Mail Related Questions

This is an collection of Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for the UC Davis Math Dept.

• How can I use Thunderbird 2.x with my Math Department email account using IMAP/SSL
• How can I further restrict my spam-score threshold? (pine/mutt)
• How can I make a thunderbird email filter?
• How can I make mutt display html files as text, or make it not run netscape?
• How do I forward email from my math account to elsewhere?
• How do I make pine use a high constrast display?
• How do I set the reply-to field in pine?
• How do I set up an automated vacation message?
• How do forward mail from my @ucdavis.edu address to my @math.ucdavis.edu account?
• How does Mathematics filter spam and virus email?
• Is there authenticated smtp? How can I send mail from outside the department?
• Is there web-based email?
• OSX Mail keeps asking me about an SSL certificate.
• What are the math mail servers?
• What email clients do you support or suggest using?
• Why do I get these strange bounced messages about messages I never sent?
• Why does finger say I read my mail at 3am when I didn't?

The instructions below are for using Thunderbird 2.x with your Math Department email using IMAP/SSL.

Basic IMAP Setup

1. Go to the 'File' menu, select 'New', then select 'Account...'. The 'Account Wizard' window will appear.
2. You are now at the 'New Account Setup' pane of the 'Account Wizard'.
   1. Select 'Email account'. Click the 'Next' button.
3. You are now at the 'Identity' pane of the 'Account Wizard'.
   1. Enter your full name as you want it to appear in outgoing messages in 'Your Name:'.
   2. Enter your math department address in 'Email Address:'.
   3. Click the 'Next' button.
4. You are now at the 'Server Information' pane of the 'Account Wizard'.
   1. Select 'IMAP'.
   2. Enter 'mail.math.ucdavis.edu' in 'Incoming Server:'.
   3. Enter 'smtp.math.ucdavis.edu' in 'Outgoing Server:' if prompted.
   4. Click the 'Next' button.
5. You are now at the 'User Names' pane of the 'Account Wizard'.
   1. Enter your math username in 'Incoming User Name:' and 'Outgoing User Name:'.
   2. Click the 'Next' button.
6. You are now at the 'Account Name' pane of the 'Account Wizard'.
   1. Leave the 'Account Name:' at the default. Click the 'Next' button.
7. You are now at the 'Congratulations' pane of the 'Account Wizard'.
   1. Verify your settings. Click the 'Finish' button.

Turn on SSL for IMAP (incoming mail)

1. (Linux) Go to the 'Edit' menu and select 'Account Settings...'. The 'Account Settings' window will appear.
   (MacOSX/Windows) Go to the 'Tools' menu and select 'Account Settings...'. The 'Account Settings' window will appear.
2. Select 'Server Settings' for your math account in the 'Account Settings' window.
3. Under 'Security Settings', select 'SSL'. The 'Port' above should change to '993'.
4. Click the 'Advanced...' button. The 'Advanced Account Settings' window will appear.
   1. Uncheck 'Show only subscribed folders'.
   2. Uncheck 'Allow server to override these namespaces.
   3. Make sure that 'IMAP server directory', 'Personal
   4. namespace', 'Public (shared)', and 'Other Users' are blank.
   5. Click the 'OK' button. You are now back at the 'Account Settings' window.
5. Click the 'OK' button. You are now back in the main Thunderbird window.

Turn on SSL for SMTP (outgoing mail)

1. (Linux) Go to the 'Edit' menu and select 'Account Settings...'. The 'Account Settings' window will appear.
   (MacOSX/Windows) Go to the 'Tools' menu and select 'Account Settings...'. The 'Account Settings' window will appear.
2. Select 'Outgoing Server (SMTP)' in the 'Account Settings' window.
3. Select your SMTP server for math 'smtp.math.ucdavis.edu'.
4. Click the 'Edit...' button.
5. Under 'Use secure connection:', select 'SSL'. The 'Port' above should change to '465'.
6. Check 'Use name and password'.
7. Enter your math username for 'User Name:'.
8. Click the 'OK' button. You are now back at the 'Account Settings' window.
9. Click the 'OK' button. You are now back in the main Thunderbird window.

You can set up a filter for the "X-Spam-Level" header our mail server puts into your messages.

The two headers we add are "X-Spam-Score" and "X-Spam-Level".

The following is an example .procmailrc file that filters mail with an X-Spam-Level header with 5 or more asterisks to the folder spam/system-spam-assassin. This .procmailrc file would go in your home directory. It is most useful for those using pine or mutt.

PATH=$HOME/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/opt/local/bin:.
MAILDIR=$HOME/mail # You had better make sure it exists
DEFAULT=/var/spool/mail/$LOGNAME
LOGFILE=$HOME/proc.log

# Catch SPAM
:0
* ^X-Spam-Level: \*\*\*\*\*
spam/system-spam-assassin

You can set up a similar filter in other email programs such as Thunderbird or Mail.app. The proc.log file keeps a record of what email it filters, and where it gets put.

~/mail/spam/

OSA has a great tutorial on creating thunderbird email filters.

http://opensourcearticles.com/thunderbird_15/english/part_07

Create a text file in your directory called .mailcap with the following:

################ CUT HERE TOP ###########################################

text/html; w3m -dump -T text/html; copiousoutput

############# CUT HERE BOTTOM #######################################

Here is a procmail rule that will forward your mail if you paste it into a file named .procmailrc in your home directory. Be sure to change THIS_ADDRESS and FORWARD_ADDRESS variables in the USER_DEFINED_VARIABLES sections.

################ CUT HERE TOP ###########################################
PATH=$HOME/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/opt/local/bin:.
MAILDIR=$HOME/mail # You had better make sure it exists
DEFAULT=/var/spool/mail/$LOGNAME
LOGFILE=$HOME/proc.log

#### USER_DEFINED_VARIABLES
THIS_ADDRESS=your-mailid-here@math.ucdavis.edu
FORWARD_ADDRESS=some-other-mailid@somewhere.else.dom


####    Utility recipe
#       - Forward all mail to FORWARD_ADDRESS
#       - Also stops mail loops
# :0 h b forwards without storing a copy in your math account.
# To forward and save a copy in your math account, use ':0 h b c' instead

:0 h b
* !^X-Loop: $THIS_ADDRESS
| /usr/sbin/sendmail -oi $FORWARD_ADDRESS

:0:$HOME/.lockmail
$DEFAULT
############# CUT HERE BOTTOM #######################################

> Hi,
> When using pine the contrast of the text is rather low, which
> makes it hard to read. Outside pine (in the same terminal) the contrast
> is fine. Do you know how to fix this?

Run pine
Choose S setup
Choose K color
Check no-color
Choose E exit
Choose Y to commit changes

[Zachariah Johnson]

1) Go to your Pine SETUP CONFIGURATION menu by typing 'S' and 'C' at
Pine's Main Menu. 

2) Search (using 'W'hereIs) for the string "customized-hdrs". You should
find the following line: 

	customized-hdrs          = 

3) Change the value by pressing 'C' and enter the string "Reply-To"
followed by . 

4) Exit and save your changes.

5) Now when you compose an email message, type ^R (Rich Hdr) while your
cursor is in the message header and you should see the Reply-To line. Fill
in the address you would like people to respond to. 

Make sure that the Mail directory exists in your home directory, and that you have two plain text files:

• .vacation with your vacation message
• .signature with your mail signature

################ CUT HERE TOP ###########################################
PATH=$HOME/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/opt/local/bin:.
MAILDIR=$HOME/mail # You had better make sure it exists
DEFAULT=/var/spool/mail/$LOGNAME
LOGFILE=$HOME/proc.log

# This is actually two recipies. This is meant to go at the END of your 
# .procmailrc so it doesn't trigger on mailing lists that you're filtering 
# above.

# Will add the sender to the vacation cache if not already in the vacation
# cache
# FROM_DAEMON is a macro for a lot of "system" addresses. see the
# procmailrc man page for details

:0 Whc: vacation.lock
* !^FROM_DAEMON
* !^X-Loop: $LOGNAME@math.ucdavis.edu
| formail -rD 8192 vacation.cache

# Only run this rule if the last rule didn't match, meaning it will only mail 
# each user once.

:0 ehc         # if the name was not in the cache
| (formail -rA"Precedence: junk" \
-A"X-Loop: $LOGNAME@math.ucdavis.edu" ; \
cat $HOME/.vacation; \
echo ""; \
echo "-- "; cat $HOME/.signature \
) | $SENDMAIL -oi -t

############# CUT HERE BOTTOM #######################################

You can do it through the web with the UC Davis Computing Account Services Page

Choose the option: "Redirect your email address"

or

write email to postmaster@ucdavis.edu.

Dear Postmaster, 

Please forward all email from my central campus email account to my
math email account. 

dakouba@ucdavis.edu --> kouba@math.ucdavis.edu

Thanks!

Currently we use Spam Assassin to score spam, ClamAV to identify email containing viruses, and SpamCop to block email from IPs which are known to be spamming. We also block email which contains attachments with the file extensions exe, vbs, pif, scr, bat, cmd, and com.

This is subject to change as needed without notice.

[zdj]

We have authenticated smtp available with the server smtp.math.ucdavis.edu

We have a webmail system available at:

Mail asks if you want to accept an SSL certificate for each IMAP account. This happens each time Mail opens, even if you click Remember My Decision.

As a workaround, follow these steps. You need to log in using an administrator account first.

1. Click "Show certificate" when Mail asks if you want to accept the certificate.
2. Press the Option key while dragging the certificate to the desktop. The certificate's icon appears on the desktop.
3. Add the certificate to your keychain by dragging its icon on top of Keychain Access. Tip: Keychain Access is located in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities).
4. When Keychain Access opens, you may be prompted to select which keychain to import to. If this happens, choose a keychain and also select X509 Anchors.

Originally from http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25593

For incoming mail (POP and IMAP), your mail client should be set to the server: mail.math.ucdavis.edu

For outgoing mail...
...if you are in MSB use the server: smtp.math.ucdavis.edu

...if you are elsewhere on campus, or are dialing in to the core campus modems, use the server: smtp.ucdavis.edu

...if you are connecting through an ISP, use the outgoing mail server provided by your ISP.

Our favorite and best supported email clients are:

• Mutt - One of the very best email clients with a text user interface. This is run by opening a terminal window and running the mutt command.
• Thunderbird - One of the very best email clients with a graphical user interface. It should be installed on all math systems and can be run on the diskless systems by navigating the menus Applications->Internet->Thunderbird Mail. It can also be downloaded for free from http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/
• Webmail - The Math Dept Webmail program is really SquirrelMail which is a decent webmail program. It can be reached by going to https://webmail.math.ucdavis.edu/

These messages are a side effect of many of the Windows worms/viruses going around. Usually this is the scenario:

• A Windows computer out there has your email address on it as well as many others. Typically in the addressbook of the installed email program. This could be a computer used by any of your correspondents.
• That computer is infected with one of the thousands of email worms/viruses going around.
• The worm/virus harvests email addresses from the infected computer.
• The worm/virus sends out email to the addresses that have been harvested. It also forges the From address to be one of the other harvested addresses. This is to increase the likelihood of the recipient opening the message and attachment becuase it comes from a possibly familiar correspondent. The message has an attachment that, if opened, can infect the (usually Windows) computer receiving the message.
• Many mail servers scan and block infected email. They may also reply to the "From" address to notify the sender that their computer may be infected. However, in the case of forged messages, you would get the warning below even though you never sent the original infected message.

The best course of action when you are sure you did not send the original message is to delete the warnings.

Finger is just reporting the last time your mail spool was read, which normally would be only done by you. However our backup system reads the mail spool at night so it can copy it to tape. And the time it was accessed by the backup process is being reported.