Yes we support POP3, IMAP (incoming email) and SMTP (outgoing email) directed through an SSL layer.

Why would you want this? Well POP3, like so many other internet protocols, exchanges email and passwords in the clear.

This means that anyone with access to the network path between your client and our server can discover your passwords simply by snooping in on the network.

You have to look at traditional email as bit like sending a postcard in the post (well almost!).

Secure email is important because people are increasingly accessing their emails over relatively “insecure” wireless network either at home or in the office.

Most email clients make it easy to secure your email and use alternatvie secure ports - for example for Outlook Express:

1. Go into “Tools > Accounts > Properties” and select the Weycrest email account that connects to Plesk.

2. Click “Advanced Settings.”

3. Ensure “This server requires a secure connection” for both SMTP and POP3 are ticked (or IMAP is you are using IMAP).

4. You will get a “certificate” error when you first start to send and receive secure email, but you can safely ignore this as your mail is secured.

Also secure outgoing email is currently a workaround for the increasing problem of ISP’s and broadband providers blocking outgoing port 25 (as a spam preventative measure).

Ans: Its unlikely the server is actually refusing connections. Its more likely you have an ISP blocking your outbound port 25 to the server as a spam preventative measure. The way to check is to use a piece of software called “telnet” to try and connect to port 25 of the server.

You can cannot access telnet from Windows by going to Start > Run, then type in in cmd.exe in the run box. Once the command prompt appears, type telnet mail.yourdomain 25 (replace “yourdomain” with your actual domain name”) For instance if I telnet to port 25 of the server, the server should respond:

telnet mail.yourdomain 25
Trying 85.13.218.162…
Connected to mail.danbex.me.uk.
Escape character is ‘^]’.
220 www2.weycrest.com ESMTP

You can ask your ISP or try your self by opening up a command prompt and typing:

If there is no response, its more likely you have an ISP blocking your outbound port 25 to the server. Should you find your ISP is blocking outbound port there are three workarounds (well four if you include changing your ISP!).

1. Use webmail only at http://webmail.yourdomain

2. Use your ISP’s outgoing mail server for SMTP.

3. You can use secure smtp (smtps) on port 965 to connect

A popular support question is what is IMAP mail which features in our hosting plan specs. Most people are famuliar only with POP3 short for Post Office Protocol v3.

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol and like POP3 its a protocol used for collecting email messages from a server.

The big thing about IMAP is that not only can you use it to retrieve messages from the server, but also manipulate emails without actually having to download them to your PC. As mail is stored on the server, with IMAP you can access the email on the move or from various locations. This is particularly ideal for when you are switching between clients at home or work or via Webmail.