EMAIL PROTOCOLS

All email services provided different companies may be accessible through webmail or an email client such as Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail. This article will get you familiar with some of the basics of configuring email for an email client and provide information on accessing your email via a web browser.

Email Protocols

How POP works

POP (Post Office Protocol) is the older of the two methods for mail retrieval. In the most basic sense, POP simply grabs emails from your server and downloads them to your email client.When using POP, emails are deleted from the server and will not be available if you attempt to access your mail from another email client or webmail. Some email clients offer a feature to leave a copy on the server. We have seen many email issues from this feature being used improperly. If you decide to use POP, you can still view these messages using the webmail client for your service. 

How IMAP works

IMAP is the preferred method of connecting to your email server. It simply displays the contents of your mailbox as they appear on your server. Also, by default, spam folders are configured to be IMAP-Only, meaning you will need to use an IMAP connection in order to view and delete messages. Once again, we recommend using an IMAP connection to both keep an eye on your Spam folder, and to make sure you don't download email from your server that you would like to read elsewhere.

Email Security

Many customers travel and want to securely check their email from various locations such as a wireless hotspot. For these customers, we offer the ability to use a SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connection. This will allow any email client to connect to your email service over an encrypted connection. We encourage all of our customers to use a secure connection when possible.

Email Port Numbers

We use the standard email ports for all of our services. Below is a list of these commonly used ports:

Incoming Connections

• IMAP, non-SSL: 143
• IMAP, SSL: 993
• POP, non-SSL: 110
• POP, SSL: 995

Outgoing SMTP Connections

• SSL: 465
• non-SSL: 25 (or 587)

EMAIL INFORMATION

The following will show you the information needed to configure an email client to use your (mt) Media Temple provided email. We encourage secure connections, so the following information is provided assuming you are making a secure IMAP connection with SSL.

Incoming Mail Server

Your incoming mail server:

• Example: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 
• Your incoming mail server is the IP address for your server which can be found in your Server Guide.

Incoming Port

We are making a SSL connection use port 993.

• Example: 993

Incoming SSL

We are making a secure connection so make sure SSL is enabled for your incoming mail settings.

• Example: Yes, SSL Enabled

Username

The username is going to be the full email address which you or the account owner created.

• Example: username@example.com

Password

The password is set within the Plesk Control Panel. Be sure to use a strong password, and change it regularly. If you need to change your password, please do the following:

Outgoing Mail Server

Your outgoing mail server:

• Example: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 
  Your outgoing mail server is the IP address for your server which can be found in your Server Guide.

Outgoing Port (SMTP)

Your outgoing port numbers may need to be set manually. Since we are using a secure connection, you will use port 465.

• Example: 465

Outgoing SSL

We are making a secure connection so you will want to make sure SSL or TLS is enabled for your outgoing mail settings, just as you did for the incoming settings.

• Example: Yes, SSL Enabled