Email and network settings

• What are the email settings for Vanilla mail?

  Incoming server: mail.vanilla.co.za

  • pop3 on port 995 using SSL, or
  • imap on port 993 using SSL
  • username and password required

  Outgoing server: mail.vanilla.co.za

  • smtp on port 587 using TLS, or
  • smtp on port 465 using SSL
  • username and password required
• How do I configure my Google email account?

  To find all the POP and IMAP settings regarding Gmail addresses

  • Log into your email account through Gmail
  • Click on the cog in the right upper corner of the interface
  • Click on settings
  • Go to the 'Forwarding and POP/IMAP' tab
  • You'll find all the setting you need there as well as instructions on how to view your Gmail address in a client
• How do I set up an auto-response on my email?

  We discourage users from using email auto response and by adding a ps at the bottom of your emails that you will be way on a specific date is all that needs to be done.

  If you were to add an email auto response, for email etiquette reasons, we recommend that you unsubscribe from any mailing lists for the time that you will be away.

• What are Vanilla DNS server settings?

  DNS servers:

  • 197.155.6.100
  • 197.155.6.200

  Network notices are available on our Facebook page http://facebook.com/VanillaInternet, please follow us to be notified of any issues or outtages.

• How do I log into Vanilla’s webmail?

  Vanilla’s webmail allows you to access your emails from anywhere. You can also customise your mail with automated filters for email management.

  • Webmail Login
  • Email/Network Settings Info

General questions

• What is an email account?

  An email account is an electronic post box. You get a username (which is similar to the number of a post box) and a password (the key to your post box). All email sent to your email account can be collected using any email program or web browser. Email addressed to you is delivered to your account and stored there until you log in and check it either online or download it to your computer.

  An email forward is the equivalent of a real-life forwarding address. When you change your PO box and leave a forwarding address, any email addressed to your old address gets re-sent to your new address. An email forward is similar in that all email sent to the forwarding address just gets forwarded to a real account (i.e., like a real-world forwarding address, one cannot collect your mail from there as it's been forwarded). An email forward is not an email account, and it's a free service offered with any domain names.

  You can only receive email at an email forward. You cannot send email from an email forward.

• What is an email address?

  An email address is made up of two parts. The first is the name of the mailbox name that the address belongs to. The second part is the domain name of the ISP that the user has signed up with, or another domain names that the user owns.

  In the email address: johndoe@vanilla.co.za, johndoe is the user's name and vanilla.co.za is the domain name. The @ symbol, which stands for 'at', means exactly that. If you register your domain name, you can set up an email address to forward all mail that goes to johndoe@yourdomainname.co.za to be redirected to your account, e.g., johndoe@vanilla.co.za.

• What is an email alias?

  An email alias is not a real email account.

  Instead, it's an address that forwards all email it receives to another email account. Another name for an email alias is a forwarding address. For example, if you establish an email alias called jd@vanilla.co.za to go to johndoe@vanilla.co.za, then all email sent to jd@vanilla.co.za will be automatically forwarded to johndoe@vanilla.co.za (In this case, 'jd' is called an alias of 'johndoe'.)

  You can set up an email alias so that email is forwarded to an account outside of your domain name as well. For example, you can set up jd@vanilla.co.za to go to johndoe@yourcompany.co.za. You can have several email aliases all send mail to the same account.

  You can only receive email at an email alias. You cannot send email from an email alias.

• How much does an email account cost?

  For a Vanilla email account:

  from R50 per month or R500 per annum (incl. VAT) - for up to 10GB storage

  from R65 per month or R650 per annum (incl. VAT) - for up to 25GB storage

• Can you get a virus in an email?

  A computer virus is a program that invades your computer.

  Can you get a virus in the post?
  Just as there was a time when opening a physical letter could have devastating consequences, like a letter bomb, opening a malicious email can have a similarly destructive impact on your computer.

  Can you get a virus from just opening an email or do you have to open an attachment within an email?
  Up until a few years ago, opening an attachment was required before you could get a virus through email on your computer. However, this has changed due to more 'clever' virus writing and more functionality being added to certain software programs. Opening certain types of messages can infect your machine.

  Can you get a virus just by reading email?
  Some users think they are always safe to open email as long as they don’t look at or open attachments. This is no longer necessarily true. Some viruses can infect users when they read email. They look like any other message but can contain a hidden script (program) that runs as soon as you open the email or even look at it in the preview pane. Scripts can change system settings and can cause your computer to send the virus on to other users via email.

  Always have:

  • An updated anti-virus program installed on your computer.
  • Always keep your operating system and virus definitions up to date.

  Note: this doesn't apply if you are using gmail.

• What do people mean by Email etiquette?

  Many users are not aware that email has its own set of rules, and violating those rules increases the probability of filtering your email not only by anti-spam filters but also by filters in other corporations (many corporations are using various spam filters to protect their users from the flood of spam). For your reference, here are typical email etiquette rules:

  • Refrain from using all capitals LIKE THIS when sending email. This is considered to be 'yelling'.
  • Include your full name and email address in the body of every message. Many email programs help you to do this with a signature file.
  • Use the subject line to provide a meaningful synopsis of your message, especially if you are sending business-related email or email to a stranger.
  • Take a moment to delete extra lines and text from replies and forwards to reduce the size of the message.
  • Do not use email to criticize other people's grammar and spelling. Email is informal, and criticisms like that are called flames. Remember that everyone makes mistakes.
  • Always check your email for readability and spelling before you click Send.
  • Double-check the email address of the person to whom you are sending your message is correct.
• Can I save messages on the server?

  Normally when you download your email to your computer, it is removed from your account mailbox on the Vanilla mail server. But there are means of saving the messages onto the server.

  Leave your email on the server.

  This is useful if you are going to check your email while away from your computer using Vanilla webmail.

• Do you provide open relay?

  Short answer: NO. You must use smtp-auth on port 465 or 587 with a valid account.

  Unauthenticated open relay from client IP addresses used to be allowed, but then device compromises and client malware infections created a nightmare with our IP reputation. No client email can be delivered when we get blocklisted.

  We now enforce smtp-auth for mail accounts and also apply rate limits to avoid mail floods where malware uses compromised credentials to send itself out.

Spam

• What exactly is spam?

  Spam is like junk mail for your inbox - it's an unsolicited email from someone you don’t know or have no relationship with. Often, it's sent by organisations trying to advertise products or share political or social messages.

• When is an email considered spam?

  A message is considered spam if it is sent in bulk without the recipient’s explicit, ongoing consent, and if the recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant to the message content. This lack of consent makes it spam, regardless of whether the message is an advertisement, scam, solicitation, or other content.

  Spam differs from general Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE), as spam’s defining feature is the lack of permission from the recipient, not the content. This distinction is critical: rather than focusing on what spam messages contain, spam regulation focuses on how messages are sent - unsolicited and en masse.

• Technically, what is Spam?

  Technically, the word Spam as applied to Email means Unsolicited Bulk Email ("UBE"). Also known as "unsolicited commercial e-mail" (UCE), "gray mail" and just plain "junk mail,". Unsolicited means that the Recipient has not granted verifiable permission for the message to be sent. Bulk means that the message is sent as part of a larger collection of messages, all having substantively identical content. A message is Spam only if it is both Unsolicited and Bulk.

  • Unsolicited Email is normal email (examples: first contact enquiries, job enquiries, sales enquiries)
  • Bulk Email is normal email (examples: subscriber newsletters, customer communications, discussion lists)
• What’s done to combat spam?

  The sending of Unsolicited Bulk Email ("UBE") is banned by the vast majority of Internet service providers worldwide. Spamhaus anti-spam blocklist, used by more than 260 million Internet users to reject emails identified as spam, is based on the internationally-accepted definition of Spam as Unsolicited Bulk Email. Therefore anyone sending UBE on the Internet, whether the content is commercial or not, illegal or not, needs to be fully aware that:

  1. They will lose their Internet access if they send UBE,
  2. They will be placed on the Spamhaus Block List (SBL) if they send UBE.
• How does Vanilla handle email spam?

  Vanilla uses DMARC and spf authentication to prevent spammers, phishers and other email security risks.

Troubleshooting

• Why is my email slow to arrive or delayed?

  People may tell you that they have sent you an email but you haven't received it.

  All mail sent to a Vanilla-hosted email address (that is, a vanilla "post-box") from a new unknown address will be delayed up to 45 mins. This is due to the processes used by our spam filters to make sure that the mail you receive is in-fact for you and not spam. Note that is will only happen the first time someone (who hasn't ever emailed you before) emails you. If your email is taking longer than 45 mins to come thorugh then please email contactus at vanilla.co.za

• What does a POP3 error mean?

  If you receive an error message “POP3 Error - Could Not Connect To Remote POP3 Server”, make sure that you have the correct server name. In Outlook Express, click tools and then click accounts. Click on your Vanilla mail account to highlight it and then click on Properties. Under the Servers tab, make sure that the Incoming Mail (POP3) is the correct one as supplied by your ISP. Click on OK if changes were made and then Close.

• What do I do about an SMTP Error?

  If you get an SMTP error, saying “Host not found”, please check that you have the correct server name. In Outlook Express, click tools and then click accounts. Click on your Vanilla mail account to highlight it and then click on Properties. Under the Servers tab, make sure that the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) is the correct one as supplied by your ISP. Click on OK if changes were made and then Close.

• What to do when your modem hangs up after sending or receiving an email

  In Outlook Express go to the menu-bar, click Tools and then click Options. In the Options window click on the Connection tab. Remove the check-mark next to Hang up after sending and receiving. Click on OK.

• What do I do when my connection to the server fails?

  This error occurs when your Vanilla email account attempts to connect to incorrect servers. This either happens because you are not connected to the internet, or because one of your email account settings are incorrect. Please double-check your Vanilla email settings.

• Why do I get a server 'Time Out'

  A server "Time Out" usually happens when your device can’t connect to your email server within a set time. This could be due to a slow internet connection, server overload, or incorrect email settings. Try refreshing your connection, checking your network speed, or adjusting your email settings. If the issue persists, reach out to our support team for help.

• What is a Mailer Daemon?

  If an email returns to you after sending it you may encounter a Mail Delivery Subsystem message or “daemon” message. Usually these error messages give the reason why the email was returned. The most common reasons are an incorrect email address or, the inbox of the person you are trying to send to is full and they cannot accept any more email.

• Why are my webmail attachments coming through as xxxx.dat files?

  Please remove any spaces from your file name before attaching it. In some cases Microsoft proprietary systems treat spaces differently to other open systems which creates this problem.

• Can I access email from Webmail and email programs?

  What happens when you try to access your mail from the web and an email program such as outlook express.

  When an email is deleted from Webmail a D flag is placed next to it, to show it has been deleted. This allows a user to see what has been deleted. Simply click on Folders in the top left corner, and then on Inbox, and you will notice that the messages that have been deleted will no longer appear in your inbox.

  So, if you are deleting messages from the Webmail, and you are downloading them at the same time in Outlook Express, an error will occur. You could wait a minute or two after you've deleted them off the Webmail and logged out, and then clicking on send/receive in outlook express.

  We suggest a refresh in your webmail:

  After deleting emails in your Webmail, click on folders in the top left corner, and then on Inbox. Then you may click on send/receive in outlook express.

Distribution lists

• What is a mailing list?

  A mailing list is a means to send information to a large number of recipients. Our service features vast customisation capabilities with moderation from both the owner and the moderator. We use Mailman for ultimate reliability and functionality of our mailing list service.
  We provide a tailored solution for your needs. Most of our customers use their own domain names for their lists.
  For example, Vanilla supports the Internet Society which controls their own lists for members at isoc.org.za. Our mailing lists can be used for:

  • various teams,
  • working groups, or
  • committees.

  Other customers such as private schools have replaced their paper-based newsletter system with email. They use a subdomain eg. lists.vanilla.co.za. Another small business franchisee uses our service to communicate with and between branches.

• What’s the benefit of using email lists?

  Send one email to an address and allow the mailing list server do the rest.

• What is the cost of Vanilla’s mailing list service?

  We can provide you with a mailing list service for R69 (incl.) per month plus R285 setup. The setup includes 20 minutes telephonic instruction how to use the software. You can use this as much as you like up to 500MB (±50000 thousand of text emails) but we charge an additional R49 per additional 500MB. It uses the most widely used software called Mailman which allows us to guarantee our service.

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