Send Email from off-Grounds with SMTP Auth

Do you sometimes have difficulty sending email messages from off Grounds using your Central Mail Service (CMS) or unix.mail account? Maybe you've gotten a pop-up window or an error notifying you of a failure to send. Or perhaps you didn't notice an error, but learned later that your message was never received by the recipient. You may eliminate this kind of problem by configuring your email program to use a service called SMTP Auth.

Who needs SMTP Auth?

You should probably configure your email program to use SMTP Auth if:

  • You are off Grounds and you cannot send email from your CMS or unix.mail account; or
  • You are new to UVa, and you anticipate a consistent need to send email when you're not connected directly to the UVa network.

You do not need to use SMTP Auth if:

  • You are not having any problems sending email when off-Grounds;
  • Your computer is always connected directly to the UVa network, either through an on-Grounds wired or wireless connection;
  • You always use WebMail to read and send email when off Grounds; or
  • You always connect to the Internet using UVa Anywhere.

How do I use SMTP Auth?

To use SMTP Auth when off-Grounds, you must:

  1. Have a UVa email account on either the Central Mail Service (CMS) or unix.mail
  2. Change your email program's settings to ensure it is using the correct outgoing mail server and port values:

Note: SMTP Auth is offered on both the Central Mail Service (CMS) and the unix.mail systems. On the CMS, the SMTP Auth service affords password encryption on the wire as your password is transmitted to UVa for authentication/verification. On unix.mail, the SMTP Auth service uses a clear text password transmission.

If all attempts at using UVa's SMTP Auth fail, use your ISP's SMTP server to send your messages. Please visit your ISP's website or contact them via telephone to obtain the information needed for that configuration.

What is SMTP Auth?

To block spam and discourage misuse, email servers at UVa (and often elsewhere) deny access to unknown senders. UVa's Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Authentication (SMTP Auth) allows you to configure your email program once and thereafter automatically to identify youself as a current member of the University community and as someone who is authorized to send email through UVa email servers.

An Alternative: Authenticate Before Send

If you prefer not to configure your email program to use SMTP Auth, you can authenticate manually before you send email from off-Grounds (i.e., you can log into your email program with your computing ID (e.g., mst3k) and password before you send email messages from off Grounds). SMTP Auth simply relieves you of the inconvenience of having to login manually each time you send. Visit Authenticate Before Send for more information.

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