HELP: Email Questions

Configuring your email client to use your COE email account

General mail client configuration information
Your COE Unix account can be used to send and receive email. We offer several ways to read your email; these include POP3, IMAP (with or without SSL), a WebMail facility, and command-line Unix clients that can be used in a telnet or SSH login session. We also relay outgoing mail (SMTP) for authenticated users.

WebMail users don't need to configure anything. Just point your browser to the WebMail page; the configuration is taken care of by the administrators.

To configure your mail software to work with your COE account, you will need the following information:

POP3 server: pop.coe.neu.edu
   SSL optional
IMAP server: imap.coe.neu.edu
   SSL optional
   IMAP folder root is "mail"
SMTP server: smtp.coe.neu.edu
   SSL or TLS and authentication required
   SMTP ports: 587, 465, or 25

Note 1: SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. This is not the same as SPA (Secure Password Authentication). Do not check the box that says "Log on using SPA" when setting up Microsoft Outlook!
Note 2: TLS (Transport Layer Security) and SSL are two names for what is really the same thing: encryption that protects your password.

Mail configuration walkthroughs for some specific programs:

  • Thunderbird/Netscape/Mozilla Note for Outgoing mail: Netscape 7.2 and Mozilla Thunderbird use "StartTLS" or "TLS" to denote SSL on port 587, and "TLS/SSL" or "SSL" to denote SSL on port 465. We recommend using port 587 (StartTLS).  Do NOT check the box that says "Use Secure Authentication".
  • Microsoft Outlook Note for Outgoing mail: Use port 465 and choose "TLS" for Outlook 2007.  Do NOT check the box that says "Log on using SPA".
  • Microsoft Outlook Express Note: Use port 25 or 465 for outgoing mail.
  • Mail.app on Mac OS X: click "Use Default Ports" and check the box that says "Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)."
  • Microsoft Entourage on Mac OS X (walkthrough coming soon) Note: Use port 465.

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Outgoing mail (SMTP)
We relay outgoing mail (SMTP) for all COE users with secure authentication.

As of Summer 2005, we NO LONGER RELAY mail without authentication. Please set up your mail client to use authentication as described here.

To send mail from off-campus, you must log in with your COE username and password to our SMTP server. Your mail client must support both authentication and TLS or SSL (secure socket layer).

Choose Password or Plain as the authentication method (not Kerberos or MD5). You can send mail using either port 587, port 465, or port 25 (but port 25 is blocked by some firewalls). See above for some mail client tips.

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Pine
You may also want to log in to a Solaris workstation using telnet or ssh, and run a command-line Unix mail client. If you don't already have a favorite, we recommend Pine.

To start Pine, just type pine at the command prompt. Give your username and password to log in to the IMAP server when prompted.

For help using Pine, see the excellent Pine tutorial on the University of Washington web site. (Pine is written and maintained by the Computing & Communications group at the University of Washington.)

You can read the online manual page for Pine here.

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Mutt, emacs, and other Unix mail clients
Other Unix-based mail clients available on the COE system include Netscape, emacs, dtmail, and mutt.

As of Feb. 4, 2002, we no longer NFS export the mail spool to the workstations, so you will need a POP3 or IMAP client to read your email from the server.

Netscape on Unix is configured just like it is on Windows. Please look above for configuration help for Netscape.

To use emacs rmail with the COE POP3 server, add the following lines to your ~/.emacs file:

(custom-set-variables
   ;; custom-set-variables was added by Custom --
   ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
'(rmail-primary-inbox-list (quote ("po:username")))
'(rmail-pop-password-required t)
'(user-mail-address "username@coe.neu.edu"))

Substitute your username on the fourth and sixth lines, of course.

You can convert an emacs BABYL-format RMAIL file to standard Unix mailbox format with the command M-x unrmail from within emacs. The resulting mailbox file can be placed in your ~/mail directory, where you will be able to access the messages with pine or any other IMAP client. Your original RMAIL file will not be altered.

Elm users will need to choose a new email client. You may like pine or mutt, which we have recently installed on the system, as an alternative. The command elmalias can convert elm alias files for use with pine or mutt, as follows (run these commands from your home directory):

elmalias -u -f "alias %a\t%n\t<%v>" >> .muttrc (for mutt)
elmalias -u -f "%a\t%n\t%v" >> .addressbook (for pine)

We suggest that you make ~/mail a symbolic link to ~/Mail so that other COE mail clients will find your elm folders.

Most mail clients on the COE system now default to reading mail from IMAP and saving folders in the directory ~/mail. This is intended to make it easy for you to switch between mail clients. You may override these defaults in your personal configuration files if you prefer.

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About COE WebMail
The College of Engineering offers a web-based interface to email for your COE account. For lack of a better term, we call it COE WebMail. You can use COE WebMail from any internet-connected computer with a modern web browser. The browser must support JavaScript, Secure Socket Layer (SSL), and frames for webmail to work. Point your browser to http://www.coe.neu.edu/webmail/ and you will be redirected to the WebMail site.

COE WebMail can be used to read your mail and to send messages from your COE account. It can handle attachments if the computer you are using has suitable applications to open the attached files.

Our WebMail is IMAP-based, so it create and use folders to sort and save your mail. The same folders can be viewed and managed with almost any IMAP mail client. Your folders are in a location of your choice in your COE home directory; the default location is in the subdirectory mail/. This is also the default location for mail folders in Pine and the Solaris CDE graphical email program.

WebMail offers an address book for your convenience. Your address book is stored in a database on the server. You will see a small icon of a book next to email addresses in your messages; just click the icon to add the address to your address book.

COE WebMail uses SSL to protect the transmission of your password. Be sure to log out of WebMail and quit your browser when you are done reading your mail.

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Forwarding your mail
You can forward mail from your COE account to another mail account if you wish. Forwarding is user-configurable and can be changed at any time; changes take effect immediately.

Set up forwarding by going to COE Webmail. Log in and click on My Account, then Forwarding.

Unix users may log in to the system with telnet or ssh to change your forwarding. When you are logged in, type the command setup and choose the forwarding option. This will run a script that will show you your current forwarding setup and walk you through any changes you wish to make.

You can also forward mail from other accounts to your COE account. To set up or change forwarding for MyNEU Mail accounts:

For students, go to: http://myneu.neu.edu/
For Faculty and Staff, go to: 

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Setting up an autoresponder
To set up an autoresponder for your COE mail, log in to COE Webmail and click on My Account, then Vacation.

Unix users can also use the command-line "vacation" program. Log in to a COE Unix workstation. Run the command setup and choose the vacation autoresponder option. This will set up an autoresponder and allow you to edit your response message.

We suggest you send yourself a test message to verify that everything is working. When you return, you can run setup again to turn off the autoresponder. Your mail will all be there waiting for you.

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Size restrictions on messages and attachments
The maximum size of a message (text plus all attachments combined) that will be accepted by the COE mail servers is 12 Mb.

WebMail has a separate upload limit of 5 Mb. This is the maximum size of files you can attach to messages in the compose window.

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How much space do I have for my COE email?
You can keep up to 15 Mb of messages in your Inbox. The number of messages doesn't count, just how much disk space they occupy. If you get a message that your Inbox is too large, pay special attention to messages with large attachments when you are cleaning up.

Your other mail folders, including your Trash folder, are kept in your mail directory. Your mail directory is part of your home directory, which is subject to a quota. The quota for all your files is

500 Mb

  Undergraduates

500 Mb

  Graduate students

500 Mb

  Faculty

50 Mb

  Guest accounts

You can check your disk usage by typing quota -v at the command line while you are logged in to the system. The "My Account" module in WebMail will also show you your quota and current disk usage.

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I can't delete messages from WebMail!
If you are over quota, you may get an error message when you try to delete messages from WebMail. (See the paragraph above to find out more about quotas.) There are several ways to work around this problem.

Try emptying your Trash first. You can also change your WebMail configuration so that it marks messages for deletion instead of moving them to your Trash folder (click on Options at the top o

COE WebMail uses SSL to protect the transmission of your password. Be sure to log out of WebMail and quit your browser when you are done reading your mail.

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Forwarding your mail
You can forward mail from your COE account to another mail account if you wish. Forwarding is user-configurable and can be changed at any time; changes take effect immediately.

Set up forwarding by going to COE Webmail. Log in and click on My Account, then Forwarding.

Unix users may log in to the system with telnet or ssh to change your forwarding. When you are logged in, type the command setup and choose the forwarding option. This will run a script that will show you your current forwarding setup and walk you through any changes you wish to make.

You can also forward mail from other accounts to your COE account. To set up or change forwarding for MyNEU Mail accounts:

For students, go to: http://myneu.neu.edu/
For Faculty and Staff, go to: 

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Setting up an autoresponder
To set up an autoresponder for your COE mail, log in to COE Webmail and click on My Account, then Vacation.

Unix users can also use the command-line "vacation" program. Log in to a COE Unix workstation. Run the command setup and choose the vacation autoresponder option. This will set up an autoresponder and allow you to edit your response message.

We suggest you send yourself a test message to verify that everything is working. When you return, you can run setup again to turn off the autoresponder. Your mail will all be there waiting for you.

Back to the top 


Size restrictions on messages and attachments
The maximum size of a message (text plus all attachments combined) that will be accepted by the COE mail servers is 12 Mb.

WebMail has a separate upload limit of 5 Mb. This is the maximum size of files you can attach to messages in the compose window.

Back to the top


How much space do I have for my COE email?
You can keep up to 15 Mb of messages in your Inbox. The number of messages doesn't count, just how much disk space they occupy. If you get a message that your Inbox is too large, pay special attention to messages with large attachments when you are cleaning up.

Your other mail folders, including your Trash folder, are kept in your mail directory. Your mail directory is part of your home directory, which is subject to a quota. The quota for all your files is

125 Mb

  Undergraduates

250 Mb

  Graduate students

500 Mb

  Faculty

50 Mb

  Guest accounts

You can check your disk usage by typing quota -v at the command line while you are logged in to the system. The "My Account" module in WebMail will also show you your quota and current disk usage.

Back to the top


I can't delete messages from WebMail!
If you are over quota, you may get an error message when you try to delete messages from WebMail. (See the paragraph above to find out more about quotas.) There are several ways to work around this problem.

Try emptying your Trash first. You can also change your WebMail configuration so that it marks messages for deletion instead of moving them to your Trash folder (click on Options at the top o

COE WebMail uses SSL to protect the transmission of your password. Be sure to log out of WebMail and quit your browser when you are done reading your mail.

Back to the top


Forwarding your mail
You can forward mail from your COE account to another mail account if you wish. Forwarding is user-configurable and can be changed at any time; changes take effect immediately.

Set up forwarding by going to COE Webmail. Log in and click on My Account, then Forwarding.

Unix users may log in to the system with telnet or ssh to change your forwarding. When you are logged in, type the command setup and choose the forwarding option. This will run a script that will show you your current forwarding setup and walk you through any changes you wish to make.

You can also forward mail from other accounts to your COE account. To set up or change forwarding for MyNEU Mail accounts:

For students, go to: http://myneu.neu.edu/
For Faculty and Staff, go to: 

Back to the top

Setting up an autoresponder
To set up an autoresponder for your COE mail, log in to COE Webmail and click on My Account, then Vacation.

Unix users can also use the command-line "vacation" program. Log in to a COE Unix workstation. Run the command setup and choose the vacation autoresponder option. This will set up an autoresponder and allow you to edit your response message.

We suggest you send yourself a test message to verify that everything is working. When you return, you can run setup again to turn off the autoresponder. Your mail will all be there waiting for you.

Back to the top 


Size restrictions on messages and attachments
The maximum size of a message (text plus all attachments combined) that will be accepted by the COE mail servers is 12 Mb.

WebMail has a separate upload limit of 5 Mb. This is the maximum size of files you can attach to messages in the compose window.

Back to the top


How much space do I have for my COE email?
You can keep up to 15 Mb of messages in your Inbox. The number of messages doesn't count, just how much disk space they occupy. If you get a message that your Inbox is too large, pay special attention to messages with large attachments when you are cleaning up.

Your other mail folders, including your Trash folder, are kept in your mail directory. Your mail directory is part of your home directory, which is subject to a quota. The quota for all your files is

125 Mb

  Undergraduates

250 Mb

  Graduate students

500 Mb

  Faculty

50 Mb

  Guest accounts

You can check your disk usage by typing quota -v at the command line while you are logged in to the system. The "My Account" module in WebMail will also show you your quota and current disk usage.

Back to the top


I can't delete messages from WebMail!
If you are over quota, you may get an error message when you try to delete messages from WebMail. (See the paragraph above to find out more about quotas.) There are several ways to work around this problem.

Try emptying your Trash first. You can also change your WebMail configuration so that it marks messages for deletion instead of moving them to your Trash folder (click on Options at the top of the screen, then choose Deleting and Moving Messages). Don't forget to clean up your sent-mail folder. Finally, you can log in with ftp or telnet and clean up files in your home directory to reduce your total disk usage.

Your home directory provides you with space for your homework and academic projects, your saved email, and your web site. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of the system is academic!

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Someone else is sending mail from my account!
Some people report receiving bounce notifications for messages they did not send. This probably does not mean someone else is using your COE account.

Many current mail-bombing viruses fake the "From" field in their outgoing mail messages. They choose an address at random from the infected computer's address book and browser cache. Spammers may also use this technique.

Viruses and spammers send out many messages to invalid recipients, and these messages are bounced to the faked "sender" address as undeliverable. So you can get bounce notifications for messages you never sent.

Since messages with a fake "From" address do not actually come from the COE system, it's not possible for us to prevent them. Please just ignore the bogus bounce notifications.

You may have other reasons to suspect that your account has been used by someone else (for example, if files in your home directory have been tampered with). When in doubt, please contact the system adminstrators at help@coe.neu.edu.

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