As a user of NIMBioS computing resources you have an email account on the NIMBioS system. However, in order to use this account you must first set up your email reader of choice so that it knows how to send and retrieve email. You may use any IMAP-capable email reader that you like so long as it meets the minimum requirements:

• An IMAP-capable mail reader
• With support for TLS and SSL encryption
• If you want to read your UT email using the same program then you will also need a mail reader that can access Exchange Web Services

Here, then, is what you will need to know in order to set up your email client:

UTK email is handled through Microsoft's Exchange Web Services. UT only offers support for a handful of email readers: Outlook (Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android), Gmail (Android), and Evolution (Linux).

For Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, instructions for setup can be found here:

https://oit.utk.edu/email/setup/

For Evolution on Linux, setup instructions can be found here:

https://help.utk.edu/kb/index.php?func=show&e=2847

In theory any email client that supports Microsoft's Exchange Web Services will work.

1. When you first run Evolution an email account setup window will appear, titled “Welcome”.
   If this is not your first time running Evolution, then click File > New > Mail Account, and the setup window will then appear.
   Click: Next
   
   
2. Next you will be prompted to restore Evolution's settings from a backup file.
   Click: Next
   
   
3. Next you will be prompted to enter your identity.
   Enter your first and last name as you want it to appear for “Full Name”. (Ex: Michael Peek)
   Enter your NIMBioS login username, followed by “@nimbios.org” for your address. (Ex: peek@nimbios.org)
   Uncheck “Look up mail server details based on the entered e-mail address”.
   
   
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DISCLAIMER: You are expected to read and understand all the documentation regarding the installation, configuration, and use of your own software on your own computer. NIMBioS IT staff are not responsible for your computer.

The number one way for spammers to find your email address is by posting your email address on the web. Spammers have robots, programs that crawl the web, searching for anything that looks even remotely like an email address. So if you're smart, you won't ever allow your email address to be posted on the web.

The NIMBioS email server has a spam filter that all incoming email passes through. Messages that the server believes are spam are marked with the string “[SPAM]” pre-pended to the subject line of the message. Additionally, when an incoming message is determined to be spam, the NIMBioS mail server will hang up on the remote host delivering the message and report that a permanent delivery failure has occurred. (Hanging up on the spammer is the only thing that they understand, and the best way to minimize the damage once a spammer has harvested or guessed your email address.)

If you receive a spam message that is not marked “[SPAM]” then you can report it by forwarding the message to the “spam” user. The mail server will receive your message and learn from it's mistakes, so that next time it will have a better chance of catching similar messages. Very important: You must forward your message as an (message/rfc822) attachment. Forwarding as an attachment will preserve the original message's headers, which is critical – this is where all the details are that the mail server needs to see. Failure to forward spam as an attachment will result in the mail server being unable to process your message.

When you forward your message to the spam user, you will receive a receipt back that looks similar to this:

Message Number: 20100726.093003.000000
Number of message/rfc822 attachments found: 2
          Number of attachments registered: 2


The following attachments have been registered as SPAM:


[1]:       From: "J. McDonald" <top10.seo.training@gmail.com>
[1]:         To: peek@nimbios.org
[1]:    Subject: Free Webinar: Google / SEO - Top Ten Free Tools
[1]:       Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:32:22 +0400
[1]: Message-ID: <201008251432.o7PEWM3V017996@mylinux>
[1]:
[1]: SpamAssassin: [20529] warn: reporter: pyzor report failed: reporter: exited with non-zero exit code 1
[1]: SpamAssassin: 1 message(s) examined.
[1]: Exit code: 0
[1]: Exit signal: 0
[1]: SpamAssassin succeeded in registering this attachment

[2]:       From: <michaelpeek@users.sourceforge.net>
[2]:         To: michaelpeek@users.sourceforge.net
[2]:    Subject: [SPAM] Stun your lady into submission
[2]:       Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:14:44 +0200
[2]: Message-ID: <E1OoYUM-0005Vs-NY@catus.nimbios.org>
[2]:
[2]: SpamAssassin: [20553] warn: reporter: pyzor report failed: reporter: exited with non-zero exit code 1
[2]: SpamAssassin: 1 message(s) examined.
[2]: Exit code: 0
[2]: Exit signal: 0
[2]: SpamAssassin succeeded in registering this attachment


If you have any questions regarding this message, forward this message, along
with your comments, to help@nimbios.org.

This receipt is showing that I forwarded two spam messages. (Yes, you can attach as many spam messages as you like, and they will each be processed.) If you receive a receipt that says Number of attachments registered: 0, then something was wrong with your report and it could not be processed. Double-check your email client settings to be sure that it is configured to forward messages as an attachment.

Likewise, if you receive a message marked as “[SPAM]” that is not, you can forward your message to the “nonspam” user, and the mail server will learn from it's mistakes.

It's possible to set up an automated response in the event that you plan to be away from your email for an extended period of time.

1. Create (or edit) the file '~/autoreply.msg'. This should be a simple text file containing your response. It should look something like this:

   I am away from my email and will return on ___.
   In the interim, if you need assistance, please contact ___.
   Sincerely, ___.

2. Open a terminal window:
   1. Click on the Ubuntu icon in the upper left-hand side of the screen – at the top of the launcher
   2. The dash will appear; in the dash's search box type: terminal
   3. Click on the terminal icon
3. In the terminal window, type: autoreply-on
   For example:

   peek@catus:~$ autoreply-on
   Auto-reply on
   peek@catus:~$

   NOTE: If you attempt to use 'autoreply-on' without first creating an 'autoreply.msg' file, the script will refuse to comply and instead inform you of the oversight:

   peek@catus:~$ autoreply-on
   *** ERROR: /home/peek/autoreply.msg : File not found
      
       This file must exist.  It should contain your auto-reply message.
       It should look something like this:
      
         I'm away from my office and return on ___.  In the interim,
         if you need assistance, please contact ___.
         Sincerely,
         ___
      
       Please create this file first and then try again.

   If you have any questions about editors, might I suggest 'gedit' (GUI) or 'nano' (terminal) as easy editors to use.

1. Open a terminal window:
   1. Click on the Ubuntu icon in the upper left-hand side of the screen – at the top of the launcher
   2. The dash will appear; in the dash's search box type: terminal
   3. Click on the terminal icon
2. In the terminal window, type: autoreply-off
   For example:

   peek@catus:~$ autoreply-off
   Auto-reply off
   peek@catus:~$

• NIMBioS IT staff will not take responsibility for your personal machine. The reader is expected to know how to administrate his or her own machine.
• The documentation above is merely for guidance. Menus, options, and commands presented may not match the reader's particular operating system, software, or versions.
• None of these documents have a brain. Readers are expected to provide their own.