Rollout of Authenticated SMTP for E-Mail—What Users Will Experience
No Change for Some Users (Pine, web mail, Mulberry)
Web mail (at web.mail.umich.edu) already sends mail securely, so no change is needed. The change to authenticated SMTP was made in August 2005 for those who use Pine on either the Login Service or the Statistics & Computation Service. Settings were also changed for Mulberry users whose preferences are on the IMSP server in November 2005. (Mulberry users who use local preferences will need to reconfigure Mulberry's SMTP settings themselves.)
Many Will Need to Reconfigure Desktop E-Mail Programs
People who use desktop e-mail clients will need to configure those clients to use the authenticated SMTP server and to use authentication. This means changing the SMTP server address in their mail client and specifying the type of authentication to be used for sending mail.
If they don't, they won't be able to send mail when unauthenticated SMTP is turned off in June 2006.
Some Users May Be Asked to Authenticate When They Send Mail
This depends on the e-mail program they use. Many people won't notice any difference in how their mail is sent.
A Benefit for Those Whose ISPs Block Port 25
Some ISPs block Port 25. This means that some people need one SMTP setting on campus and a different one from home when they connect using their ISP. Because configuration for our authenticated SMTP service can usually be set to use a different port, people will be able to use one setting for both on-campus and off-campus connections. (That is, as long as the ISPs don't make other changes in the future.) This varies by mail client; there may be exceptions.
A Benefit for Laptop Users
Authenticated SMTP makes e-mail easier for people with laptops who send mail over different Internet connections. A number of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) block the port typically used to send unauthenticated mail. The result is that many people must use different SMTP settings from home or when traveling from the settings they use on campus. Authenticated SMTP uses a different port for sending mail, so people using authenticated SMTP do not need to change their settings when they travel or use a different ISP.
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