Configuring Mulberry for secure connections
Unless configured to use secure (encrypted) protocols, email programs send your username, password, and email content as clear text that can possibly be intercepted by others - particularly on a wireless network. You should check your email program's settings to make sure your incoming (IMAP or POP) and outgoing (SMTP) servers are configured to use secure settings.
Beginning January, 2007, only email clients configured to use secure settings will be able to connect to the UMD email servers to send and receive mail.
In addition to the IMAP and SMTP servers that all email programs use, Mulberry first logs into an IMSP preference server where your preferences and address books are stored. The setting for connecting securely to Mulberry's IMSP server is stored in the Mulberry application itself. Mulberry users will need to use the 3.1.6 Secure version of Mulberry and make the secure settings changes to Mulberry's IMAP and SMTP server settings. Macintosh OS9 users will no longer be able to use Mulberry.
Do you have the correct Mulberry 3.1.6?
An earlier version of Mulberry 3.1.6 did not connect securely to
the Mulberry preference server. That version of Mulberry will not work when we
convert to secure settings . You can tell which version of Mulberry 3.1.6 you
are using when you're at the Mulberry login screen. The newer secure version
will show "Connection
Secure" when you log in, the older version
will show "Connection: Insecure".
Mulberry secure settings
Download and install the secure version of Mulberry
3.1.6 from ITSS's Mulberry
download page. If you use Mulberry on other computers (at home, perhaps)
you'll also need to download and install the secure version of Mulberry
3.1.6 on those computers.
Before downloading you may want to remove your current Mulberry folder
(see caution note below). Macintosh users can just drag their Mulberry
folder (likely located in the Applications folder) into the Trash. Windows
users can choose Start: Programs: Mulberry:Remove Mulberry to delete their
Mulberry folder.
Note: Do not delete your Mulberry folder if you have created local mailboxes
or local address books since these may bestored in your Mulberry
folder. Instead just install the secure version
over the old one.
- Start up the secure version of Mulberry 3.1.6. You should see "Connection:
Secure: SSL" at the bottom of the login window and the version number
at the top of the window.
- Log in with your username and password. If you've never used Mulberry,
or have only used an older version of Mulberry you'll get a screen asking
if you want to update preferences. Click "Yes". You'll then be
asked to enter your "Real Name". This is how you'd like your name to appear
when you send messages.
- If you haven't applied your secure settings yet you'll get two error boxes.
Click OK in the first box.
Then click "Cancel" in the second box (you can't log into the IMAP server until you configure your secure settings).
- Open Preferences. In OSX this is under the Mulberry menu,
in Windows it's under the File menu.
- In the Preferences panel, click on "Advanced" on the far right side (instead
of "Simple")
- Click on the Accounts tab. It should be displaying "Accounts:IMAP" at
the top of the window. Change the Secure pop-up menu
at the bottom to "STARTTLS-TLSv1".
- Change the Account pop-up menu at the top to SMTP".
In the Server field add " :587 "so
that it reads "smtp.d.umn.edu:587". Change the Method pop-up
to "Plain Text" and
change the Secure pop-up menu to "STARTTLS-TLSv1".
Note: One confusing thing with the "Accounts" tab. When you switch to "SMTP" to change the SMTP settings you'd expect that it would stay at "SMTP" if you returned to the "Accounts" tab. However, when you display the Accounts tab it always shows you the the "IMAP" settings first and you have to switch to the "SMTP" settings to view those settings again.
- Click OK to save your preference changes. You now are
using secure protocols for sending and receiving email.
- Windows users: If you have Symantec AntiVirus installed
you will need to disable the Email Protection option in order to send email
using secure settings.
Select Symantec Client Security from the Start menu.
Expand the Configure option and click on Internet E-mail Auto-Protect.
Remove the checkmark in front of Enable Internet E-mail AutoProtect.
Click OK and close the window.
If you use Mulberry off-campus using a different ISP
If you use Mulberry at home and have a different Internet Service Provider
such as cable modem or DSL you may have configured a second set of Mulberry
preferences so that you can use your ISP's outgoing SMTP server. You will no
longer need to do this once you're using Mulberry with secure settings. You
can use the default Mulberry SMTP server setting (smtp.d.umn.edu) no matter
where you're connecting to the Internet.
NOTE: You will still
need to download and install the secure version of Mulberry 3.1.6 on any other
computers you have Mulberry installed on.
You also do not need to use Virtual Private Network (VPN) software in order to send email with secure Mulberry settings. However, for other security reasons we do recommend running VPN unless your computer is connected to an on-campus ethernet connection.
Rev 02.07 jrn/sb