What is POP3?

POP3 (POP) is the technical term for the address of your mailbox. In real world terms, it can be thought of as having your own post box at your local sorting office. For your domain, your POP3 mailbox is always mail.<yourdomain>.com or mail.<yourdomain>.co.uk.

When you receive email, your email software runs off to the POP3 address and retrieves whatever mail has been deposited there, sorting it by the email address it has been sent to.

For more information on setting up your email software, click here.

What is SMTP?

SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) is the address to which all email you send is sent to. Again, an SMTP address in real world terms can be thought of as having that personal post box at your local sorting office. This time it is a place where outgoing mail is deposited where it waits to be delivered to a POP3 address on the internet.

Why aren't POP3 and SMTP addresses the same?

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, SMTP and POP3 differ in the way they process email and generally the host will have a separate server for each.

Secondly, it is very common for the SMTP address to be associated with the ISP you use to connect to the internet. For example, connecting with Freeserve's dial-up number will require you to use Freeserve's SMTP address for sending mail. You will not be able to use BT Internet's dial-up number to send email through the same account. The reason for this is simple: it is to stop people sending anonymous junk mail through a provider's SMTP.

For more information on setting up your email software, click here.

I have an AOL account, can I still access my POP3 mail?

Unfortunately not. AOL is a "closed" system, acting as a front end to the rest of the internet. As such, it's email systems work slightly different and are not based on POP3.

There is a solution however. Ghostlight Designs can set up forwarders on every POP3 email you choose so that any mail sent to these addresses will be diverted to your AOL address. Remember however that when you reply to an email, your AOL address will be shown in the message header, not your domain email address. If this is a problem then you may wish to consider subscribing to a free ISP in order to send and receive POP3 email.

What's an Email Forwarder?

Email Forwarding is a method whereby email sent to a domain address will automatically be forwarded to another email address of your choice. As in the example above, AOL users will need mail forwarders set up in order to access POP3 email.

Mail forwarding can also be used to where someone doesn't have immediate access to their PC. For example, you may fly to Australia and use a Yahoo or Hotmail account to stay in touch. Email forwarders can be set up to send your POP3 email to these addresses.

What's an Auto Responder?

An Auto Responder is a method whereby anyone sending mail to a specified address on your domain will receive an automatic response. For example, you may be on holiday and not have the desire to check and respond to email. An auto responder can be set up that will send a reply to anyone emailing you that you're on holiday and will not be able to read their email until you get back.

How do I set up my Outlook software?

For a tutorial on how to set up Outlook for your email, click here.

Tell me more about the Email Virus Scanning that you provide

Unfortunately, the virus writers exploit the "functionality" of Outlook and Outlook Express to distribute virus attacks across the internet. Many such viruses dip into your address book and send copies of themselves to all the addressees it finds. This makes such a virus extremely virulent, bringing chaos to the internet within only a matter of hours.

If you subscribe to email virus scanning with your domain then every email address we set up for you is checked for viruses before email even gets into your mailbox. The very latest virus definitions are used so you can be confident that your email is safe and that you're not helping to spread the virus.

If your business runs on MacOS or Linux then don't worry, hardly anyone writes viruses for these platforms! Netscape, Opera and AOL users are also much safer.

Do I need to worry about the Code Red virus?

Despite the media hype, the Code Red virus is of no concern to you or your business. It only attacks internet information servers (i.e. the big servers that host internet sites) and not your PC. At the very worst, Code Red will result in some web sites and email being unavailable for a period of time.

At the time of writing, the Code Red virus has been all but eradicated but this issue serves as a warning not to believe everything that the popular press tells you. If you have any concerns about viruses and virus protection then contact us.

What email addresses should I have with my site?

It is generally recommended that you arbitrary email addresses for contact through your web site and "named addresses" for your own use. For example, Bill Smith, the plumber with the domain name www.plumbedup.co.uk has the email address bill@plumbedup.co.uk. For prospects wishing to email Bill through the site, we would recommended info@plumbedup.co.uk or inquiries@plumbedup.co.uk. Bill's "private" email address bill@plumbed-up.co.uk could then be used for his business cards and flyers, and for customers, suppliers, family and friends.