Mail software changes - Enabling SMTP authentication

 

Important changes to your mail software settings

As part of our ongoing commitment to security, we are continually reviewing security measures to protect your website and email. Most of these changes happen behind the scenes and do not require any action on your behalf.

On June 13, 2005, we will be adding an additional layer of security (SMTP authentication) to your email accounts. This change will ensure that only users that know the username and password for one of your POP accounts (including the catch-all account) can send mail through your domain name.

You will need to make the changes to your mail software settings before June 15, 2005. If you do not make the changes you may be unable to send mail after that date.

Please read below to see if you will be required to make any changes. If you are required to make any changes, step-by-step instructions are provided on how to make the changes.

Am I required to make any changes?

You WILL be required to make changes if:

  • You currently send mail using mail software (e.g. Outlook Express, Eudora, The Bat! etc) on your home or office computer, PDA etc.

The scenario above will apply to most clients. If this is the case for you, please skip down to the section below titled: What changes do I need to make?

You WILL NOT be required to make any changes if any of the following apply:

  • Mail for your domain is not sent through our servers i.e. you use your own (or a third party) mail server
  • You do not send mail through your domain i.e. from addresses @yourdomain.com. For instance, you may use a third-party email account (such as a Hotmail account or email address provided by your ISP) to send all of your mail
  • You use Bigfoot WebMail to send mail

If it is the case that you will not be required to make any changes, you do not need to read any further.

What changes do I need to make?

In order to continue to send mail after July 1st, you will need to adjust your mail software settings so that your mail software is aware that your outgoing SMTP server requires authentication. This is a quick change which should only take a few minutes. Instructions are below.

You will need to enable SMTP authentication for each mail software package that you use to send mail (so if you send mail from home and also from your office, you will need to adjust your mail software settings on both computers). You will also need to enable SMTP authentication for each POP email account that you use to send mail.

Below is a list of common mail software packages. Clicking on the mail software that you are using will take you to detailed instructions for enabling SMTP authentication in that mail software.

Outlook Express

  • From the Tools menu select Accounts. This will bring up the Accounts window
  • Select the email account you wish to enable SMTP authentication for and click on the Properties button
  • Click the Servers Tab
  • Select the My server requires authentication checkbox
  • Click the Settings button
  • Ensure that the Logon Information is set to Use same settings as my incoming mail server

    NOTE: If the address that you are sending from is not the catch-all or a POP account for your domain, you should set Logon information to Log on using, then enter the username/password details for an existing POP account for your domain into the Account Name and Password fields.
  • Click OK for all windows that are currently open

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Outlook Express and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Outlook 2000

To enable SMTP authentication in Outlook 2000, please follow the steps below:

  • From the Tools menu select Accounts. This will bring up the Accounts window
  • Select the email account you wish to enable SMTP authentication for and click on the Properties button
  • Click the Servers Tab
  • Select the My server requires authentication checkbox
  • Click the Settings button
  • Ensure that the Logon Information is set to Use same settings as my incoming mail server

    NOTE: If the address that you are sending from is not the catch-all or a POP account for your domain, you should set Logon information to Log on using, then enter the username/password details for an existing POP account for your domain into the Account Name and Password fields.
  • Click OK for all windows that are currently open

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Outlook and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Outlook 2002 (Outlook XP)

To enable SMTP authentication in Outlook 2002 (Outlook XP), please follow the steps below:

  • From the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts
  • Select View or change existing e-mail accounts and click the Next button
  • Select the email account you wish to enable SMTP authentication for and click the Change button
  • In the E-mail Accounts window click the More Settings... button
  • Click the Outgoing Server tab
  • Click to select the My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication check box
  • Click to select the Use same settings as my incoming mail server option

    NOTE: If the address that you are sending from is not the catch-all or a POP account for your domain, in the Outgoing Server tab you should select to Log on using, then enter the username/password details for an existing POP account for your domain into the Account Name and Password fields.
  • Click the OK button
  • Click the Next button on the E-mail Accounts window
  • Click Finish to complete the configuration changes

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Outlook and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Outlook 5 for Mac

Outlook Express 5.01 users

The SMTP authentication feature is missing in Outlook Express 5.01 for Mac.

This has been updated in versions 5.02 and onwards as released by Microsoft.

A free download of the updated version can be found on the MicroSoft website by clicking here..

In order to enable SMTP authentication in Outlook 5 for Mac, please follow the steps below:

  • From the Tools menu, select Accounts, that brings up the Accounts window
  • Double-click on the email account that is listed on the Mail tab, that brings up the Edit Account window
  • In the Sending Mail section, click on the Click here for Advanced Options button (it may be hard to see)
  • Click to select the SMTP server requires authentication checkbox
  • Click the bullet Use same settings as incoming mail server

    NOTE: If the address that you are sending from is not the catch-all or a POP account for your domain, you should select Log on using, then enter the username/password details for an existing POP account for your domain into the Account ID and Password fields.
  • Click on the little box in the upper left hand corner to close this window
  • Click OK

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Outlook and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Eudora (for Mac)

In order to enable SMTP authentication in Eudora (for Mac), please follow the steps below:

  • From the Special menu choose Settings
  • Click on Sending Mail
  • Check the Allow Authorization checkbox
  • Click OK

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Eudora and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Eudora (for Windows)

In order to enable SMTP authentication in Eudora (for Windows), please follow the steps below:

  • From the Tools choose Options
  • Click on Getting Started
  • In the SMTP Server (Outgoing) area check the Allow Authentication checkbox
  • Click OK

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Eudora and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

The Bat!

In order to enable SMTP authentication in The Bat!, please follow the steps below:

  • From the Account menu, select Properties
  • Select the Transport item from the left hand menu
  • In Send Mail click the More button
  • Check the Perform SMTP authentication (RFC 2554) checkbox
  • Select the Use POP server Login option

    NOTE: If the address that you are sending from is not the catch-all or a POP account for your domain, you should select Use specific Login, then enter the username/password details for an existing POP account for your domain into the Account and Password fields.
  • Click OK for all windows that are currently open.

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down The Bat! and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Apple Mail

In order to enable SMTP authentication in Apple Mail, please follow the steps below:

  • From the Mail menu choose Preferences
  • On the lower right corner of the window, click on Server Settings... (under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)). If this option is not visible, make sure you have the correct mail account selected, and that the Accounts and Account Information tabs are selected.
  • Pull down the Authentication menu and select Password.
  • Enter your username and password.
  • Click OK.

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Apple Mail and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Netscape 7.1

In order to enable SMTP authentication in Netscape 7.1, please follow the steps below:

  • From the Edit menu, select Mail & Newsgroup Account Settings
  • Select Outgoing Server (SMTP)
  • Check the Username and password checkbox
  • Enter your username
  • Click OK for all windows that are currently open

Once you have completed the steps above, please close down Netscape and then restart it to ensure that the settings have taken effect. You may like to send a test message from the account that you just configured to check that SMTP authentication is working.

Other mail software

If your mail software was not specifically mentioned in the list above, you should still be able to enable SMTP authentication relatively easily. We would recommend that you:

  • Consult the user manual / help guide for your mail software for instructions on enabling SMTP authentication
  • Browse your mail software settings to find where you can enable SMTP authentication
  • Perform a web search for articles on enabling SMTP authentication in your mail software
  • Contact the software vendor of your mail software for further assistance