you still need these as they are! And don't forget your previous settings as you will need them when you are not here on Norfolk Island!

LINKS

For Gmail customers see here http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=13287
Has pictorial step thru's for the common email clients handy if you are not with Gmail also.
A handy site for settings email server settings for the more common email providers.

Please send us the URL for email types not listed above so we can assist others or if any changes ([email protected])

For NiNet customers

What do I need to do if I travel (with my portable computer) regularly?

AUTHENTICATED
If you travel frequently and would like to set your portable computer to send using our mail server like normal, you need to do the same procedure as outlined above but for NiNet.
first open your accounts window and (it could be in more/advanced settings) set the "my outgoing server requires authentication" to on/yes and use same settings as incoming mail. Then you need to go to the advanced/ports section and change SMTP port from 25 to 17025.
save and exit (OK/NEXT) and you are all set. this will work both here on Norfolk Island and anywhere on the internet. This signs you onto the mail server Authenticated. (for sending and receiving)

SECURE
If you use what you consider to be insecure internet connections or would like to secure your mail transactions there is the similar procedure to the above except use port 465 for SMTP and 995 for POP,993 for IMAP and check the use SSL/TLS option also.
NOTE when you first connect you will be asked to accept a certificate to enable encryption, also note this certificate is not issued by a certificate authority so don't worry! it is simply used to enable encryption (secure connection to the mail server) Probably better to test this before you wend your way from our peaceful Island.

WEBMAIL
Remember too you can use http://webmail.ninet.nf also, anywhere anytime online, Just make sure you know your full email address and password before you depart our lovely shores as it can be embarrassing for both of us, as we need to keep your security in mind so call in or call us before you leave if you can't remember your password. Otherwise we may need to ask some tricky question to verify ID, if you contact us from overseas!

IMAP
Imap has always been available and works well now (there was a firewall rule missing prior to sept 2015, affecting overseas access) IMAP works similar to webmail (the mail resides on the mail server) and is the default style for most portable devices

PASSWORD
We cannot access your password,we can only reset it, so we require you to be identifiable (we just might recognize your voice) and a new password from you, if you can't remember your old one. We are also nervous about resetting passwords remotely (when you are remote/away) naturally as we have to protect your security and our reputation.

NORMAL SETTINGS
the settings for normal workings are:
sending server = smtp.ninet.nf
receiving server = pop.ninet.nf
and of course your full email address for username and your password naturally.
ports set to default (POP3 110, SMTP 25) SSL not enabled.
Alternates IMAP 143, IMAP-SSL 993, POP3-SSL 995 (standard ports, should not need to set)