Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ Please check out the information below before contacting us! Thanks! Q3. Will I get a warning when my Free Month at the Premium level is up? Q6. I am having problems sending mail. Whats happening and what should I do? Q7. Can you tell me more about the anti-spam measures you take? Q12. I am trying to use the new server to SEND my email, but I dont seem to be able to connect to it. I have subscribed at the 'extra' level. Q13. I am having difficulty sending an attached file, or I have received a suspicious attachment which I think might have come from the system administrator or webmaster of my domain. Q14. How do I change the password of my account, and other options. Q16. I positively KNOW that someone has sent me an email, but it hasnt arrived.
Q1. Why are you now making a charge for use of your mail server, when for the last five years it has been free? Actually, if you continue to access your mailbox via the MilNet 0845 dial up number, you can still use it for free (although some of the more 'advanced' facilities wont be available to you). We are only charging for access to the server from other ISPs. We are very aware that many people have migrated away from using the MilNet dial up service, bit continue to use their MilNet email address, from which, up to now we receive no income (and no money to give to service charities). The new mail server has many more facilities, eg AntiSpam, better AntiVirus, Friends, etc. We hope that people will be willing to pay a modest amount to use it. Q2. I am nervous about using my credit card on the internet, or I don't have a credit card with which to pay. Can I send you a cheque/postal order/cash through the post? We are always willing to accept money in any form! BUT, because we will have to set up your account manually, we cannot do this on a month by month basis, The minimum time we can mannually set up a mailbox for is one year (equivalent to £20.00, for premium service). Please ensure that you have migrated your email account before sending us your cheque, please make your cheque payable to "MilNet UK", and send it to MilNet UK Ltd, Box 4111, Blandford, Dorset DT117YH. Please ensure that you include a note of the email address you wish to be upgraded. Please include an SSAE if you require a paper receipt (we normally will send you one by email). (Sorry, we can only accept postal payment for a minimum of one year per mailbox, ie we cannot accept postal payment for 2 mailboxes for 6 months each!). Q3. Will I get a warning when my Free Month at the Premium level is up? Yes, we will email you one week, and also a few days before and after your mailbox is due to revert to the Basic level. Q4. I have having difficulty receiving mail. I can get it OK when I am connected to the internet via the MilNet 0845 number, but if I use another connection method (eg my adsl line) I just cannot get my email. I get an error message about something called g_access_group. Our policy is that the mail server is free (at the Premium level) for users who use our 0845 dial up number. Other users (eg those using ADSL) may use the mail server for free for one month, thereafter they must pay small charge for its use (currently £2 per month or £20 per year for the Premium level). All users who wish to use the facilities at the 'Extra' level, must pay (Currenlty £3 per month, or £30 per year). Q5. I am running anti-virus software (eg Nortons) to scan incoming emails, and am having difficulties in receiving mail from the new server when using Outlook. Our first comment is "How very sensible you are in running a virus checker!!). But to get to the point (!); most virus checkers replace the entry in the Incoming POP3 server box with something like "127.0.0.1" or "pop3.norton.antivirus". The easiest way to deal with this when migrating to the new server is to temporarily disable the anti virus software, amend the POP3 server entry in outlook, then re-enable the anti virus software. Q6. I am having problems sending mail. Whats happening and what should I do? If you have subscribed at the Premium level (or have just set up an email address), and you are using the MilNet 0845 number to dial into the internet, you should use the standard (SMTP) server, eg tmail.milnet.uk.net. If you are accessing the internet via another ISP you should use their smtp server, if they have one. If your ISP doesnt provide you with one (eg BT Broadband Basic, you CAN use our server, but you need to subscribe at the 'Extra' level £30 per year. If you are subscibed at the Extra level and wish to use our smtp server, you should enter tmail.milnet.uk.net as your Outgoing (SMTP) server in Outlook (Go to Tools, Accounts, high light account, press properties, select the Servers tab). If you are subscribed at the Extra level and you are using
tmail.milnet.uk.net as your Outgoing mail (SMTP) server, please note
the following: The first step is that all incoming mail is delivered to an outsourced antispam service based in the UAS. This service scans all email for known phrases, telephone numbers, and URLs that spammers use. If any of these are found, the email is held at the otsourced server for a time, and then deleted. See Question 15 for more details. The second step taken by our server on an incoming message is to determine what server on the internet it has come from. If this server is on one of the several black lists that we use, then it is either stamped (with an X:message header, or simply rejected). We will alter which list we use from time to time to get the best performance. Listed below are the ones we are using at the time of writing (Feb 2005), the action they take, and the total number of messages in a given 24 hour period (7 Feb 05) that were found to be originating from servers on a blacklist. All the lists are dynamic, and add/subtract servers as their status changes.
We also block (by use of a firewall) connections from certain ISPs known to support spamming, typically in China and South America. The third step is available to individual users to tairlor to their own account. The features are set up in each account's control panel, eg Friends (only receive mail from a know list of contacts), Exceptions, (eg reject all mail from a particular sender) Q8. After I set up a new email address I understand that I have a free month at the Premium level, after which I am automatically downgraded to the basic level. Can I upgrate at any time back to premium? Yes. Your account will remain usable (but only if accessing the internet via the MilNet UK 0845 dial in number) after it is downgraded to the basic level. You can upgrade at any time, but your account will be removed if it is not accessed for a total period of 90 days. Regardless of which level you are at, you retain the same email address. The only way you can loose it is if you delete it yourself, or fail to access it (either via webmail or POP3) for a continuous period of 90 days. Q9. Whats the difference between the three WebMail templates, "default", "smooth", and "surge". Why are there 3? The "default" template is the simplest, and is the most similar to the old one on the old mail server. "smooth" and "surge" both have more features, and enable you to set up your individual preferences, eg how spam should be handled, etc. Please try out all three, and simply settle for the one that suits you best. Please note that if you do not have cookies enabled on your browser, some of the functionality will not work. An alias is an additional email address on the server. Mail addressed to it will be delivered to the main address. Eg if I were to set up and alias of james@milnet.uk.net for the main address of jim@milnet.uk.net, emails addressed to james@milnet.uk.net would be delivered to jim@milnet.uk.net. Up to 6 aliases are available for those users subscribed at the 'Extra' level. Aliases must be in the same domain as the main address, ie you cant set up james@wizzo.org.uk as an alias of jim@milnet.uk.net. The facility is good for families, or small groups operating together. Setting Up an alias. When choosing an alias, you can only choose an address that isnt aleady in use on the server. If you try using an alias of an email address that already in use on the new server, you will get an error message ("Alias is the name of an existing account (exists in database)") . So if you have already migrated more than one email address for your family, you must choose one to be the 'primary', delete all the others (having read or stored any existing mail) on the new server (by using the control panel), and then setting them up to be aliases of the 'primary' address. Q11. I am having problems connecting to the mail server via my Outlook Express (or other email client software). I am using antivirus/antispam software on my computer. In most cases its the antivirus/antispam software that is actually connecting to the server, so just changing/adding the entry in Outlook (or other client software package) may not do the trick. This is particular so in Northon's Antivirus. One way round is to disable the antivirus/antispam software BEFORE making the change to Outlook (etc). Then re-enabling the antivirus/antispam software immeadiately after making the change. In extremis, try uninstalling the antivirus/antspam software, making the change, then reinstalling it. Q12. I am trying to use the new server to SEND my email, but I dont seem to be able to connect to it. I have subscribed at the 'extra' level. First of all, see the answer to Q11 above which might apply. Also note that in order to use our SMTP server, you must use authentication (and subscribe at the 'extra' level). Eg in Outlook go to Tools / Mail/ highlight account / Properties / choose Servers tab / check the box "My server requires authentication". You should use the same settings (username and password) as your POP3 account . Q13. I am having difficulty sending an attached file, or I have received a suspicious attachment which I think might have come from the system administrator or webmaster of my domain One of the most common ways for a computer virus to be transmitted is by email file attachment. To help prevent the spread of viruses, we block certain file types before they enter the MilNet email system. Please note that the list below is not definitive, and you should always be on your guard as spammers tactics change. Please let us know if you receive a suspicious looking file attached to an email, above all DONT OPEN IT if you have any suspicions about its origin. - We block all files with the following extensions
We block the following specific files if attached to a message, they are typically generated by spammers who attempt to persuade addresses of their messages to open the attachments which contain viruses or trojans.
Q14. How do I change the password of my account, and other options. This is done by use of the Control Panel. Use your browser to access the Email server's home page at https://tmail.milnet.uk.net/. On the left hand side, under the words "LogOn to MilNetMail Ver2", near the top, you will see two data entry areas, enter your full email address (including the bit aft the '@' sign), and your current password into these. Then press the button marked "My Control Panel". A new browser window will open which will show various options, depending on what level (Base, Premioun or Extra) you are subscrobed at. To change your password, press the button labeled "Password" on the left hand menu, and follow the instructions that subsequently appear on the screen. You can use any of the other buttons that appear on the menu for other tasks, eg to set up special rules for spam filtering, etc., depending on what level you are subscribed at. (Note that it possible to change your password, regardless of the level at which you are subscribed). Q15. Please tell me more about the outsourced anti spam service. Can I look at the quarantined messages, just to check that no genuine ones have been quarantined ? You can read more about the outsourced servcice at http://www.protectedmail.net/. If you wish to see emails addressed to you which have been quarantined, you will need to register on this page. Once registered, you can either view the emails on the web, or set up your account to automatically forward you a list of quarantined emails each day. You can either view them, release them, or notify the aintispam servce that the email is in fact NOT spam. Q16. I positively KNOW that someone has sent me an email, but it hasnt arrived. See the answers to Q7 and Q15 above.
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