05/20/2003 New Webmail

[hostnet]

ATMail is now fully supported by our hsphere system. You can login to ATMail by loggin in through the control panel. Also we will be changing the mail.hsphere.cc pages and all other default pages to automatically redirect to ATMail within 3-5 days.

[ramjet]

great hostnet, works fine from my cp (although theres a strange double new window thing).
Do you have an address to login from outside the cp so i can see what customers will face as a login process?
cheers, murray.

[Scroller]

Whoops! The password for the email accounts are not parsed directly into ATMail from the CP, which means that we can't login to the user's email account without asking the user for their password or resetting it altogether?

[cleonard]

Ramjet

Address is 216.157.131.123

I made a custom A record for webmail.mysite.com to that IP.

[cleonard]

Scroller,

Works for me on Windows and Unix accounts.

Go the their control panel, choose email, pick a mailbox and choose launch over on the right hand side.

[somereseller]

Please install your SSL cert on this server.
Unsecure connections and plain text passwords are so has been these days... ;P

Also, could we get email notifications of such changes? I got one email about a router configuration, that's it.

[thecomputerpro]

SSL Cert on the mail server are so has been?? I do not know of a host that does provide SSL to webmail by default.

I mean POP3 in itself (Unless SPA is used) is not secure so I am not sure this is necessary but agree it would be a good thing to have.

But then you have the question, what is the domain name used for the ssl cert? :)

Anyway.....................

[TNV]

somereseller, maybe but don't hold your breath man..

Just as thecomputerpro point out then oh but what domain to make every one happy, can't have an SSL cert with out a domain.

I really don't even know of a hosting provider that does SSL for webmail and really don't see any need for it at this time.

[bootNumlock]

man is that sure pretty!!!

[somereseller]

The ssl cert could use the mail.hsphere.cc domain name.

hsphere.cc cannot be hidden from our users, so we might as well be using it in certificate.

A snakeoil would do, because people in the know either use their own webmail system or are not afraid to see some snakeoil certificate, as long as the connection is secure.

About other hosting providers that do SSL for webmail, you can count them in the thousands (hit google to make sure). And the number is rising. Some even advertise total email security : "provides Secure IMAP, Secure POP3, Secure SMTP, and Secure WebMail access to your email".

Security is a good selling argument these days.

[somereseller]

The best thing would be able to get rid of all those unsecure links in the cp, but I've been waiting for this for ages and it's not supposed to be so for the next couple of years.

[anotherReseller]

Love the new look of webmail, but
I would like a little notice of these types of changes.

If one of my clients does not like the changes, is it possible to still use the old webmail?

Also, can I replace the postmaster@hsphere.cc email address that is listed in my clients atWebmail Help --> atMail webmail?

[TNV]

anotherReseller, where do you see that at? I am not finding it. Is it once your logged in?

[landiserve]

Somereseller, have you looked into buying a PIX and a dedicated server?

Are you ready to teach your clients how to use SSH to access their accounts and how to configure an Apache name based server? Oh wait, that wouldn't be secure. No one needs more access than ls and chmod, otherwise someone might make a computer insecure.

really though think about it, even IF there was a SSL cert, (which would mention hsphere.cc and be hated by MANY resellers, and no snakeoil wouldn't do, think about the gripes because a WARNING pops up)(back to the point) it still has to traverse an "insecure" (as in unencypted) network to get to the mail server, so if someone has a logger that picks up the pass, what do you do then? (I know APOP, yes it would be good, but HSphere doesn't support it)

[anotherReseller]

Originally posted by admin
anotherReseller, where do you see that at? I am not finding it. Is it once your logged in?

Hi Brad,
Attached is a jpg screen shot of where I found the @hsphere.cc email address in the atMail web interface.

[Scroller]

Originally posted by cleonard
Scroller,

Works for me on Windows and Unix accounts.

Go the their control panel, choose email, pick a mailbox and choose launch over on the right hand side.

Yes ... that's what I tried .. clicking the Launch icon will not automatically login to the user's email account, you will see need to know the user's password. Or at least ... it din work for me and it says "The server responded: -ERR authorization failed "

[anotherReseller]

Hi Brad,
will spell check be installed? I got this error message when composing an email

[Brangwyn]

Yes ... that's what I tried .. clicking the Launch icon will not automatically login to the user's email account, you will see need to know the user's password. Or at least ... it din work for me and it says "The server responded: -ERR authorization failed "This used to happen with horde as well, if the users mail password isn't the same as the control panel password then you can't launch webmail from the control I believe, but don't quote me on that, just my own observations.

[anotherReseller]

I was able to login to a clients email box via the new atMail interface and the old Horde interface. Will Horde be removed, and if so how long from now?

I was able to login using horde via
http://216.157.132.2/horde/imp/login.php

[thecomputerpro]

Originally posted by Brangwyn
This used to happen with horde as well, if the users mail password isn't the same as the control panel password then you can't launch webmail from the control I believe, but don't quote me on that, just my own observations.


I was able to login to all the accounts OK without passwords matching. Do you have some program running the prevents popups?? The new interface seems to open a new window after the first one (with no user intervention). If you have something like that running, it may prevent the second window from opening.


On another note, I LIKE THE NEW INTERFACE!!!!!!! I just moved a customer that used webmail solely (which I do not recommend!!!! for many reasons including "who owns the data" issues) but this is a big plus here as it seems to be more "graphically" friendly.

THANKS MATRIX!!!

[MEELAN]

I too was able to login to client email accounts without a password by clicking "Launch" both on Unix and Windows.

By the way, is it necessary to consider "Unix or Windows" when we have problem with login into Email? I thought the email is running seperately and it is on a Unix box.

Correct me if I am wrong

[Brangwyn]

I was able to login to all the accounts OK without passwords matching. Do you have some program running the prevents popups?? The new interface seems to open a new window after the first one (with no user intervention). If you have something like that running, it may prevent the second window from opening. It gives you a link if you have a popup blocker to open the new window.

I do have to wonder though, why people are wanting to log into customers email accounts ? I for one would prefer they didn't allow resellers to do that.

[landiserve]

Brangwyn, in some ways I would too, but in other ways it is a help to the customer ifthey ask. However, I always stay out.

[Garreg]

I like it, looks a lot better and definetly more functional.

Can we get rid / change the 216.157.132.2 though.... or at least mask -

OrgName: Vortech Inc.
OrgID: VTC1
Address: 3208C E. Colonial Drive #255
City: Orlando
StateProv: FL
PostalCode: 32803
Country: US

NetRange: 216.157.128.0 - 216.157.143.255
CIDR: 216.157.128.0/20
NetName: VORTECH-BLK-1
NetHandle: NET-216-157-128-0-1
Parent: NET-216-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Allocation
NameServer: DNS.VORTECHHOSTING.COM
NameServer: DNS2.VORTECHHOSTING.COM
Comment:
RegDate: 2002-08-09
Updated: 2002-08-09

TechHandle: BP811-ARIN
TechName: Pugh, Brad
TechPhone: +1-407-323-5634
TechEmail: support@vortechhosting.com

[somereseller]

Originally posted by landiserve
Somereseller, have you looked into buying a PIX and a dedicated server?

Are you ready to teach your clients how to use SSH to access their accounts and how to configure an Apache name based server? Oh wait, that wouldn't be secure. No one needs more access than ls and chmod, otherwise someone might make a computer insecure.

really though think about it, even IF there was a SSL cert, (which would mention hsphere.cc and be hated by MANY resellers, and no snakeoil wouldn't do, think about the gripes because a WARNING pops up)(back to the point) it still has to traverse an "insecure" (as in unencypted) network to get to the mail server, so if someone has a logger that picks up the pass, what do you do then? (I know APOP, yes it would be good, but HSphere doesn't support it)

You didn't get my point.
PGP is the only way to make sure no governement looks at your emails, but I'm not looking at a total security offering from Vortech. I just think that a minimum is justified. It's very easy to sniff a cable network and many customers are on cable. People like to get their email while they are away, in cybercafe. Sure there can be a keylogger installed, but an ssl cert would make sure that no one is between the customer and the server. In other words, I'm more worried about the neighbours than the Vortech servers. Vortech should be the one making sure than nobody is listening between the mail server and the webmail.

And about the popup. Nobody forces you to use the secure pages. It's just that some people want it. Snakeoils and hsphere.cc certs are available on many Hsphere page. Try it, you'll see. So I don't see the big dea isl about having one here.

I'm trying to educate people that use my services about the problems that POP3 and FTP have and when they log into the cp, they have unsecure links everywhere...Webshell3 reveals your account's password, how safe is this?

[TNV]

Garreg, we will be changing all of our info on our IP listing but still fighting with arin on our new IP blocks. We were taling about this in anther post some where here.

[mresell]

I think security is important and a great selling point . The increase in it's use is unavoidable. It also does cost more. However, I see I see pop up notices as being a problem for a lot of people. Anybody that knows what hsphere.cc is knows what an ip is and can see vortech everywhere. I think you end up w/ 2 diff clients on 2 diff ends. Thoses w/ basic skills who could care less and those who look everything up. If webmail was aliased wouldn't you just need a cert for a reseller's alias? to have it secure?

[somereseller]

The cert on alias would be great, but Psoft should come up with a way to upload a cert on the mail server from the cp. They are so behind on features implementation, that I guess we could see that in mid 2005 ;)

[TNV]

The webmail server is not even part of the H-Sphere install its all by itself. So don't look to be able to ever up load your own cert to the webmail server.. somereseller you might want to change that to maybe 2020 or so I am sure there will be a 100% secure CP out for your by then.. ;)

[davesykes]

One of my customers has been using the horde system, and has his email all sorted into folders and everything.

He's just logged on, gone in to the webmail and all of his emails have gone as well as the interface having changed.

I've told him how to log in via his mail.domainname.com address, but I see from the message that this will be turned off soon as well.

So are you
a) going to move all of the mail & folders across to the new system, or
b) allow continuing use of horde (he likes it)

It would have been really nice to have been emailed with information like this, so at least I would have known what he was talking about when he rung up!.

Thanks
Dave

[somereseller]

The best thing would be to offer both system or allow us to add our own link in the cp so that we can add our best webmail systems (the ones that support ssl, encryption, calendar, sms, etc.)

[thecomputerpro]

2 comments and I am off....

First off, we as administrators of systems and accounts usually have the ability to see and get anywhere we want. In this case the customers email is one of them. Though I too stay out, it is nice to have the click through capability so that if the customer calls, you can get there to help. This comes down to n ethical issue. If you are in your customers email jsut to be in it then you should not be trusted with that knid of authority.

Second, I personally do no send emails that contain sensitive information because of the security issues. I do however use email to send semi sensitive data when in a coporate environment where the email is held on the interenal server and controlled by the company. That being said, EVEN IF there was a cert on the new mail system, the mail itself was sent to the server unsecured so the only think you may be protecting with it is the username and password to get to it.
But, If you wanted secure email, it would most likely be something you would house yourself and you would never talk to anyone outside of the people on your server because they most likely have not implemented the security needed in order to maintain privacy from them to you. I realize it may be a good selling point but what happens if you sell it that way and someone captures email of your customer. Then they come after you? There is so many variables in securing email that what you say would be a plus but still not a total package.

enjoy!

[somereseller]

In my case, I only want to secure the login/pass so that people don't get the pass and don't read the message between the server and the customer. For the rest, nothing beats pgp and customized webmails.

[frederic]

The new webmail is terrific, I like it very much.

If you could consider to improve the following, that would make the webmail perfect.

1. The entrance panel is very complicated. Very few people would like to fill out the email address separately, or fill the mail server and select the options.

2. No autoreply and auto forward function inside the webmail although HELP document says there are.

[frederic]

The new web mail is too slow.

[Alessandro]

Thanks for atmail, I'm in the chorus of the happy People about it ;-)
It's in human's habit to ask always for more: is in plan any antivirus protection for mail in the future?

[electricfox]

Looks good guys, thanks much.

1) e-mail name and password really need to be remembered via cookies.

2) mailserver, interface, and options shouldn't even be necissary. Maybe consider putting these on an "Advanced Login" page or something. Have the login script check mail.(the domain after the @ symbol in the e-mail address) first, if that fails, try mail1. Just having to type in the mail server each time will be VERY annoying.

[jmbeach]

cookies are no good for us who may be on the road using a strangers computer. Also I disagree that passwords should be stored with cookies. Username, okay, but not passwords.

I too think that a script to check servers should be a reality (for our customers who wouldn't have a clue as to what this is)

Lastly, please look into the filters that @mail has built in. We need a 'body' filter as well as what's already there.

[Garreg]

Wish some stranger would let me use thier computer - gee even my mates often refuse;)

Seriously, why are cookies a problem - if your're prepared to use someone elses computer? What about the web cache, history, and everything else? ................ or why not just delete them when you've finished?

[jmbeach]

no, I'm not worried about my username being stored, but there really is no reason to store a password. The only webmail I know of that stores passwords is Hotmail, and at least they give you the choice. Now if there was a checkbox to "remember password" then I would be cool with that, but not if there was no choice.

And I'm not worried about cookies stored on computers other than mine, I'm only suggesting that if you're away from home, using an Internet cafe or something, that cookies are useless, and you'd have to remember your un/pw anyhow.

I'm all for cookies, just not if it's for passwords, and it's forced on you.

[Wonderer]

Originally posted by electricfox
Looks good guys, thanks much.

1) e-mail name and password really need to be remembered via cookies.

2) mailserver, interface, and options shouldn't even be necissary. Maybe consider putting these on an "Advanced Login" page or something. Have the login script check mail.(the domain after the @ symbol in the e-mail address) first, if that fails, try mail1. Just having to type in the mail server each time will be VERY annoying.

I have done a little work on a custom interface. It works fine for me but i do need to add the mailserver failover. I am thinking it'd be wiser to script it to check the MX record based off the domain in the login. This way the servers do not have to re-direct, you won't have to worry about problem with mail server alias's, and as more servers are added, the code can run unmodified as the mailserver is determined dynamicaly via dns. I am unsure if this can be done in asp as i have had no time yet to look at the objects to find a interface to dns. But this would indeed be the perfect solution.

[chadlnc]

It would be good if it automatically filled in the mailserver information, I know that will throw some of our clients off.

I noticed you can't change your password from it. Is that going to be changed?

[Wonderer]

ASP Mail Component made by Soft Complex
http://www.softcomplex.com/products/asp_mail_component/docs/#demo5

Is this server comonent installed?

[Wonderer]

Here is the php component http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.dns-get-record.php

[karlgram]

Hi Vortech,

I like atMail a lot except.....

Can you change the Global Addressbook setting to 'domain' instead of 'site'? This way (as I understand it from the atMail website) I only see the domain email users instead of everybody, who I don't know anyway.

According to the atMail documentation this setting can be found in Config -> User Restrictions -> Global Addressbook

[TNV]

karlgram where did you see that on there site? I am not seeing it in the admin section yet to change it.. Your right you should only see your emails not every ones.. :) That would be bad

[karlgram]

go to: http://atmail.nl/webadmin/
Click on the button: Config (top left)
Click on the button: User Restrictions (left hand menu)
The 4th option is 'Global Addressbook' which (in this demo) is set to 'Site'

see also: http://atmail.nl/webadmin/html/help/settings_allow.html

[TNV]

Should be set now. Thanks I found it right before your reply.. :)

[Scroller]

can someone remind me ... will changing of password for users be within the new AtMail?

[ramjet]

its disabled presently, as is sms.

[Scroller]

eventually? or will it be done on at the CP?

[frederic]

Hi, Vortech,

How about changing the default interface from "Advanced" to "Simple" ? It is much fast and fit for any browser.

Please add the auto reply and and auto forward function. I think it is also important. Though we can do it in h-sphere.

Thanks

[electricfox]

RE: cookies

Most webmail systems I know of (hotmail, yahoo, etc) at provide a checkbox to store the password. The username and everything else then should probably be automatic?

[electricfox]

RE: Advanced/Simple - why isn't it smart enough to just choose the right panel based on the user's browser version?

PS: Vortech/Brad, my comments are only meant to improve the new system - I am SO VERY HAPPY to have @mail!

[TNV]

Originally posted by electricfox
RE: Advanced/Simple - why isn't it smart enough to just choose the right panel based on the user's browser version?

PS: Vortech/Brad, my comments are only meant to improve the new system - I am SO VERY HAPPY to have @mail!

I know.. :)

[jmbeach]

Originally posted by electricfox
RE: Advanced/Simple - why isn't it smart enough to just choose the right panel based on the user's browser version?

It actually is. The dropdown will change based on your browser, which is why I find it odd that they actually give it as a choice. I suppose someone using IE6 will want to use the ultra basic interface at some point (lets say if they're on slow dialup) but that should be a choice inside their preferences, not on the login page. Just adds to the confusion for those who don't understand it.

That's why it would be so kind if it could be changed to a hidden field.

[mresell]

Did somone say advanced options would not be available?
I like the advanced view better than simple, altho I understand the ability to set a user default is probably better.

Entering the mail server is a pain tho. For instance does anybody need to enter mail1? Oddly, my email for one domain goes to mail1(set as mx), but because mail was set as a cname to mail1 I cannot use mail1 as the server only mail. This, I assume explains why I see both mail and mail1 in headers. Are others on mail1 setup differently?

Could this also be causing some of the login error problems?

[obj]

I wrote a script to enter atmail from my website:

www.objtools.com/mail_test.htm (http://www.objtools.com/mail_test.htm)

My customers are only English based.

Would you see any problems letting customers sign in with this?

Thanks

[absolut]

I still see all the e-mails in the Global Address book

[blackops]

[B]I wrote a script to enter atmail from my website:
www.objtools.com/mail_test.htm (http://www.objtools.com/mail_test.htm)

Sure would be nice to be able to pre-populate the login fields...

I guess since we won't have the templates under our control, a script like this is going to be our best option...

Is there a paramaterized URL, or some other built-in option, for pre-filling the fields or setting defaults?

[dwhite]

Although it might be nice to prepopulate the login from the control panel, until thats done, you may want to suggest a good form filler like Roboform to your clients. Most people I know that access their mail away from home or office have a laptop or handheld to do it with. Not sure what is out there for the handhelds, but I would imagine there is something like this available.

[blackops]

I have set up a CNAME from a client domain to webmail.hsphere.cc. It works perfectly, but I'm wondering if there is any reason I would NOT want to do this. Any input?

[somereseller]

When a user clicks on webmail from the cp with Mozilla, he gets a non functional webmail -> The menus on top don't work, Should I fill in a ticket?

[blackops]

You need to log in with the "Professional" or "Simple" settings. The "Advanced" setting does not work with Netscape/Mozilla.

[blackops]

There is already a bug report posted with @Mail, but I wanted to alert our users, in case anybody is madly rushing to roll out @Mail to their clients.

There is a pretty major bug that renders some email messages as blank messages. As far as I can tell from my own experience and the bug reports at @Mail, it has something to do with the "smart parsing" they're trying to do with messages that include both plain text and HTML versions of themselves. I received a message from an Apple Mail user, and the contents were totally blank...in SquirrelMail, which I have installed on my domain, the message was displayed correctly. @Mail appears to be aware of the bug, but there is no fix yet, and it's sort of an important feature for mail users to be able to read their messages.

Just an FYI.

[somereseller]

blackops, the cp doesn't give the user any choice of interface, so Vortech should change the default to simple and let users switch to a funkier one if they need it.
I'll fill in a ticket ;)

[oldflatop]

hello.
I have just signed as a reseller just a few days ago and i'm really not that happy about the webmail options.

First, apparently the horde is going to be removed, which means that if i use mail.mydomain.com i will be using something that will be removed. Am i right??

Second- I hate the fact that it's possible to READ CLIENT EMAILS. This is something i do not want to sell AT ALL.

and Third a minor thing , it's not possible to change the password without using the cp (with @mail)

Do you think any of this issues are going to be adressed? if not i have to consider installing my own mail client, but c'mon guys this should be a simple thing,having a webmail server working!!

[jmbeach]

Unfortunately you came in just as the webmail system is undergoing changes - you'll have to be patient as the new system will be more robust once the bugs are worked out. Horde will be going away (although they may keep it somewhere for users that don't want to change) and will be replaced with @Mail - which can be seen at webmail.hsphere.cc

As for your ability to read your client's email, if you want to be a reseller you don't have a choice, and I think the logical solution is to stay out of the email if you don't want to see it. It's not a selling point, you're right, but all users must be aware that in a shared environment nothing is private. Just keep a common sense approach, and tell anyone that asks that in order to be able to have troubleshooting options available to you, you must maintain a level of access. Perhaps down the line Matrix can make it so that you at least have to know the password to access email via Hsphere

The password changing thing may be a point of contention for some, as the old webmail system allowed changing passwords, so perhaps they'll work something out with @mail to have a link for this also, so you don't have to rely on the CP

As for getting these things fixed to be just how you want them, I hate to tell you this, buy you'll have to "get in line" with the rest of us who would like to see certain things done.

:)

[oldflatop]

thankx for your response jmbeach :cool:

the thing is i don't know what sort of email to offer my clients; either one that is not working properly or one that is going to be removed.
I feel i made a mistake...i think i'll use my money back and move on to something more reliable!

[Brangwyn]

Sounds like a hasty decision to me if you solely basing it on email. don't forget you can always install your own webmail as well if you like, your not limited to just using whats installed with the control panel.

Remember what you may like or dislike may not be the same as your cutomers as well, overall I've had some fairly good feedback about @mail, horde and sqmail are still there as well for you to use.

something more reliable!
Have to disagree there too, I think you'll find it is pretty reliable. First impressions are not always correct.

Matrix actually listened to the resellers wanting something a little bit better than horde/imp and have gone and invested good money in @mail, they're working with the developers to get everything just right, but remember its new teritory for all parties here so things just need time to find their place.

[oldflatop]

Hi
I understand your point, and i hate to sound hasty. But i really don't have the time to install and test a webmail server. And i don't want to give my clients a new webmai server and after a few days give them a new one.
And i'm basing my decision on the email because as you know is what clients complain the most when it's not working properly.

The other thing is that thing with the email access by the administrator.It's a matter of principle. it should be illegal!!None of us should allow it period.

I tried to see if WebHostManager also has this option, but the demo is not working. So i'm really stuck with this. I'm not going to change my clients to this server the way it is. This is what i mean with reliable.

anyway thankx for the support:rolleyes:

[somereseller]

Brangwyn, I disagree with you on the "install your own" comment. We end up with many outside apps and users can still click on those icons in the cp. In the end, it doubles the support problems and I'm not talking about all the explanations about don't use this, don't use that in the cp because it's not safe, it's not working, it's outdated,etc.

[thecomputerpro]

I find this all so intersting...

oldflattop... You apparently have not been an "administrator" in a real world environment from this statement.
Originally posted by oldflatop

The other thing is that thing with the email access by the administrator.It's a matter of principle. it should be illegal!!None of us should allow it period.

Truth is, as an admin you ALWAYS have the ability to view the "customers" email. It is just a matter of ethics on how you use that power. For support issues, fine, to look, not fine. Wether it is allowed or not is not the issue. The issue is wether you can be trusted with your "customers" information PERIOD!

So, I see you think it should not be "allowed" but if you think for two seconds your going to go to another provider that doesn't have that same power your wrong! Wether they extend it to you or not.

As far as @mail goes... I like it much better than the other two systems and so do my customers. Although I do perfer the basic interface and wish I could set it as the default option. :)

Bottom line, (this mostly for matrix sake) you can't please them all and I have seen more positive feedback on the new system than negative feedback.. Keep up the positive changes!

[oldflatop]

I'm sorry but i don't agree with you thecomputerpro.

Just because it's normal practice doesn´t mean i have to agree. I'll do what i can against it.

If you apply that same principle everybody would have the credit card numbers of their "customers" for "support issues". Now you may not use it because you are very trustworthy but i wouldnt do any business with you if i knew you´d have access to it.

You see you don't just have to be trustworthy, you also have to look like it!

And no i never had access to the emails of my customers. And there is no support issue that will ever justify that.

[gadgetgal99]

The reality of being a reseller is we get to decide how much control we want or need. If we want our customer's credit numbers we can have them. All of this is a choice, it's your company, and you need to decide what you are most comfortable with. I've been used to god mode for years.

You need to be comfortable with the features you have. Only you know what that is for you.

For me I'm used to having complete access to everything and feel a little restricted. But this a choice I made here both I because I need to focus my time elsewhere in software development, don't want to buy several production servers, and I'm very confident in Matrix's skills.


I've been very pleased here. Here people actually talk to you. And this forum is a real forum where you can get help, find info, and even get yelled at. It's great.

[thecomputerpro]

Your right, you do not have to agree with me. :) (That is the beauty about choice!)

Three things then and I think I am done.

<repeat>
If you think for two seconds any other provider you move to doesn't have that ability then your wrong! Wether they extend it to you or not.
</repeat>

Who the heck says you need to advertise that fact. Fact is you can, as a host, change a password at anytime right? (Which I might add has happend to me personally by very well known high profile hosts! for support issues I might add) So then what is the difference between the fact you have the power or the fact you can get it? NONE!!!!!! So, just because you may have the ability, does not mean you advertise it.

Further,

Originally posted by oldflatop
If you apply that same principle everybody would have the credit card numbers of their "customers" for "support issues".

Can't even compare the two. You use credit card to pay for something and your about to tell me your willing to trust your provider with your credit card # (as most providers require) before you trust them with the ability to provide support for those services you pay to recieve? Which brings me to
Originally posted by oldflatop
And no i never had access to the emails of my customers. And there is no support issue that will ever justify that.

I have had a small handfull of issues where access to the customers email was necessary. And, with permission, I was able to access what I needed to, to offer the support, then move on. Which again I will say, you do not have to advertise the fact (or use the power) but in some very rare circumstances, you might find it useful.

So, moral of the story, is it is all about preference and you are free to use your own!

I like it here for many reasons (although this may not be a decisive one :) ) including such an open forum as this!

[bootNumlock]

this might be beating a dead horse but... i am with the computer pro with the email password thing...

if i have a customer and they are having problems setting up their email, if i set up an account for myself and then set up my outlook, etc to retrieve that info and succeed, what have i proved? nothing

if i set up one of their accounts (password and all) and am able to retrieve their email, i can prove that there is either user error or isp issues. this is a valuable resource in my trouble shooting.

this is just an extra for you all to chew on... my niche is such that i often go to my clients offices and help them set up their email accounts and i always offer that as a service (plus i charge less than vortech for the accounts) so knowing user info is crucial to my business model.

yes i am blowing my own horn here, but i am also making a point for hosting providers to knowing the email and PASSWORD info for the clients--it allows us to better serve them...

and after all, isn't that what we are here for--to server our clients? or is that even possible if our main objective is the ABSOLUTE PRIVACY of our customers--i am sure there is a very fine line in there somewhere....

[bootNumlock]

We do have our credit card numbers the last i checked--don't we?
i know that my ecommerce accounts, if i control the merchant gateway, i have all the numbers, but i don't go out and commit fraud--if you are a reseller and don't have access to these things that indeed you are not a reseller, you are a pawn or a sales rep in the pure sense.

as a reseller. we have the option/ability to set our own prices, choose and service our own clients etc.

OLDFLATOP-- it is completely up to you to select matrix or not based on your conviction--and i encourage you to follow those convicions, but i also caution you in your final selection as i fear that your moral stance on this issue will lead you to a partner that is using you as an outside sales rep instead of partnering with you to grow your own business.

how would you explain a 'new system with new passwords' to one of your clients when the 'hosting company' decides to go with a new product? with matrix, YOU have the control over that sort of thing, wether your moral fabric allows for it or not.

be a puppet or run your own show with production assistance....


it may be the same thing, but from where i sit, the strings are made with a little more flexibility and a bit more trasparency....

[landiserve]

just a note, you can instlal your own webmail system in a matter of minutes, as I have done at http://webmail.landiserve.com
That is the advanced interface, as I wanted to be able to check any of my mail accounts on the road easily. (very simple, blazing fast interface, that works wonders)

I personally like it better than @mail, and I install it on a per domain basis for my customers (they dont have to type server, full email and such)

[thecomputerpro]

Looks good Steve! Pretty kewl what you can do with the web no? :)

[Brangwyn]

Never seen that one before Stephen, looks quite nice, clean, simple interface.

[Alessandro]

Simplicity at it's best. Just what the most part of my customers need.

[cfrankland]

I've created an ASP script that:

Uses the AspMX object (should be installed on all servers) to find the mail server of a given email address.

Uses JavaScript to determine the browser and version, but still allows the user to specify.

Only asks for the email address (single text entry) and password.

I'm considering a Hotmail etc. style "Sign me in automatically" checkboox using cookies, any feedback on this?!?

If anyone is interested, the url is http://www.franklandhosting.com/webmail

I included a link to show the source at the bottom of the page.

Originally posted by Wonderer
I have done a little work on a custom interface. It works fine for me but i do need to add the mailserver failover. I am thinking it'd be wiser to script it to check the MX record based off the domain in the login. This way the servers do not have to re-direct, you won't have to worry about problem with mail server alias's, and as more servers are added, the code can run unmodified as the mailserver is determined dynamicaly via dns. I am unsure if this can be done in asp as i have had no time yet to look at the objects to find a interface to dns. But this would indeed be the perfect solution.

[nc0866]

Originally posted by obj
I wrote a script to enter atmail from my website:

www.objtools.com/mail_test.htm (http://www.objtools.com/mail_test.htm)

My customers are only English based.

Would you see any problems letting customers sign in with this?



The problem is that when the customer signs off, they are automatically redirected to the default atMail login page. Since they used your simplified login page to logon to atMail, this can be confusing, and at times frustrating for the them.

I thought about this earlier, and this can potentially be a great way to brand atMail as well. Also every reseller will have a way to customize their login page as they want (using cookies, using mx records to find mail servers, or whatever else they want to do). Only if we could pass in an extra query string parameter to atMail so that after sign-off, it redirects users to a custom URL.

Admin, is this possible?

I love atMail. I am sure my customers will too. Personally I think, like most resellers here, that there should be some logic to avoid customers having to type in their mail server name. The easiest, and the most bulletproof way I can think of is that every reseller can add an A record to atMai's IP address. Then atMail can have the smarts to determine the mail server by concatenating

"mail." + sld + "." + "tld"

where sld and tld refer to those of the service domain. This should work every single time for all resellers and their customers. Also this will ensure that only people who can login to your atMail are your own customers and no one else.

I hope I am making sense here. Admin, I would really appreciate some feedback from you. I would also like to see the old mail system online until these issues have been resolved so that we do not have to train our customers twice.

Peace,
NC0866

[mattrix]

@mail is amazing. I for one am very impressed, Thanks and good work vortech!

[blackops]

Except for the problem with not being able to properly render messages that are HTML/plaintext. See their website for a description of this bug (http://atmail.nl/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=210)...I have already encountered it. A perfectly good message (rendered correctly in SquirrelMail), showed up as blank! :(

This is not Matrix' problem, but @Mail still needs some work.

[jetzkr8]

Just wondering, sms feature is not switched on; Why? Could we have this feature turned on?

I also support the single webmail system over several, as stetd quite correctly, the more choices you give users, the more support you going to have to provide.

Anyway, one is still free to install own choice system, should they have the preference.



EDIT** Okie, TQ for the reply. I agree on not having it if it incurrs extra costs.

[TNV]

We have to buy blocks of SMS to be able to send them from what I know.. I really don't want to get to that as it would be a little hard to manage.