LavaNet Webmail

Webmail

Contents 1 Introduction 2 POP vs IMAP 3 Requirements 4 Important Notes 5 Frequently Asked Questions 6 Checking and Receiving Mail 6.1 Q: How do I get to this site every time I want to check my email via webmail? 6.2 Q: Will LavaNet Webmail work in either Macs and PC/Windows? 6.3 Q: Will LavaNet Webmail work in either Netscape or Internet Explorer? 7 Deleting Mail 7.1 Q: What does it mean to Mark Messages as deleted? 7.2 Q: How do I removed messages marked as deleted from the server? 8 Sending Mail 8.1 Q: How do I create a new email? 8.2 Q: How do I reply to an email? 8.3 Q: How do I forward an email? 8.4 Q: How do I know if the email I composed is sent? 9 Attachments 9.1 Q: My browser doesn't properly download attachments. How do I download and view the attachments that I received with an email? 9.2 Q: How do I add attachments? 9.3 Q: How do I remove attachments after I had just added them? 9.4 Q: Is there a size limit for an attachment? 10 Address Book 10.1 Q: How do I create address book entries? 10.2 Q: How do I add an address to an email I am composing from my address book? 11 Folders 11.1 Q: How do I create my own personal folders? 11.2 Q: How do I rename a folder? 11.3 Q: How do I delete a folder? 12 Miscellaneous 12.1 Q: Will I be able to view email in other languages? 12.2 Q: Will the messages that I have in my webmail be downloadable to my computer's email software? 13 Security 13.1 Q: How do I change my password? Can I do it in webmail? 13.2 Q: How secure is LavaNet's Webmail? 13.3 Q: Should I sign out from webmail every time after I'm done?

Introduction

With the addition of webmail, LavaNet customers now have four ways to access their email: POP, IMAP, shell, and webmail. Most of our customers currently use POP or IMAP with popular email clients such as Outlook, Eudora, and Netscape Messenger, while others access their email with PINE using a LavaNet shell account. Webmail is another way that you can access your email from any computer with a web browser an access to the Internet.

POP vs IMAP

Most of our customers check and download their email through POP (Post Office Protocol) using Eudora, Outlook, or Netscape Messenger. The messages that you download with POP will no longer be available on our server, which in turn makes the messages unavailable in webmail.

Webmail uses a very different method called IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). Unlike POP, with IMAP only an index of all your messages will be downloaded everytime you check your mail. The entire body of the message is downloaded to your computer only after being clicked on with your mouse.

Requirements

LavaNet's webmail service uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) which encrypts data sent over the Internet. To access LavaNet's webmail service you will need a web browser that is capable of 128-bit encryption and a computer that is capable of accessing the Internet. We recommended that you use a version of Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.7 or greater, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or greater.

Your browser will need to have cookies enabled or you will not be able to access your webmail account. Most webmail systems require the enabling of cookies in order to access the system. How it works is that the SSL (SecureSocketLayer) protocol stores your password in a temporary cookie while you are logged in to our webmail service. The cookie will act like a passport allowing you to go into your webmail account. After logging out, the cookie is deleted from your computer, preventing unauthorized access. If you do not want to automatically accept all cookies, most browsers have the ability to allow you to specifically choose which cookies you would like to accept or reject. For more information on cookies check out the following link:

http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/i-034.shtml

http://www.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm

Important Notes

• If you have an Inbox with a large number of messages, you may want to limit the number of messages in your Inbox to 200 for better performance. Keep in mind that the IMAP server has to update the index of messages in your Inbox every time you check your mail. Thus a large Inbox will hinder performance.

• If you plan to use both POP and IMAP, DO NOT USE THEM BOTH AT THE SAME TIME. You may corrupt your mailbox and lose all your email messages. In fact, you should not check your email with other email programs of any kind while in webmail.

• If you currently us IMAP with any email program such as Eudora or Outlook, then you should be aware that webmail displays some characteristics of POP. With programs using IMAP, when you mark a message for deletion, the message remains in the Inbox flagged for deletion. They are deleted only after you expunge the Inbox. However, with webmail when you delete a message, it gets moved to the Trash folder much like email programs using POP. Thus, if you use both IMAP in Eudora or Outlook, and webmail at the same time, when you delete one message in webmail, all the messages will flagged for deletion in the IMAP email program will be moved to the trash folder.

• Please keep in mind that you do have a limit of 5MB (default) of disk space. This limit also includes files that you may have stored in your directory. Consistently going over your disk quota can be an abuse issue and lead to the disabling of your account. It is good idea practice to always remove deleted messages from the Trash folder when you log out.

Frequently Asked Questions

For Help on a subject, click on a topic:

• Checking and Receiving Mail
• Deleting MaiL
• Sending Mail
• Attachments
• Address Book
• Folders
• Miscellaneous
• Security

Checking and Receiving Mail

Q: How do I get to this site every time I want to check my email via webmail?

A: The URL for webmail is https://webmail.lava.net and the URL for the FAQ page is http://www.lava.net/webmail.

Q: Will LavaNet Webmail work in either Macs and PC/Windows?

A: Yes it will. Just like any other web mail, it is compatible on either platforms, please read the next question for browser requirements.

Q: Will LavaNet Webmail work in either Netscape or Internet Explorer?

A: It is recommended that you use any browser of Netscape Navigator/Communicator version 4.7 or greater, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 or greater.

Deleting Mail

Q: What does it mean to Mark Messages as deleted?

A: Marking a message as deleted changes the icon in the 3rd column to an envelope with a big red X. This means the message is still on the server and will be removed when an Expunge is done.

Q: How do I removed messages marked as deleted from the server?

A: The act of removing a message marked for deletetion is called expunging. You must be in the mailbox window, click on the icon Mailbox on the top left just to be sure. On the banner bar is a link named Expunge, click on that link and it will remove any messages marked for deletion from that mail folder.

Sending Mail

Q: How do I create a new email?

A: Click on Compose located at the top of your webmail window. It will then open up another window where you will be able to compose new email. Fill out each section accordingly, and click the Send button to send your email.

Q: How do I reply to an email?

A: Click on the email that you would like to reply to. Next, on the left hand side of the banner bar, belw the status line, click the Reply link. If there was only one recipient in the original email you will immediately be taken to the reply composition window. If there were multiple recipients in the original email then you will taken to a new window and be able to choose either to reply to the author only or all the recipients. If you want to only reply to some of the recipients, choose all recipients first and in the reply composition window you will be allowed to modify the addresses in the To:, and Cc: boxes.

Q: How do I forward an email?

A: Click on the email that you would like to forward. In the next window below the status bar is a the banner bar which has a link named reply. Click on that and you will go the the composition window with the message in the composition box. You can now insert who you want to forward and Cc this message to and you can also edit the message before you send it out.

Q: How do I know if the email I composed is sent?

A: After you click on send, you will return to the mailbox index listing check the status bar, it will say that your message was sent. You can also check your sent-mail folder located in your folder list. Click on Folders at the top of the window. Click on the sent-mail folder in your folder list and the messages you have sent will be listed here.

Attachments

Q: My browser doesn't properly download attachments. How do I download and view the attachments that I received with an email?

A: At the top of the email, before the body of the message, will be a list of attachments. Click on them to immediately view the attachment. If your browser recognized the file type it will display it, otherwise it will prompt you to download it.

• For Internet Explorer: It will then prompt you if you would like to Open the document, or Save to disk. Select Save to disk, then click OK. Next, it will ask you where you would like to save the attachment. Once you have specified where you will save the attachment, click OK.
• For Netscape: It should automatically open up the attachment when you click on the link for view or download.
• For Macintosh up to OS 9: If you hold down the mouse button on the download link, it should bring up the option menu to Save As.

Q: How do I add attachments?

A: In the Compose New Message window, above the message body is a button named attachments. Click that button to get to the attachments window. Here you specify files on your computer that you want to upload. If you do not have the exact path to type into the box then, first click on Browse. A dialog window will come up to allow you to select a file on your hard disk. After finding the file you wish to attach, select it and click on open to get back to the attachment window. You must now click on the Attach button to add it to the message. You can add more attachments in the same manner.

Q: How do I remove attachments after I had just added them?

A: In the attachment window, each attachment has a link to the very right of them named detach. Click on detach if you want to remove that attachment.

Q: Is there a size limit for an attachment?

A: Yes, there is a size limit of 5 MB. Although your email may show that is is below this limit, there is a tendency for email to expand when it is sent. For example, an email of approximately 4 MB may expand up to and even over the 5 MB limit. It is a good idea to keep email below 4 MB.

Address Book

Q: How do I create address book entries?

A: Click on the Addressbook icon at the top. Then click on the link named Add on the banner bar just below the status bar. It will take you to the address form of the personal address book. Fill in the necessary information in each field of the address book. When you are finished inputting all the neccesary information click on the Add Entry button to add the address book. Please note that all address book entries require the Alias and Address(es) fields to be filled.

Q: How do I add an address to an email I am composing from my address book?

A: When you click on Compose to create a new message, click on the button for Addressbook at the very top of the page. Another window should appear with a listing of all the email addresses you have saved. In order to place an address in to the proper field, go the the very right of the line of the address:

• Click on To: if you would like that address to appear in the To: field
• Click on CC: for it to appear in the CC: field
• Click on BCC: for it to appear in the BCC: field

After selecting the fields you want click on the button Add mark to draft. You will see on the status bar that it has added your addresses to the message you are composing. Now click on the Compose icon at the very top to return to the message you are composing, it will have the addresses from your address book.

Folders

Q: How do I create my own personal folders?

A: Click on the Folders link at the top of your webmail window. It will then take you to a window that allows you to create your own personal mail folders. You should see at the very bottom Create Mailbox. There is a box after "with name" where you can enter the name of the mailbox folder you wish to create. After doing so, click on the Create button. The window will refresh and the status bar will indicate that you have sucessfully created a mailbox folder. The mailbox list will also refresh and you will see your newly created mailbox folder in the list.

Q: How do I rename a folder?

A: Click on the Folders icon at the top of your webmail window. It will take you to the folder window. For each mail folder, to the right of them is a link named rename. Click on the link to get to a new window. At the top it will say Rename folder "folder you are renaming" to... At the very bottom enter a new folder name and click the rename button. The window will refresh and the status bar will indicate that you renamed the folders and the folder lists will have your renamed folder.

Q: How do I delete a folder?

A: Click on the link that says Folders at the top of your webmail window. It then takes you into the folder window. To the very right of each mail folder is a rename & delete link. Click on delete. You will then be sent to a new window to confirm if you want to delete that folder. Clicking ok will delete that folder and any messages that are in that folder.

Miscellaneous

Q: Will I be able to view email in other languages?

A: This will depend on the browser you are using, and whether or not it has the capabilities to view email encoded in other languages. Your browser will be required to have the proper language decoder in order to view email that are composed in other languages.

Q: Will the messages that I have in my webmail be downloadable to my computer's email software?

A: As long as you do not delete any of the messages that you need, they will be downloadable to your computer. Also, please keep in mind that if you have reorganized your messages in webmail into different folders, then those messages in folders other than the Inbox may not be downloaded along with those in the Inbox, as some email programs will not recognize folders other than the Inbox.

Security

Q: How do I change my password? Can I do it in webmail?

A: You will need to go to the LavaNet password page. Caution: Be warned that you will need to change the password on your computer in your dial-up and email program.

Q: How secure is LavaNet's Webmail?

A: Our webmail is located on a secure server, and will provide a secure connection for your benefit. However, like any other account, it will remain secure as long as you do not share your password with others.

Q: Should I sign out from webmail every time after I'm done?

A: Yes. You should sign out of your account each and every time you are finished using your webmail so others' will not have access to your webmail account when you are done.

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