Configuring Outlook Express to connect to MavMAIL
Outlook Express using IMAP
IMPORTANT NOTE: by default, IMAP and
POP3 e-mail programs connect to the e-mail server every several minutes to check
for new messages. Each time, it sends your username and password in a clear-text
readable format across the network. Programs know as "sniffers" can
be downloaded and used to capture these conversations and to view your username
and password, along with the content of the mail you're reading and sending.
To prevent their ability to capture and read this infomation from your computer,
it is important that you follow the section SECURE COMMUNICATION.
This will encrypt the conversation across the network and make it very difficult
for someone else to see your username and password. THIS IS ESPECIALLY
IMPORTANT IF YOU USE A WIRELESS NETWORK.
Index
I. General Information
II. Setup Outlook Express for IMAP
III. Secure Communication
IV. Setup MSU E-mail Directory
V. Subscribing to IMAP folders
I. General Information
IMAP is a quick and efficient protocol for communicating between Outlook Express and the e-mail server. By default, messages are stored on the server and can be access from different computers. The disadvantages of Outlook Express/IMAP are that you need to configure your e-mail program on each computer, and you will not be able to use the calendar functions of MavMAIL like you would using the browser version of Outlook at http://mavmail.mnsu.edu.
II. Setup Outlook Express for IMAP
1) Start Outlook Express and cancel any installation wizard. (Outlook Express is installed along with Microsoft Internet Explorer. New versions can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/ie)
2) Within Outlook Express, click Tools | Accounts and then select the
Mail tab. From here, click the Add button and select Mail from the menu.
3) The Internet Connection Wizard will now start and ask you for your name. Enter your name in the box and click Next.
4) Now you will need to enter your official MSU e-mail address. (you
can find your official e-mail address and username at http://www.mnsu.edu/password)
This is typically your firstname.lastname@mnsu.edu but not in cases where others
on campus have the same name as you. It is important to get this correct since
this is your return address on each message sent.Click Next.
5) Now you need to enter the correct server information. Click the
arrow next to POP3 and change the selection to IMAP server. Then enter mavmail.mnsu.edu
as your Incoming IMAP server and smtp.mnsu.edu as your Outgoing SMTP server.
(NOTE: off-campus users may need to have a different outgoing mail server name).
These settings are important so make sure spelling is just as shown below and
click Next.
6) Now you need to enter your official MSU username and (optionally)
your password. If you don't enter your password, you will be prompted each time
you connect to the MavMAIL server. (IMPORTANT: do NOT check the "Log on
using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)" checkbox!) Click Next.
7) The wizard is done so click Finish.
III Secure Communication
As noted in red at the top of this page, IMAP and POP3 by default send your username and password as well as e-mail messages across the network unencrypted. This communication can easily be captured giving intruders access to your e-mail, server storage, dial-in, and other accounts. This is not a problem with Outlook Express, but it is common with all POP3 and IMAP programs such as Netscape, Eudora, etc. We recommend that you configure POP3 and IMAP e-mail programs to use secure, encrypted sessions to reduce the likelyhood of somone being able to capture your username and password. THIS IS EXPECIALLY CRITICAL FOR WIRELESS USERS.
8) If you've just finished step 7, you'll be in the "Internet
Accounts" window with the Mail tab selected. If you don't see the Internet
Accounts window, click Tools | Accounts and then select the Mail tab. Now you
should highlight the mavmail.mnsu.edu account that you just created and click
the "Properties" button.
9) From the mavmail.mnsu.edu Properties window, select the "Advanced"
tab. Make sure that the checkbox under "Incoming mail (IMAP)" is checked.
You will notice that the number in the box changes from 143 to 993 when "This
server requires a secure connection (SSL)" is selected.The properties should
look identical to the screenshot below. Click OK.
IV. Setup MSU E-mail Directory
You have access to an electronic listing of students faculty and staff currently enrolled at MSU. Also included are e-mail addresses for groups, organizations, and points of contact on campus. This directory is referred to as an LDAP directory. You can use the directory to create contacts within Outlook Express and to build your own personal distribution lists. This will save you time addressing messages and communicating to important people.
10) If you are proceeding from step 9) you will be in the "Internet
Accounts" window, select the Directory Service tab. If you do not see the
"Internet Accounts" window, click Tools | Accounts and then select
the Directory Service tab. From here, click the Add button and select "Directory
Service from the menu.
11) The Directory Service wizard will start and ask you for the LDAP
server. Use "ldap.mnsu.edu" and click Next.
12) The next question asks you if you want to check e-mail names in
the MSU LDAP directory before a message is sent. Here you have the option of
Yes or No. You can always change this setting later. This may save you time
having to re-address and resend messages that are misstyped. Click Next and
Finish to exit the wizard.
13) Now we need to change some properties of the LDAP server. Highlight
ldap.mnsu.edu and click the Properties button.
14) Click the Advanced tab and fill in "dc=mankato-msus,dc=edu"
(notice-no spaces between the comma and dc) in the "Search base:"
box. Click OK
15) Finally, at the Directory Services tab, I remove all the other
Directory Services in the list. Click Close when finished.
V. Subscribing to IMAP Folders
16) If you're proceeding from step 15) you may get the following message.
Click Yes.
If you don't see the message below, highlight the mavmail.mnsu.edu folder in
Outlook Express and click the IMAP Folders button on the right side of the screen.
17) You will be shown a list of folders on MavMAIL. Click OK.
You are now finished. Click on your Inbox and you should see e-mail messages in the preview pane if you have messages waiting on the server for you.
