Mail FAQ

How do I set up an out of office reply for incoming emails?

Creating an autoresponder

1. Login to your webmail interface through https://<yourdomainname>:2096
2. Go to 'Autoresponder Options' at the bottom
3. Enter your name in the 'From:' field
4. Enter the subject you wish the recipient to see in the 'Subject:' field
5. Choose the character set the email will be sent in by selecting an option from the drop field.
6. If you wish for the email to display html code in web form, click the tick box next to 'HTML:'
7. Provide a body for your message. For example: "I'm currently out of the office until July 2nd. You can reach me on my mobile phone for any emergencies"
8. Click on 'Setup Autoresponder'

Now, all emails sent to your email account will be greeted with this autoresponse until you remove it. (You can remove it in the same interface by choosing 'Delete Autoresponder')

I have forgotten the password. How can I receive email?

You will need to contact your website's administrator so they can reset your password.

I want to allow users to be able to change their email passwords. Can this be done?

Yes. Within their mail interface, they can change their password. They will need to login to the interface at https://<theirdomain.com>:2096, then select the 'Change Password' option.

How do I manually kill the exim mail que?

• /usr/local/cpanel/whostmgr/bin/whostmgr2 killeximq

Where is the exim antivirus config file?

• /etc/antivirus.exim

How can I debug problems with an email account?

Trace the path of the email when sent from the server and see what path it follows:

• exim -d2 -bt user@domain.com

What do I put in the outgoing section to get my email in Outlook?

You will need to contact your web host for the details for your specific mail account. You can usually use mail.example.com along with user@example.com and your password. Make sure to try checking 'my server requires authentication' as many mail servers require you to use this option.

"A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients." What does this mean?

This means that there was a problem delivering the mail meesage you sent. Either an address you tried to send it to was misspelled, or it no longer exists.

Check the rest of the message to see what email address the problem was related to.

How can I add a mail account manually through the shell interface?

You can use /scripts/addpop to accomplish this.

I am not receiving emails. What do I do?

Check to make sure you have new mail by logging into https://example.com:2096 or http://example.com/webmail

Once logged in, choose a webmail program to view your inbox.

If the mail appears in the webmail interface above but not on your computer's mail application (outlook, outlook express, mail, etc), you'll need to verify that the settings you are using to check your email are correct. The settings should look something like:

mail.example.com 

user@example.com 

Make sure to try enabling 'My Server requires Authentication' in Outlook as many servers require this option.

If you still cannot receive mail, check with your web host to verify your settings.

Is it possible for an individual user to access the webmail programs without going via the cPanel control panel?

Sure. Simply to go to https://example.com/webmail or https://example.com:2096 (replacing example.com with your domain name) to login directly with the email account and password.

Can I access my e-mail from a remote location using another PC?

Yes, you may access your email from any computer with a web browser and an Internet connection. Typically you can access the webmail using https://example.com:2096, replacing example.com with your website's actual domain name.

The normal login is your email address and password, so user@example.com and "yourpassword". If that does not work, contact your hosting company for special instructions.

Mail is not being sent to a specific domain, what is wrong?

There are may things that could be wrong. Here's where to start:

• Check to ensure that the Mx entry for the domain points to the domain.
• Check to make sure the domain resolves.
• Check the exim logs for errors or delivery of the message: /var/log/exim_mainlog and /var/log/exim_rejectlog
• Is the domain's mail being delivered to another server? If so, is the domain's MX record pointing to that server?

How do I block unsolicited mails ?

You can use BoxTrapper or SpamAssassin; see the interface or documentation for more information.

How can I change the mail port 25 to another port number?

You can run Exim on another port by going to the Service Manager in WebHost Manager and then enabling exim on another port and choosing the port number.

Why is Neomail not available on my new cPanel server?

All new cPanel installations use Maildir-format mailboxes by default instead of the previous format, mbox. Neomail is no longer supported with Maildir.

When pulling mail from cPanel to my mail client, the mail remains marked as unread in cPanel's webmail.

If you are using POP3 protocol to download email, it will not tell the server that your mail has been read. We suggest switching to IMAP for email if your host uses IMAP.

How can I whitelist an entire domain in BoxTrapper?

You can use the following regular expression: from .+\@domain\.com

If the domain you wish to allow is mydomain.com, it would look like: from .+\@mydomain\.com

Can I set my email up so 2 (or more) accounts receive mail sent to 1 address?

Yes. Create a forwarder from the account receiving the mail to the account that should also get the mail.

For example, if people are emailing abc@domain1.com but you also want xyz@domain2.com to receive that mail, set up a forwarder from abc@domain1.com to xyz@domain2.com, and both accounts will receive the email.

Tip: You can add as many forwarders as you want to get copies of the email sent to more accounts.

How can I forward my emails without leaving a copy in my account?

If you simply wish to forward all email for an address to another account, do not create an email account for that address, just a forwarder.

For example, if you wish to have all mail sent to abc@domain1.com to be delivered to xyz@domain2.com, but you do not wish to have any emails saved in abc@domain1.com='s account, add a forwarder from =abc@domain1.com to xyz@domain2.com and do not create the abc@domain1.com email account.

Can I create an email redirect/forwarder which will redirect 1 parent email address to more than 1 child address?

To redirect/forward email messages to multiple addresses, you will need to add email forwarders for each address.

For example, if you wished for support@domain.com to redirect to both john@domain.com and marsha@domain.com, you will need to add the following forwarders:

• support@domain.com --> john@domain.com
• support@domain.com --> marsha@domain.com

Please note that you do not actually have to create an email account for support@domain.com, unless you want to also be able to check that account's mail messages by logging in as support@domain.com.

Can I reconfigure access to webmail from http://yourdomain.com/webmail to webmail.yourdomain.com?

You can do this to allow your users to access webmail.yourdomain.com instead of yourdomain.com/webmail. There are multiple ways to accomplish this. We'll discuss using the cPanel interface.

In the cPanel interface, create a subdomain, webmail.yourdomain.com. Then click on Manage Redirection. Redirect webmail.yourdomain.com to http://yourdomain.com/webmail

Now when going to http://webmail.yourdomain.com you'll be presented with the webmail login screen. You could accomplish something similar with Apache zone file templates if you are the server owner: /usr/local/cpanel/etc/httptemplates.

Mailman gives me a 500 Error when trying to manage a list?

1. Run/scripts/fixmailmanwithsuexec
2. Edit /usr/local/apache/conf/htpd.conf and move the vhost it creates (almost always the last one in the file) to be the first vhost.
3. Restart apache
   • /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart
4. Run /scripts/fixoldlistswithsuexec

Mailman gives error like Mailman wants UID 99 when getting -1?

Run the following script:

• /scripts/upcp

This script should detect and fix it for you automatically.

If it does not work:

1. Edit httpd.conf.
2. Make sure Group is set to nobody.
3. Run /scripts/upcp to rebuild Mailman with the correct UID/GID.

What Anti-Spam functionality does cPanel/WHM offer?

cPanel/WHM is bundled with SpamAssassin and BoxTrapper at no additional cost.

BoxTrapper is a challenge-response system where incoming email coming from an email address that has not yet been white-listed must reply to an initial email to verify that it is not a piece of spam. Email addresses can be manually white- or black -listed on a server-wide level, as well as on an individual email account basis.

cPanel also allows users to set up powerful custom mail filtering rules.

Does cPanel/WHM support SPF?

SPF is compiled in Exim, but not enabled by default. You can enable it by using the Advanced Exim Configuration Editor and following the instructions available at http://www.exim.org/exim-html-4.50/doc/html/FAQ_7.html#TOC272.

You can access the Advanced Exim Configuration Editor in WHM by going to the Service Configuration section and clicking on Exim Configuration. On the page that appears, click on Advanced Editor.

Does cPanel/WHM support SMTP AUTH (Mail Authentication)?

Yes. In fact, this functionality is enabled by default.

What software does cPanel/WHM use for its mail servers (SMTP, POP, IMAP)?

Exim is the Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) that cPanel/WHM uses. Courier POP and Courier IMAP are used to handle POP and IMAP respectively.

Does cPanel/WHM support RBLs?

Yes, RBLs can be added in the Advanced Exim Configuration Editor in the WHM interface.

You can access this functionality by logging into WHM, going to the Service Configuration section then clicking on Exim Configuration Editor. On the page that appears, click on the Advanced Editor button.

Note that this is how you should edit your Exim configuration. Editing it manually outside of the WHM interface will likely result in it being overwritten the next time you perform a cPanel/WHM update.

Can I set the domain quota for emails at the WHM level, to control the data transfer?

Currently, you can set the amount of emails per hour a domain can send using this Tweak Settings option in WHM: The maximum each domain can send out per hour (0 is unlimited):

How can I flush the Exim queue from the shell?

To flush the queue, execute the following:

• exim -qff

To flush and enable debugging:

• exim -qff -d9

How can I add email accounts?

You can add email accounts in the Mail section of your cPanel interface. Go to Mail >> Email Accounts, and then fill out the appropriate fields and click on Create.

How can I install CGI email through cPanel?

Click on CGI email under cPanel >> CGI Center. Then, follow these instructions to configure CGI email: http://web.mit.edu/wwwdev/cgiemail/webmaster.html#test.

Why doesn't SpamAssassin work in cPanel 11?

Make sure that you are using Perl 5.8.8, which is recommended with cPanel 11.

Prior to upgrading Perl, it is a good idea to ensure that each module gets carried over to the update Perl version using the "autobundle" CPAN feature. You will need to execute this command via root in SSH: perl -MCPAN -e 'autobundle'

Once this is complete, you should have the the following outputted before returning to the shell: 'Wrote bundle file /home/.cpan/Bundle/Snapshot_2007_08_16_00.pm'

Make a note of the filename before proceeding with the update.

To update to Perl 5.8.8 on Linux based servers:

cd /root
wget http://layer1.cpanel.net/perl588installer.tar.gz 
tar -zxf perl588installer.tar.gz
cd perl588installer
./install

To update to Perl 5.8.8 on FreeBSD® based servers:

cd /usr/ports/lang/perl5
make && make install

Once the update is complete, you can restore all the previously installed modules from the CPAN bundle that was created by executing: perl -MCPAN -e 'install Bundle::Snapshot_2007_08_16_00'

Make sure that you replace the bundle name with the one that was generated earlier.

We should now make sure that all modules required by cPanel 11 are installed and restart cPanel:

/usr/local/cpanel/bin/checkperlmodules
/usr/local/cpanel/startup

Is there a way to let the user know that they have sent email to a wrong address?

Yes. The default address feature in cPanel can alert a user that they have sent an email to an invalid address. Choose the option for Discard with error to sender (at SMTP time), and then place the message you wish the mail sender to see in the blank field next to Failure Message (seen by sender):.

Note: This will only work for people who send email to your domain. Each domain on the Internet has different configuration options so sending mail to a wrong address on a different domain may return a different error message.

Can I forward all received email to a file?

To do this, you will need to create an email forwarder in cPanel. If you wish for the messages to only be sent to the file and not stored in a mailbox, do not create an email address, just create a forwarder with the name of the address.

When creating the forwarder, choose the pipe to a program option. Then put in the path of the file/program you wish to send the mail to.

Where does mail for root get forwarded to?

The email address that receives mail for the root user is defined in /root/.forward

The format of the file is a single email address on a line, for example, admin@domain.com.

How can I send email from SMTP and PHP?

Here's a third party article that discusses using PHP and SMTP to send email: http://email.about.com/od/emailprogrammingtips/qt/et073006.htm.

How to authorize a remote IP to relay throught Exim:

1. Create a file with your host IP or IPs
2. Name it something like /etc/privaterelay.
3. In /etc/exim.conf, change the first line below to the second.
   • hostlist relay_hosts = lsearch;/etc/relayhosts : \
     localhost
   • hostlist relay_hosts = lsearch;/etc/relayhosts : \
     localhost : lsearch;/etc/privaterelay

Why do I see two transports in the log when I have spamassasin enabled?

When spamassasin is enabled, the message is reinjected back into the mail queue so it can be passed though the system filters/user filters. You will only get one delivery to your inbox, but exim will process the message twice.

[msg]----[exim]-----[spamassasin]-----[exim]-----[delivery]

The Address Book in Horde returns an error "There was an error adding this object" ?

SSH to the server as root. Type `mysql` to get the mysql prompt and cut and paste the following: CREATE TABLE horde.turba_objects (object_id varchar(32) PRIMARY KEY,owner_id varchar(255),object_name varchar(255),object_alias varchar(32),object_email varchar(255),object_homeAddress varchar(255),object_workAddress varchar(255),object_homePhone varchar(25),object_workPhone varchar(25),object_cellPhone varchar(25),object_fax varchar(25),object_title varchar(32), object_company varchar(32),object_notes text);

After that has been entered the address book (turba objects) should work again.

When trying to add a Mailling List in cPanel, I get the error No -e allowed in setuid scripts.

Chances are the file cpwrap has the wrong ownership.

To set it correctly:

• chown root:wheel /usr/local/cpanel/bin/cpwrap

How do I setup my mail to use SSL?

Set your mail server to the host name for SMTP/POP3/IMAP (instead of mail.domain.com) and then make sure that your mail client is using the following ports for SSL:

• SMTP - 465
• POP3 - 995
• IMAP - 993

As always you want to make sure that your account name is user@domain.com (or user+domain.com) and that you are using authentication on your SMTP server.