Your Internet/Email Account
Configuring email programs for use at UMD
ITSS supports several email programs: Mulberry, Outlook OSX's Mail.app, and IMP Webmail. However, almost any email program, if properly configured, should work for working with your UMD email.
POP vs IMAP
There are two ways (protocols) an email program can use for viewing your email messages: POP and IMAP. Some email programs support just the POP protocol, some just IMAP, and some support both. UMD ITSS recommends using the IMAP protocol.
If you use the POP protocol you'll have the advantage of being able to download your mail and read it offline without tieing up your phone line. However, once downloaded (which can take quite a while with POP if you have a large amount of mail) your messages are then deleted from our mail server and only exists on the hard disk of the computer you used your POP program on. This means you'll have to be at that computer to view those messages again. POP programs also cannot access any saved mailboxes you've created on the mail server using IMAP programs including mailboxes that might get automatically moved to your saved mailbox area on the mail system if your Inbox gets too large.
Some email programs such as OSX's Mail.app, Entourage, and Outlook can use IMAP and still have the advantages of POP. These programs store copies of your Inbox and server mailboxes on your local hard disk so that you can still access them when not connected to the Internet. Changes made on each end are synchronized in both directions when you connect to the Internet again.
The following table lists some common email programs and features.
| Program | POP Support? |
IMAP Support? |
Remote Preferences and Addressbooks? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mulberry | No | Yes | Yes |
| IMP Webmail | No | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook | Yes | Yes | No |
| OSX Mail.app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Firefox | Yes | Yes | No |
| Eudora | Yes | Yes | No |
| Entourage | Yes | Yes | No |
Configuration settings
IMPORTANT NOTE: Beginning Fall 2006 all email programs will need o be configured to use secure IMAP and SMTP settings. Mulberry users will also have to download and reinstall Mulberry in order to connect securely to Mulberry's IMSP preference server. More information and configuration instructions for various email programs is available on our Secure email page.
If you connect to the Internet from a different ISP (cable modem or DSL) and are not using secure settings, you will need to run our Virtual Private Network (VPN) software or make some configuration changes to your SMTP server setting. As of Summer 2006 all email programs will need to be configured to use secure settings and VPN will no longer be necessary for sending email. For other security reasons ITSS does recommend using VPN if you are not using an on-campus ethernet connection.
To configure the incoming (IMAP or POP) and outgoing (SMTP) server settting in your email program for use at UMD, you just need to know a few server addresses and (for IMAP programs) the path to your saved mailboxes.
| Server/path | Setting for access from UMD on-campus, modem dial-in, using VPN, or using secure server settings |
Setting for access from other ISPs if you ARE NOT using VPN or secure server settings. |
|---|---|---|
| IMAP (Incoming) mail server> | imap.d.umn.edu (secure settings) | imap.d.umn.edu (secure) |
| POP (incoming) mail server | pop.d.umn.edu (secure settings) | pop.d.umn.edu (secure) |
| SMTP (Outgoing) mail server | smtp.d.umn.edu (secure settings) | Charter: mail.charter.net CPInternet: mail.cpinternet.com Others: check with your ISP provider |
| Saved mailbox path (for IMAP) | ~/Mail/ | ~/Mail/ |
For email questions and help with email issues, contact the UMD ITSS Help Desk (726-8847, helpdesk@d.umn.edu).
Rev 12.01.05 jrn