Plusnet SquirrelMail

[ASC1951]

Can anyone help with a problem I have with Plusnet, using a laptop abroad for the first time?

Plusnet won't allow POP3 access to its mailservers from an IP address that it doesn't recognise - e.g. a wifi connection abroad. There is a protocol for secure login, but it doesn't work reliably and it's easier to use Plusnet's webmail in that situation.

But - you are then left with copies of Sent messages on their server, which aren't downloaded when you login from your normal address. Inbox items are, but not Sent items. I need a local copy of these messages. Does anyone know a straightforward way to download them, either automatically or as a one off? I can't find anything in their FAQ.

 

[ASC1951]

Ah - I've found the answer in a SquirrelMail forum.

But I'll leave the topic up in case anyone else has had the problem.

You have to set the SquirrelMail folder preferences so that webmail Sent items are stored in your webmail Inbox, then create a custom rule in your local email client (Outlook, in my case) to divert all Inbox items from the webmail address into your local Sent folder. Seems a convoluted way to do it, but it does work.

 

[nickprior]

Edit: beat me to it!

Quick and easy:
Its a bit clunky but you could blind copy your sent mail to your own in box. Its a problem with almost any web based mail service.
The proper way to do it:
The alternative would be set up IMAP rather than POP3/SMTP and then all your mail is stored in PlusNets servers, and all of it is replicated locally when you log on.

 

[bobpullen]

Hi there!

Plusnet won't allow POP3 access to its mailservers from an IP address that it doesn't recognise - e.g. a wifi connection abroad.

That certainly shouldn't be the case. Access to our POP3 servers should be possible from just about anywhere, assuming the provider you're connecting to doesn't block/intercept traffic across port 110.

There is a protocol for secure login, but it doesn't work reliably and it's easier to use Plusnet's webmail in that situation.

Our mail collection servers don't support SSL/TLS, so any connection you make to them from a standalone email client will be over an unsecured connection.

But - you are then left with copies of Sent messages on their server, which aren't downloaded when you login from your normal address. Inbox items are, but not Sent items. I need a local copy of these messages. Does anyone know a straightforward way to download them, either automatically or as a one off? I can't find anything in their FAQ.

As Nick's suggested, you might want to look at using IMAP rather than POP3. The server address for IMAP connections is imap.plus.net rather than mail.plus.net. When using IMAP, you'll be able to view the contents of the Sent items folder in Webmail. In addition to this, anything you read in Webmail will automatically be marked as read when you next open your email client.

Best regards,

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Digital Care

 

[ColinJ]

Hi there!

...

Blimey - Bob's on the ball! (Courtesy of Google Alerts, maybe? )

 

[ASC1951]

Hi there!
...Access to our POP3 servers should be possible from just about anywhere, assuming the provider you're connecting to doesn't block/intercept traffic across port 110.

Sorry, my mistake. What I should have said was that Plusnet only allows access to emails from an "alien" IP address if you use SMTP Authentication. I tried to set that up using the procedure in https://portal.plus....2010_smtp.shtml
without success. I may not be the most technically savvy person in the world, but I'm not an idiot either, and I couldn't get it to work despite half a dozen increasingly meticulous attempts. If I was doing something wrong, there was no indication what that was.

As Nick's suggested, you might want to look at using IMAP rather than POP3. The server address for IMAP connections is imap.plus.net rather than mail.plus.net. When using IMAP, you'll be able to view the contents of the Sent items folder in Webmail. In addition to this, anything you read in Webmail will automatically be marked as read when you next open your email client.

Best regards,

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Digital Care

Ah, perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly or accurately. I didn't have any issue at all using webmail, including reading all my Sent items. My problem was that when I returned to the UK I wanted to download copies of all the items I had sent using webmail, so that my home PC had a full record of all the correspondence. Imap/Pop isn't relevant to that and so far as I can see SquirrelMail doesn't provide any way of doing what should be an obvious task, apart from the divert-and-filter routine that I mentioned.

 

[bobpullen]

Blimey - Bob's on the ball! (Courtesy of Google Alerts, maybe? )

You got me!

Sorry, my mistake. What I should have said was that Plusnet only allows access to emails from an "alien" IP address if you use SMTP Authentication. I tried to set that up using the procedure in https://portal.plus....2010_smtp.shtml
without success.

If you can provide me with your username then I'll happily check to make sure SMTP authentication is working on your account. It is worth bearing in mind though that it will only work with paid for subscription accounts i.e. *not* free accounts.

My problem was that when I returned to the UK I wanted to download copies of all the items I had sent using webmail, so that my home PC had a full record of all the correspondence. Imap/Pop isn't relevant to that...

It is relevant. Using IMAP you would be able to subscribe to the Sent Items folder using your local mail client. When you look in this folder, you would see all of the messages you had sent using Webmail.

Best regards,

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Digital Care

 

[ASC1951]

If you can provide me with your username then I'll happily check to make sure SMTP authentication is working on your account. It is worth bearing in mind though that it will only work with paid for subscription accounts i.e. *not* free accounts.

Yes, I have a broadband+phone account, so presumably that qualifies. I'll send you a PM, thanks.

Using IMAP you would be able to subscribe to the Sent Items folder using your local mail client. When you look in this folder, you would see all of the messages you had sent using Webmail.

I think I follow that.

BTW, this was a gripe - well, not even a gripe - about SquirrelMail. I have always found the Plusnet product and service to be second to none, if anyone wants a recommendation.

 

[bobpullen]

Yes, I have a broadband+phone account, so presumably that qualifies.

Yes, it does qualify.

I'll send you a PM, thanks.

Thanks, I've just replied.

BTW, this was a gripe - well, not even a gripe - about SquirrelMail.

I could allow you access to a second webmail install we have based on Roundcube however it will exhibit the same problem as SquirrelMail WRT items in the Sent Items folder.

Best regards,

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Digital Care