E-Mail - Setting up an E-Mail Reader

You can use a variety of programs to read your pair Networks e-mail such as Outlook, Eudora, Webmail programs such as webmail.pair.com, Blackberry devices, cell phones, and more.

No matter what program you are using, you need to have five pieces of information to be able to set up your e-mail reader correctly.

1. E-Mail Address: To read your pair Networks main account mailbox e-mail messages, use "username@pair.com." Replace "username" with your pair Networks username, which can be found in your original Welcome Message e-mail.

   To read e-mail messages from a mailbox you created in the Account Control Center (ACC), use the e-mail address format "e-mailaddressname@example.com." Replace "e-mailaddressname" with the e-mail name you used when creating your mailbox in the ACC. Replace "example.com" with the domain name of the mailbox you created.

2. Username: To read your main account mailbox e-mail, use your pair Networks username. To read e-mail from mailboxes created in the ACC, use the username you specified when creating the mailbox followed by the @ symbol and then the domain name with extension. This should appear as username@example.com.

3. Password: Use the password associated with the mailbox you wish to access. If you wish to read your main account mailbox e-mail, use the password associated with it. To read e-mail from mailboxes created in the ACC, use the password you specified when creating the mailbox.

   Passwords and usernames are case sensitive.

4. Incoming Mail Server (POP3 or IMAP): Regardless of which e-mail protocol you use, you must include the name of the server from which you receive your e-mail messages. To view e-mail from your main account mailbox, use mailX.pair.com. Replace the "X" with your server number, which can be found on your Welcome Message e-mail or when you log into your server using either FTP or SSH.

   To view e-mail from a mailbox created in the ACC, use mail.example.com. Replace "example.com" with the domain name associated with the mailbox.

   Please click here to read about using SSL to secure your e-mail sessions.

5. Outgoing E-Mail Server (SMTP): SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, refers to this outgoing e-mail server. Contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) for the name of its outgoing mailserver. If you cannot obtain this information from your ISP, you can use our SMTP mailserver, relay.pair.com. Click here to read our policies regarding the use of relay.pair.com.

POP Versus IMAP: Why it Matters

It is important to understand the basics of how your particular e-mail program handles sending and receiving e-mail. When you set up your e-mail reader, it may ask you if you wish to use IMAP or POP.

The main difference between POP (Post Office Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is the ability to download your e-mail to your computer or portable device or leave it on the pair Networks e-mail server.

POP is generally used to store your e-mail on your computer or portable device, and IMAP is generally used to keep the e-mail on the server. The benefit of IMAP is that you can read your e-mail from any system, any computer or mobile device, but you must be online. POP's advantage is that you can read your e-mail "offline" because it is downloaded to your computer.

There is no "right" or "wrong" protocol to choose; you simply must choose the method that works best for you.

Examples of Setting up E-Mail for Outlook Express and Mac OS X

Here are examples of how to set up two popular e-mail readers, Outlook Express and the Mac OS X e-mail reader.

The instructions below detail how to set up an e-mail reader that you have already used previously.

If you have not set up your e-mail reader yet, please follow your e-mail reader's step-by-step "wizard" and use the five pieces of information described above to begin using your e-mail reader.

Setting up your e-mail for Microsoft Outlook Express (Version 6)

1. Open up Outlook Express
2. Select "Tools," and then "Accounts"
3. Click the "Mail" tab and then the "Add" button, and select "Mail"
4. Enter your e-mail address, and click "Continue"
5. Select POP3 or IMAP from the "My Incoming Server" drop down menu
6. Enter your incoming and outgoing e-mail servers, and click "Continue"
7. Type your pair Networks username, then the "@" symbol, followed by your full domain name in the "Account Name" field (e.g. USERNAME@example.com)
8. Enter your pair Networks password
9. Click "Next" and then "Finish"

To make this account your default e-mail address, go to the Accounts screen from the Tools section and click "Set as Default."

Setting up your e-mail for Mac OS X

1. Open the Mac OS X e-mail program
2. Select "File" and then "Add Account"
3. Select either POP or IMAP from the "Account Type" drop down menu
4. Enter your e-mail address in the appropriate field, and click "Continue"
5. Enter your Incoming Mail Server, username (followed by both the "@" symbol and then your full domain name), and password, and click "Continue"
6. Enter your Outgoing Mail Server, and click "Continue"
7. Verify your information, and click "Continue"

The Mac OS X e-mail program also allows you to import e-mail and other information from other e-mail programs.

Using SSL to Secure Your E-Mail

pair Networks has now made IMAPS and POPS available on all its mailservers, which you can use to transparently encrypt your e-mail session. However, POPS/IMAPS only secures the connection between your e-mail reader and the mailserver. Once it reaches the mailserver, it will be in plain text. For additional security, you would need to encrypt the e-mail message itself.

The port for POPS is 995, and the port for the IMAPS is 993. These are the standard ports for these services, and you should not need to manually set them.

Please note that we replaced the secure certificate used to provide POPS, IMAPS, and SMTPS e-mail services (sending and receiving e-mail over SSL). Our SSL certificate vendor has changed to a new "root" certificate, which is recognized by most, but not all, e-mail programs.

If your e-mail program begins returning errors and indicates that the server certificate is not recognized, please download the root certificate below and install it within your e-mail program. The specifics of how to install a certificate will vary from program to program -- please consult the help files of your program for details.

Add Trust External CA Root.crt

However, some e-mail readers will not let you proceed if the secure certificates do not match. If this occurs, please change your e-mail settings from this format:

incoming server: mail.example.com

to:

incoming server: mail###.pair.com

In the example above, replace "###" with your server's one to three digit number. You can find this information in your original Welcome Message. You can also find your server name on the main page of the Account Control Center (https://my.pair.com). Once you have your server name, you can find your server number at the Knowledge Base page below:

Server Status Page

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