Overview
This article provides certain general information regarding our central mail service (web client) at mail.msu.edu . For accurate and up to date information about the upgraded central service, please refer to TB10900.This document will provide a number of general answers to many questions regarding the central.mail.msu.edu system.
Since Qualcomm (original manufacturer) no longer supports the Eudora e-mail client, the ATS Help Desk is unable to provide direct support for that product.
Does mail.msu.edu eliminate spam?
No e-mail service eliminates spam (junk e-mail) totally; what may be considered spam by some might be considered useful information by others.Mail.msu.edu offers a basic anti-spam function based on SpamAssassin. This function analyzes each incoming message to see if it meets characteristics of typical spam mail. Occasionally the formula will lead to a "false positive" -- a legitimate message that appears to be spam.
Refer to Mail.msu.edu: Spam Processing for more information.
Why can't my e-mail client send or receive messages?
Settings for SSL and "server requires authentication" must be set correctly for your e-mail client to function properly, and your Operating System must be able to properly use SSL. If you use an e-mail client (Outlook, Eudora, etc) and you can't send and/or receive mail, first verify that your client and Operating System are compatible with mail.msu.edu; then, make sure you have properly configured your e-mail client. More information is available at http://help.msu.edu/mail.E-mail timeout errors can occur when your e-mail client tries to download a message with errors or very large attachments. The result is that your e-mail client hangs on a certain message when attempting to download messages, and will not continue to download your e-mail, though you still may be able to send messages out. If this happens, close your e-mail client; then log-in to webmail, delete or move the problem message to a different folder, and try to download with your e-mail client again.
How much space do I have for my e-mail folders?
Mail space quotas are 512mb for students and 1 gigabyte for faculty, staff and graduate students for the inbox and other e-mail folders. Departments using a valid MSU departmental account number can purchase more space as needed through the Add, Remove or Delete NetID Services Form (Adobe Acrobat or Apple Preview needed). Payment cannot be made with cash, check, or credit card.What happens if my mail space gets filled up completely?
Once you are using more than 90% of your mail space quota, performance of the service is likely to degrade significantly. A courtesy notice is emailed to you when your account is more than 85% full.If you reach 100% of your quota, you will usually be UNABLE to log in to your account. Incoming mail may be lost or rejected.
What is the size limit for attachments?
Webmail Attachments:The mail.msu.edu Webmail client limits the size of outgoing messages. The total size of the message, including text and all attachments, cannot exceed 50 megabytes.
Because the Webmail client temporarily stores outgoing messages in your Drafts folder, your disk quota must have at least two times the size of the message and attachment.
Client Attachments (Eudora, Outlook, others):
Users of desktop clients such as Outlook or Eudora may send or receive messages up to 50 megabytes in size. This size however, assumes a totally empty mailbox for the receiver. This size limit may vary slightly due to how each client encodes messages before they are sent.
Remember also that if the recipient's server or e-mail client can't accept large attachments, the message and attachment may bounce back to you.
Are my outgoing e-mail messages scanned when using the Webmail client?
The mail.msu.edu configuration scans e-mail for viruses in messages composed from one Webmail user to another. An attempt to send an infected Webmail message will now return an "Unable to send message" notice in red at the top of the screen.Does Norton Anti Virus software work with mail.msu.edu for my desktop e-mail client?
Some people worry whether Norton Antivirus protects them while using desktop e-mail client software with mail.msu.edu. Specifically, the concern is that some versions of Norton AntiVirus only scan port 110 (standard port for POP mail) and not other ports (in particular, port 995 which is used for SSL). Symantec Technical Support has confirmed that this is not a problem. They tell us that realtime protection is sufficent for full protection. (In fact, e-mail scanning during transmission isn't even enabled in corporate versions in order to reduce network load.)More information is available at: http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-security.nsf/docid/2002020511514548/
When are deleted messages purged?
Messages are not automatically purged. Users can use the Login Tasks preference settings to customize this and other maintanence tasks according to the user's preference.How do I send e-mail to a class list?
Instructors should use the new class list e-mail system provided by the Office of the Registrar, through the Registrar Office Instructor Menu.The mail.msu.edu system does not support Telnet access. Why?
Telnet traffic is not encrypted, which means text travels "in the clear," potentially allowing someone to intercept a user's password. The mail.msu.edu system encrypts all traffic. Because the MSU NetID and password are used to authenticate many MSU resources, encryption is important. Moreover, Telnet is a resource-intensive service.Given the widespread availability of e-mail client software (Eudora, Outlook, etc) and the widespread availability of Web access for mobile users, Telnet is no longer required as a primary mode of access.
How do Vacation messages work?
When you enable a Vacation message, anyone who sends you an email will only receive one notification per week. For example, say you turn on your vacation message on Monday the 18th:- On Tuesday the 19th joe@example.com sends you a message. joe@example.com immediately receives a copy of your vacation message.
- On Friday the 22nd joe@example.com forgets and sends you another message. He does not receive the vacation message.
- On Wednesday the 27th, joe@example.com sends you another message, this time (as it is greater than a week) he gets your vacation message again.
Where can I send suggestions for improving mail.msu.edu?
The mail.msu.edu team is interested in your comments and suggestions. Please visit http://mail.msu.edu and click on the Contact Us link.
Where can I get more info on mail.msu.edu?
For more information on MSU's central e-mail system, browse to http://project.mail.msu.edu. The mail.msu.edu project page includes an RSS feed that allows customers to subscribe for up-to-date info on upcoming changes to mail.msu.edu.What happens if an account is deactivated?
Once an mail.msu.edu account is deactivated, the user can no longer log in to the account and any forwarding setting will be ignored and cease to work.Other popular information sources at MSU
- Admissions FAQ (Admissions can also be reached via email at admis@msu.edu)
- Office of the Registrar FAQ (The Registrar's office can also be reached via email at reg@msu.edu)
- Academic Computing and Network Services Help Desk FAQ
- Other frequently asked questions at MSU (Print Services, MSUnet Wireless, AFS, etc)
