Currently, we only support TLS 1.2.

If you’re using Windows 7 and Windows 8.0, applications built using WinHTTP such as Microsoft Outlook, Word, etc will only support TLS 1.0.

Since this protocol is no longer secure and is now disabled, if you try and establish a secure connection using your Outlook e-mail client to the GreenGeeks mail server, Outlook will display an error message similar to the one below:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]“Your server does not support the connection encryption type you have specified.”[/ht_message]

To resolve this issue and allow Outlook to communicate securely to the GreenGeeks mail server using TLS 1.2, you will have to follow these instructions.

Install the KB3140245 Update

Before you start, you will need the KB3140245 patch required for your operating system. You can get it by going to the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Click the “Download” button for your OS. As you can see, this patch is needed for Windows 7, 8 and Server 2008 and 2012.

Make sure you’re getting the correct file. You will see that Windows 7 has two available files. These are for 32 and 64-bit systems. Download the one that matches your version of Windows.

Once you download the file, install it.

However, you may already have this file if updates are current in Windows. It’s usually in the Optional section as it’s not necessarily needed to run the computer.

It’s probably a good idea to see if it’s already listed and update the file from Windows Updates.

Registry Editing Method 1: Using Easy Fix

If you don’t want to root around in the system’s registry, and I don’t blame you for not, you can always use the “Easy Fix” application. You can find this on Microsoft’s website, and it will do all the changes for you automatically.

Go to the Microsoft website and click “Download” under Easy Fix.

You may have to scroll down the page a bit to see the download button.

Run the application and follow its instructions.

Registry Editing Method 2: Editing The Registry

For this tutorial, we’ll edit the registry of Windows. Although this is a delicate process, it’s not overly difficulty. As long as you follow the instructions precisely, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

Open the Registry Editor

Click the Start button on the bottom left.

Click the option to “Run”. This will open a new small window with a text field.

Type regedit in the field and click, “OK.”

Adding the DWORD Value

Look for this entry in the Regedit screen:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\WinHttp[/ht_message]

Create a DWORD value Called DefaultSecureProtocols.

Set the value of this to: 0xA00

Now look for this entry:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\WinHttp[/ht_message]

Create a DWORD value Called DefaultSecureProtocols.

Set the value of this to: 0xA00

Look for this value in the registry:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client[/ht_message]

Create DisabledByDefault DWORD and set the value to: 0.

Reboot the Computer

Once your values are placed and saved in Regedit, reboot the computer. Your settings will be live once the system restarts.

Keep Your Email Secure

Any security is better than none at all. Using TLS helps by giving you a layer of protection to keep your data safe. It’s not only email fraud that will cost your business in the long run.

Do what you can to make your email harder to access by the criminal element.

The post How to Enable TLS 1.2 in Outlook (Windows 7) appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Currently, we only support TLS 1.2.

Goodbye TLS 1.0 and 1.1

The TLS 1.0 and 1.1 protocol are no longer secure and are now disabled. If you try and establish a secure connection using your Apple Mail email client to the GreenGeeks mail server, you will receive an error message similar to the one below:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]“Cannot Connect to Mail Server.”[/ht_message]

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to determine exactly what the problem is when this message appears. It could very well be something basic, such as an incorrect setting.

Please ensure all of your settings are correct. If you believe they are, then you have two options:

1. Update OS X

Update the operating system to OS X Sierra, or 10.12. High Sierra seems to have the best support, though, which is 10.13. Older versions of OS X prevent Apple Mail from working correctly with newer versions of security protocols.

Many people have had this problem, and the general consensus of the majority was to update to Sierra or later.

Updating OS X is relatively simple.

Open the App Store from your computer system.

Click on the “Updates” tab along the menu bar on the top.

You’ll see the info for the OS X software. Click “Update.”

The OS will then download and install the software needed.

When the installation is complete, the computer will restart.

Once it loads back up, your computer will be running the newest OS.

2. Use a Different Mail Client

I know many of you don’t want to move your mail to a new client, but sometimes it’s easier and cheaper in the long run. For example, Thunderbird has an amazing ability to utilize new security protocols without putting up much of a fight.

Download and install Mozilla Thunderbird.

Keep it Secure

Keeping updated and current with latest systems and security provides safety. As much of a pain it can be, it’s far better than the alternative. Don’t underestimate the value of spending some money to keep your computer optimized.

In many instances, updating OS X is worth the investment for peace of mind and a stress-free operating experience.

The post How to Enable TLS 1.2 in Apple Mail appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Mail is a standard component of Mac computers. This app gives you basic abilities when it comes to sending and receiving messages. While it may not have all of the bells and whistles of other programs, it does its job efficiently.

However, it’s advisable that you set up some form of email security in cPanel. This will greatly reduce complications with spam and other issues later on.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to set up an email account in Mac and Mail. It’s a quick procedure that will have you reading messages in no time.

Using Mac and Mail to Access Email Accounts

Click on the Apple icon in the top left of your screen.

Click the System Preferences from the drop down list. It should be the second one down from the top.

In your preferences screen, look for and click, “Internet Accounts.”

This will open a new window for your preferences. On the right, click the “Add Other Account” near the bottom.

Click the “Mail account” option available. It may have an “@” symbol next to it.

A new window will pop up asking for your mail credentials. This will include your name, address and password.

Fill in the information and click, “Sign In.”

Next will be the server settings for the account. You will need to know:

• Username: Which is often your email address depending on your web host provider.
• Password: Obviously the password for the account you wish to access.
• Account Type: Choose which you want to use, POP3 or IMAP. This will be dependent on the type of mailing protocol you want to use.
• Incoming Mail Server: This is the server name of your inbound email. Often, it will look something like “mail.yourdomainname.com.”
• Outgoing Mail Server: This server is more than likely going to be the same as your incoming mail.

After you enter your information, click the “Sign In” button.

Now, you will have a new account available on the Mac. If you have third-party applications tied to your mail account, they will be available in a list. Use the check box to select any apps that you want to associate with your mailing system. This is often an optional ability depending on the apps you currently have installed.

Click the “Done” button on the bottom right.

Getting Your Mail On Your Mac

This is but one of the easiest methods to receive email on a Mac computer system. You can use other applications available from other vendors, but this should already be part of your computer software. Just bear in mind that some Internet providers block certain ports from operating on their networks. As a result, you may not be able to send messages whether it’s done from a Mac or a PC. Check your ports if you have any question about sending unsecured email.

The post How to Setup Email Accounts in Mac OS and Mail appeared first on GreenGeeks.

On some systems, a default email address acts as a “catch-all.” That means any email addressed to the domain for a non-existent email user winds up in the default email box.

That’s not the case at GreenGeeks. We do not support “catch-all” email accounts.

Why Doesn’t GreenGeeks Allow “Catch-All” Email Accounts?

The one-word answer: spam.

Spammers will often use large lists of common usernames to spam a domain and see if they can find any valid users. If there is a catch-all email account on a domain, spammers won’t see any bounces, so they’ll assume all the users they sent to are valid and continue to flood the domain with spam for non-existent users.

On the other hand, if an email is returned or refused, spammers usually remove that address from their lists. If they get enough bounces from a domain, they may even remove it from their lists entirely.

So not allowing catch-all addresses ultimately reduces the amount of spam sent to a mail server. Reducing the spam activity increases performance for all the legitimate emails passing through the server.

So What Does the GreenGeeks “Default” Email Account Do?

The account returns an error message to the sender, notifying them that the email account doesn’t exist.

In addition to being an excellent anti-spam measure, it also lets legitimate senders know their message wasn’t delivered. They can then check for typos or other mistakes in the address.

The post Default Email Address appeared first on GreenGeeks.

With it, you can add multiple email accounts to the program and check them simultaneously from one location. Part of the reason why Outlook is so popular is that it is included with Microsoft 365.

Thus, most people have access to it from either their job, school, or personal subscription. Sadly, Outlook doesn’t do a great job of informing users how to set it up, but that’s what this tutorial is for.

Today, I will demonstrate how to set up Microsoft Outlook to check your email accounts,

Note: This tutorial will be using Outlook 2016. It is very similar to the latest version of Outlook (2022), but there may be slight differences in appearance and the steps taken.

Why Not Use The Online Version of Outlook?

Now, you may be wondering what is the advantage of using the software version of Outlook when an online version that is free for everyone is available. To put it simply, the free online version is very limited.

As of May 10, 2021, Microsoft removed the ability for Outlook.com to handle multiple mailboxes (although accounts that already had this set up will continue to function). Instead, this feature is only available with the premium version of Outlook.

As such, Outlook.com is no longer a viable option to manage all of your email accounts.

What’s The Benefit of Using An Email Application?

Do you have multiple emails? Probably.

You might have multiple emails for personal and business use and keeping track of each one can feel like a full-time job. This means you’ll need to sign into multiple accounts and remember all of those login details.

It’s very tiresome, and it can be avoided entirely by using an email application like Outlook.

These pieces of software are designed to allow users to enter multiple email addresses into the application, which allows you to view them all from a single location without having to constantly sign in.

How to Use Microsoft Outlook (Software)

Microsoft Outlook starts off as a blank slate. It is completely empty until you add email accounts to it. Before you proceed, collect all of the necessary login credentials, POP3, IMAP, and/or SMTP information.

This is required to add your email account to Microsoft Outlook and will save you time when connecting your account to Outlook.

Step 1: Add An Email Account

Once you have the information gathered when creating a new email account, this setup should go quickly.

Click on File from the toolbar and click on the “Add Account” button.

A pop-up will appear in Outlook asking you to enter the email address you wish to connect. Enter the information and click on the “Connect” button.

Now, the next inputs you will see depend entirely on the email you entered. To continue, pick the step that applies to you.

Step 2: If You Entered A Standard Email (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.)

If you entered a popular email platform like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or other common platforms, you will be asked to enter that platform’s password.

It’s very important to be aware of whether you have 2-factor authentication enabled on your account. If you do, this will not work. Instead, you need to go to the email platform itself and obtain an application password for Outlook.

This process is different depending on the platform you use, thus, I will not attempt to demonstrate it. If you are having trouble, refer to the Outlook support page which will list clear steps for each email platform.

Step 3: If You Are Connecting To A Web Hosting Email

Alternatively, if you were trying to add an email you created through your web hosting account, the options you see will be very different. Instead, you’ll need to select the IMAP option. Selecting POP has the same impact.

This is where you need to input all of the IMAP or POP server information. You can find this information in the source of the email you are trying to add. For instance, if it is from a web hosting account, check in the cPanel.

Simply enter both the server information and the port number. Since this is dependent on where the email is coming from, I cannot provide this information to you.

Once the information has been entered, click on the “Connect” button.

Once done. Outlook will send you a confirmation email and you can begin checking your email address. Simply repeat the steps to add more email addresses to Outlook.

Don’t Have Outlook, Checkout Alternatives

While Outlook has incredible reach due to being part of Microsoft 365, it’s possible you don’t have it. Don’t worry, there are a variety of other tools you can use to view multiple email accounts in one location.

Gmail

Gmail is one of the most popular email platforms, period. And for many, that’s enough. However, Gmail is actually much more powerful than most users realize. In reality, you can add multiple emails to a single Gmail account.

You can check your Gmail from any device including your mobile device. In fact, if you are using an Android device, you probably have the Gmail app installed.

Also, it’s completely free to use, which makes it the best option for both personal use and businesses alike.

Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free email application like Outlook that allows you to view multiple email accounts from your desktop. It’s extremely versatile and even has a mobile app that you can take advantage of.

The interface is pretty similar to Outlook, which makes it very easy to use, so it’s accessible at any skill level.

Save Time And Check Your Email In Outlook Today

As you can see, Outlook is very easy to use and it can save you from having to log into multiple email accounts to stay up to date on your own affairs. And since it’s part of Microsoft 365, you probably already have it.

Checking your emails can be very tricky if you are using a custom email address for your website. Setting it up through an email application is absolutely the way to go.

What is your favorite email application? Did you find Outlook easy to use?

The post How to Set up Email Accounts in Microsoft Outlook appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Today in this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to use Mozilla Thunderbird 3 for email. However, you may want to check email ports before using any messaging system. Many ISPs will block unsecured port 25, which is needed for sending email in many situations.

If you know the port, check to ensure you can send messages.

Setting Up Mozilla Thunderbird 3

I am assuming you have already visited the Mozilla Thunderbird website and installed the software. If not, you should do that now.

In the home screen of Thunderbird, click “Email” under the “Create a new account” section.

In the Welcome screen, you can choose to create a new email address. However, I am going to set up my own from my web hosting account.

Click the “Skip this and use my existing email” button.

Enter your address information and click, “Continue.” This is the basic data of the account.

Mozilla will immediately test the sever and try to configure its own settings. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work correctly. For instance, the mail servers Thunderbird is detecting are not the ones I use for email. If this is the case, click the “Manual config” button on the bottom. Otherwise, you may simply click “done” and you’re good to go.

In the next screen, you will input the information needed for accessing the email account:

• Choose your type: The first column is where you set what parts to use. By default, Mozilla may be displaying “IMAP” and “SMTP.” In this instance, I am using POP3 instead of IMAP.
• Set the server hostnames: In these two sections, you will input your email server. This is given to you by the web host provider. In most cases, it will look something similar to, “mail.yourdomainname.com.” Both Incoming and Outgoing hostnames should be the same unless you have a custom system for email.
• Select SSL Type: Many systems are using SSL by default. If you don’t have an SSL certificate attached to your website, set the SSL to “Autodetect.” This will change the port number, which is fine.

Don’t worry about choosing a port or authentication method just yet. Thunderbird will do this automatically. Once you have the three points I mentioned above ready, click the “Re-test” button on the bottom.

When Thunderbird tests the servers again with the current settings, it will fill in the SSL, Port and Authentication method automatically. If these are incorrect, change them accordingly.

After changing your settings, you’ll need to click “Re-test” again and verify it is correct. You may have to change the SMTP port to 25, or the correct port that you will use to send email. Thunderbird sometimes detects port 587, which is unusable on many hosts and ISPs. Otherwise, click the “Done” button to close the account window.

If the server is unsecured, you’ll receive a “Add Security Exception” alert. This is nothing to worry about. Essentially the system is telling you that your server is not SSL ready, which this particular one I am working on is not. In this case, click the “Confirm Security Exception” button.

Once the security exception is excepted, you’ll click the “Done” button again. This time, the account window will close and you’ll be taken back to the Mozilla Thunderbird home screen.

Now, you’re ready to start sending and receiving messages.

Use Secured Email

In this tutorial, I demonstrated setting up unsecured POP3. However, it’s in your best interest to use a secured server. Not only will it help you appear more trustworthy to other people online, but it will also help avoid being stopped by the ISP from sending messages. It’s worth the nominal annual fee to keep everything locked down with an SSL certificate.

The post How to Use Mozilla Thunderbird 3 for Email appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Using POP3 Email Protocols

The Post Office Protocol version 3, or POP3 for short, is one of the most common methods for receiving email. In this protocol, your messages are downloaded directly to a device and readable even if you’re not online. This is convenient in many settings, especially if you’re in an area where the internet connection is sporadic.

Because POP3 downloads messages, you don’t have to worry about your email server becoming full. If there is a quota on your hosting account for messages, this can fill up over time. On the other hand, you can set software such as Outlook to leave a copy of the message on the server. This is helpful if you use more than one device throughout the day.

The commonly used secure port for POP3 email retrieval is 995.

Using SMTP Email Protocols

While POP is for retrieving email, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, or SMTP, is the standard method for sending email.

The commonly used secure port for sending email via SMTP is 465.

Using IMAP Email Protocols

The Internet Message Access Protocol, or IMAP, is a system that, instead of downloading email as in POP3, provides a live view of the email server. This is convenient if you use a smartphone and computer systems to access email. Rather than downloading messages and removing them from the server, IMAP keeps everything online.

One drawback to IMAP is that you need an internet connection to use it. The trade-off is the speed and flexibility which IMAP provides.

The commonly used secure port for IMAP email retrieval 993.

The post How to Use POP3, SMTP and IMAP Protocols appeared first on GreenGeeks.

The last thing you want is your email being flagged by major corporations and online filters. For instance, a negative report from services like Spamhaus will prevent any email being sent from your specific domain name. This can be extremely problematic for businesses and organizations that rely on email for communication.

In this tutorial, I’m going to go over the basics of how you can make sure your email messages are not considered spam. Following these rules will greatly reduce your risks of being blacklisted or suffering negative backlash from the online community.

Complying with the CAN-SPAM Act

As long as you’re not trying to abuse email usage, complying with the CAN-SPAM act isn’t all that difficult. In fact, it’s possible the vast majority of you are complying already and don’t even realize it.

What are the basic rules for following the CAN-SPAM act?

1. Refrain From Buying Email Lists

Although email lists are not as prominent as they once were, people often debate buying them to grow their marketing. Unfortunately, it also means you may be buying a list of addresses of people who may not be interested in your product or service.

A lot of mailing lists are created by scraping a website for contact information. It doesn’t matter if the individual is open to solicitation or not. And this is what causes the problem for a lot of people. It’s a quick way to give your brand a reputation as a “spammer.”

It’s always best to create an email list from subscribers at your website. These people are already interested in your content, which means the possibility of interaction is higher and there is greater potential for making money from marketing. In fact, there are a number of ideas that will increase email response rate without buying email lists.

2. Avoid False Identity Information

Cloaking or hiding your message meta data is a poor practice. When you provide false or misleading information regarding your messages, it creates an instance of mistrust. It may also cause filter systems and organizations to flag your email as spam.

Data such as “From” and “To” are elements you need to pay attention to. For example, I never trust or open an email where the “From” line is my own address…unless I sent it to myself on purpose. This is seen as a extremely poor practice to try and circumvent spam filters.

3. Keep Subject Lines Truthful

Use the subject line as it was intended; as a way to inform the recipient what the message is about. Being deceptive in the subject line is a good way to annoy recipients as well as ensure the message is caught in a spam trap.

The subject should be an ultra brief topic of what the email regards. Don’t use it as a way to bait people into opening the message. This will hurt your chances of engaging the reader and forming a bond, which will impact the success of an email marketing campaign.

4. Disclose if the Message is an Ad

If people expect a message to be an ad, they are more likely to treat it as such. This also means they might interact with it on a consumer level. Although the laws are not prohibitive when it comes to identifying the message as an ad, it’s still a good practice.

The best way to comply with CAN-SPAM and reduce annoying your recipients is by clearly defining the message as an ad. I’ve seen many emails full of engaging information that clearly stated it was an advertisement. Many times, I found myself clicking on their links to learn more – after a bit of research to make sure the company is legitimate, that is.

5. Provide Contact Information

Displaying your business’ physical address is a good way to reduce looking spammy. This gives everyone a clear view of how they can contact you for any reason. You’ll see many of the most effective email marketing campaigns include address information as well as a direct contact link.

This provides a sense of legitimacy in the message. It’s information the reader can use to verify if the information is legitimate or not. It also makes you seem more approachable and not some automated bot with a mailing list.

6. Allow Recipients to “Opt-Out”

One of the most important facets of email marketing is making sure recipients can opt-out of future messages. Not everyone is receptive to email marketing, and some may simply change their mind about your content.

When providing an opt-out link, make sure it’s honored. If someone leaves your mailing list and he or she still receives email from you, the person may file a complaint against your domain with spam filtering agencies. The end result is a blacklisted domain.

Plus, it’s incredibly rude to not adhere to opting out. It has potential to damage your online reputation.

7. Pay Close Attention to Domain Email

Keep an eye on what messages are sent form your domain. You may be practicing good etiquette for email, but that doesn’t mean your staff is. You want to make sure everyone using your domain to send messages is doing so according to the CAN-SPAM act.

Users are not the only ones who can take advantage of your domain, either. Some malware is capable of using your mailing servers to spam others. Make sure your firewalls for email and anti-viral applications are current and active. The last thing you want is your domain being flagged by Spamhaus because one computer on your network is infected with spamming malware.

One of the best ways to avoid many problems is making sure you have adequate cyber security on your website. Otherwise, you could open the door to several ways which poor security measures can hurt your success.

Use Email Responsibly

Email is one of the most effective tools for marketing. It’s also cause for one of the greatest nuisances online. By being mindful of the above rules, you can keep your email accounts from being blacklisted by others. You can be successful while following true to the CAN-SPAM act as long as you’re not trying to game the system.

The post How to Comply with the CAN-SPAM Act appeared first on GreenGeeks.

This feature gives you the ability to specify certain phrases and scan emails if they contain them. For example, let’s say you entered the term “Buy Now” as the filter term. This would mean any email that contains these words would be filtered as spam.

This can be far more effective than just marking an email as spam because the sender can just use a different email account to send it, but with a filter, it will be blocked as long as it includes the filter term.

Today, I will demonstrate how you can enable email filtering on the cPanel.

What Can Email Filtering Do?

While I mentioned that you can use it to filter out terms to mark as spam, that’s really just one use for it.

Another possibility is to redirect emails to another address. For example, let’s say you put a product or service you offer as the filter term. You could redirect or forward those emails to a specialist so they can get the best result.

This is something a lot of businesses do. Think about it for a second, how many businesses have a single support email that is meant to encompass an entire site? Most do because it is easier for users to find a single email address.

However, it’s a nightmare for anyone who needs to shift through those emails as the range of questions can vary wildly. An email filter can help make going through those emails far more manageable.

Email Filtering Can Sometimes Backfire

At the start, I gave a simple example of using “Buy Now” as the filter term, but what happens if your website actually has a “Buy Now” button and you receive an email to inform you that it isn’t working?

Well, the filter would send it to spam, trash, or whatever you told it to. Thus, you never see that critical information.

As such, you really need to use a lot of care to select terms that won’t come from legitimate messages you want to see. As such, a great tactic that can help you escape this pitfall is to make a dedicated folder to send emails to for specific terms.

Thus, instead of sending everything to the spam folder or trash bin, it will be in its own folder that you can review to ensure that the filter is working properly. It is best to avoid using common terms that could cause problems.

Enabling Email Account Filtering

This feature is for email accounts you have created for your domain. You can enable and configure Email Filtering in the cPanel from your web hosting account.

The process is very simple, but understanding all of the possibilities can take some time.

Step 1: Access Email Filters

The first thing you need to do is locate the Email Filters area in the cPanel. Start by logging into your web hosting account and accessing the cPanel. Once inside, at the very top, you should see the Email section.

Here, you can find all of the options related to cPanel emails. Click on the Email Filters option.

Once inside, you will find a list of the current email accounts you have created. Locate the email account that you want to add the filter to and click on the Manage Filters option next to it.

If you are having trouble finding the email address, you can use the search function to search for specific accounts.

Step 2: Create A New Filter

This Email Filter area should be blank, as you have not created any filters yet. Click on the “Create A New Filter” button.

In this next screen, you will set the attributes of this new particular filter. You’ll need to edit:

• Filter Name
  This needs to be a unique name for the filter. For example, you can create a filter named “Bad Language” and filter out profanity.
• Rules
  The rules of the filter include elements such as from, to, body, and other email components. So, if you wanted to filter out bad words, you would set it to “Body” and “Contains” and then place the word to scan for.
• Actions
  This is the action the filtering system takes if the rules are broken. For this example, I am setting it to “Discard Message.” However, there are other options available depending on your objective for the filter such as redirecting to a different email account.

Once you have your filter ready, click on the “Create” button.

NOTE: If you want to add more rules to the filter, you can add or remove them with the “+” and “-” buttons on the right. In this example, I could enter an entire list of profanity for the email account and delete the message if any of the words are present.

Step 3: Understanding Rules & Actions

As you can see, it is rather simple to create a filter. But you may have noticed that you have a lot of options at your disposal when exploring the drop-down menus. So, let’s take a moment to cover what is available.

The cPanel has all of this information with additional examples available on their site. It is a great reference and what we used to create the following lists.

Rules

Let’s start with the Rules. There are two drop-down menus that you can use. The first is what part of the email the filter should scan.

These options include:

• From: The email sender’s address.
• Subject: The email’s subject line.
• To: The email address to which the was sent to.
• Any Recipient: Any recipient of the email.
• Reply: The email address at which the sender receives replies.
• Body: The email’s content.
• Any Header: Any part of the email’s header.
• Has Not Been Previously Delivered: Examines emails that have not been delivered to the recipient.
• Is an Error Message: Examines emails sent from an auto-response system.
• List ID: A unique identifier for a mailing list.
• Spam Status: Whether Apache SpamAssassin™ marked the message as spam. The Spam Status line begins with Yes or No.
• Spam Bar: The content of the Spam Bar header that Apache SpamAssassin generated for this message. The more plus signs (+) that Apache SpamAssassin assigns to a message, the greater the likelihood that the system marks the message as spam.
• Spam Score: The total number of plus signs (+) in the Spam Bar value, expressed as an integer.

The second drop-down menu allows you to select the Operators. These allow you to set the actual criteria the rule must follow when scanning the email. Most are self-explanatory, but let’s cover them here.

• equals: The message exactly matches a defined string.
• matches regex: The message matches a regular expression that you define.
• contains: The message is a string that you define.
• does not contain: The message does not contain the defined string.
• begins with: The message begins with the defined string.
• ends with: The message ends with the defined string.
• does not begin: The message does not begin with the defined string.
• does not end with: The message does not end with the defined string.
• does not match: The message does not exactly match the defined string.

So, as a simple example, if you entered “Buy Now” as the term filter and selected “Body” and “equals” as the rule, the Email Filter would scan the body portion of the email for “Buy Now.” If it finds an exact match, that email will be filtered by the action you select.

Naturally, you can select as many rules as you want. The more complicated the rule, the more likely you are to avoid blocking real emails.

Actions

Now that we understand this let’s take a look at the actions you can select.

• Discard Message: The system discards the incoming message with no failure notice.
• Redirect to email: The system forwards the message to another email address that you specify.
• Fail with message: The system discards the message and automatically send a failure notice to the sender.
• Stop Processing Rules: The system stops performing further actions or applying any remaining filters on this message.
• Deliver to folder: The system delivers the message to a specified folder.
• Pipe to a program: The system sends the incoming message to a specified program.

You may only select a single action for each email filter you create in the cPanel. Until you are comfortable and fully understand how these rules and actions behave, I recommend avoiding the Discard Message action.

This will avoid a situation where emails are being deleted due to a mistake in the filter. I would strongly recommend sending the emails to a folder so you can review if it is working as intended, then switch to the Discard Message action if it is.

Get Control Over Your Email by Adding A cPanel Filter

As you can see, the Email Filter section of the cPanel gives you complete control over what emails you receive. This can help you sort emails by department or improve spam detection. It just depends on how creative you are with the rules.

With this said, I need to mention that it is very possible to create a filter that does not work as intended. As such, take caution when creating the filters to avoid deleting emails that are important.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful in learning how to set up an email filter in the cPanel.

What kind of email filter did you create in the cPanel? Have the filters helped reduce spam?

The post How to Setup Email User and Account Filtering appeared first on GreenGeeks.

This will validate any emails sent from your own domain name, which will make it less likely that employees would be fooled by fake emails. That said, many workers still fall victim to fake emails, which can compromise the entire business.

For this reason, you need to have more security safeguards in place to protect against these kinds of attacks.

Today, I will demonstrate how to enable email authentication for your domain.

What Are DKIM and SPF Email Authentication?

The two most-used tools for email authentication are SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records.

• An SPF record contains information about which IP addresses are authorized to send mail from your domain. So when you send a message, the receiving server compares the IP address information in the message with the IP address information in your publicly available SPF record. If they are a match, the email is delivered.
• When a DKIM record is added to the DNS zone for a domain, a code is added to the DNS zone and the headers of outgoing messages. The receiving servers compare the code in the headers with the information in DNS zone. If they are a match, the email is delivered.

The methods are similar, with the receiving server checking DNS records to authenticate messages, but SPF uses path-based authentication (your server’s IP address) while DKIM uses identity-based authentication (the unique code in your message headers).

If it sounds complicated, the good news is the records can be created and published automatically for your cPanel-managed email accounts. The cPanel “Email Deliverability” section is where DKIM and SPF records are created or managed, and where the status of PTR (Reverse DNS) records is displayed.

How to Authenticate All of Your Email in a Few Easy Steps

The process I will cover today is not hard, but you will need to have access to your website’s cPanel. For the most part, all you need to do is click on a few buttons and the cPanel will take care of everything for you.

If you want to be safe, you may want to take a moment and create a backup of your website, just in case, you happen to make a mistake.

Note: This tutorial will cover DKIM, SPF, and DMARC email authentication.

Step 1: Access the Email Deliverability Settings

Start by logging into your GreenGeeks account. Click on the “cPanel” button.

Locate the Email section (it should be the first one). Click on the Email Deliverability option.

Step 2: Repair the Domain

You should see a list of every domain name and subdomain attached to your web hosting account. If you only have one, then that is all you will see. You will see a column named Email Deliverability Status.

Locate the one for your domain name and it should say “Problems Exist (DKIM and SPF)”. We need to repair this, so click on the “Repair” button. Alternatively, you can click on the “Manage” button to do it manually, but that is not recommended for beginners.

Note: The “Repair” button may not be available if your DNS does not point to the cPanel server.

You will see several text boxes that are automatically filled. You cannot edit any of these. It contains all of the information necessary for both SPF and DKIM, Click on the “Repair” button.

After several moments, you should see the Email Delivery Status column say “Valid”. This signifies you are good to go and your Email Authentication is enabled.

You can repeat this for every domain on your web hosting account.

Step 3: Configuring DMARC Authentication

While SPF and DKIM are great security protocols, they have problems. You can fix those problems by enabling DMARC Authentication. DMARC is not configured in the Email Deliverability part of the cPanel.

Instead, you need to locate the Domains section of the cPanel and click on the Zone Editor option.

You should see your domain name in the list. Click on the Manage option next to it.

Click the little down arrow on the right side of the “Add Record” button and select “Add “TXT” Record.”

You will now need to enter some information into each field, as this is not automatically filled in like the previous step.

• In the “Name” field, enter _dmarc (when your cursor leaves the text box cPanel will automatically add the domain name).
• TTL should be set to 14400 (it will likely default to that value).
• Type should be TXT (it should default to that value since that’s what we selected from the dropdown).
• In the “Record” field, enter the DMARC configuration line (see below).
• Click the “Save Record” button.

DMARC settings can be complicated. It is not really a one-size-fits-all kind of configuration, so we can’t tell you exactly what to use in the “Record” section of the TXT entry as a DMARC configuration line.

You can go to the overview page at dmarc.org and scroll down to the “Anatomy of a DMARC resource record in the DNS” section for an example and the breakdown of the record elements. Also, check out their resources section for links to tutorials and validators.

FAQ Email Authentication

Improve Account Security with Two-Factor Authentication

Another step you should take is to protect your web hosting account with two-factor authentication. This means that even if your account details are compromised, a hacker could not gain access to your website without the passcode from the authenticator.

There are several ways to implement this like having the code sent out via email, or by SMS message. In other cases, you could download an authenticator app that you’ll need to open and add the code every time you log in.

Some users do not like adding this because it makes logging into an account annoying. It is absolutely worth adding to a web hosting account, nonetheless. If the account is compromised, not only is your site impacted, but the data of your customers could be stolen.

As such, you should take a moment and set up two-factor authentication today.

Add Email Authentication Today

As you can see, it is rather simple to add email authentication for your site. The cPanel tools make it extremely simple to add DKIM and SPF email authentication. However, DMARC is a bit more complicated.

That said, there are plenty of resources out there to help you configure it for your site. Don’t hesitate to contact your web host for additional help if you run into any problems following this tutorial.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful in learning how to add email authentication in WordPress.

How easy did you find it to set up? Did you have any trouble configuring DMARC?

The post How to Enable DKIM and SPF Email Authentication appeared first on GreenGeeks.