Tighter IMAP, POP, and SMTP Security

The first major change is that we intend to tighten up security for our IMAP, POP, and outbound SMTP services. This change may affect you if you have an email client that is currently configured to use IMAP or POP to fetch email from one of the systems listed above, and/or an email client that is configured to send email outbound via one of the systems listed above.

As security protocols continue to evolve and introduce advanced security features, we in turn also intend to provide higher-quality security by disabling older, insecure protocols. To that end, in August (see timeline above), a number of insecure protocols will be disabled for these services. This will reduce any possibility that an attacker could snoop on your email traffic or compromise your account credentials.

Most email clients will likely continue to work without any changes, but it is a good idea for you to verify that you are using the most recent version of your email client, whether it is configured to use one of the systems listed above and to ensure that your client is configured to use the more recent encrypted protocols such as IMAPS, POPS, and SMTP.

While we cannot provide instructions for every email client on the market, below are some common ones. If your client does not appear here, do an internet search for your client name and 'IMAP', or review the below for hints on how this is commonly done.

If prompted/required, use the following manual server settings:

• Webmail 4
  • IMAP server is inbound.electric.net port 993
  • SMTP server is outbound.electric.net port 587
• Webmail 5
  • Refer to Inbound and Outbound Server Settings in our migration guide

Here are links to instructions for some common clients:

• Mailbird: https://support.getmailbird.com/hc/en-us/articles/220106687-IMAP-support-in-Mailbird
• Outlook: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/add-an-email-account-to-outlook-6e27792a-9267-4aa4-8bb6-c84ef146101b?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
• Spark: https://support.readdle.com/spark/spark-onboarding/add-more-email-accounts-to-spark
  • Use 'Set Up Account Manually' and you may need to click on Additional Settings to specify servers as well.
• Thunderbird: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/switch-pop-imap-account
  • Describes how to switch from POP to IMAP (recommended)

Deprecation of White Label Feature

Many of our customers have deployed a custom configuration that uses a CNAME (an alias) to point to our service. When a user visits that alias (e.g. https://mail.mycompany.com) they end up in the VIPRE hosted email service. Some customers have additionally configured the Webmail client to display different logos in this scenario.

Unfortunately, this CNAME method of re-branding is no longer supported with more recent security protocols. Visitors to any of these CNAME records will see an error as the link is no longer valid. Bookmarks will need to be updated to the new production URLs as shown in the Timeline of Events above. 

All branding will now be generic as well, as custom branding and logos are no longer supported. Although functionally, there will be no difference, you may wish to alert your end users to this change and to expect a different branded experience.

Deprecation of Features in Webmail 5

Storage Settings

Webmail 5 included an integrated "Storage Settings" feature which allowed users to link to third-party services such as Dropbox or Google Drive for storage within the Webmail environment. This feature will be decommissioned.

Shared Folders

Webmail 5 also included a Shared Folders feature which allowed users to share specific email folders with other users. The new client's tighter permissions model makes this much harder to support. VIPRE recommends moving to a third-party sharing service, such as LiveDrive (https://www2.livedrive.com).

External Mailboxes

Users were allowed to connect the Webmail client to not just their default mailbox, but also mailboxes provided by external third-party vendors. This will no longer be possible with the new Webmail client. If users want to consolidate multiple hosted mail accounts into a single mail client, VIPRE recommends using a local desktop client configured to connect to our service as well as the third-party services.

Allow/Deny Lists

Users had the option of explicitly allowing or denying specific sender email addresses. This feature is not available in the new Webmail client. 

Spam Digests

When an email comes in and has a high spam score, it goes to the user's spam folder. A spam digest would then be sent at specified times with all of the new spam emails listed in it, effectively summarizing all of the spam emails received. This feature will be decommissioned.

Administrator Access to User Inboxes

In the previous portal, administrators had the ability to access user inboxes as needed. This feature will be decommissioned once the new admin portal takes effect.

Upgraded Webmail Client

Many of you may be using our free webmail client to access your inboxes and send email. The web clients we provide have not been updated in some time, and we are overdue for a new version.

We will be rolling out brand new webmail clients over the next month and a half, providing ample time for you all to try out the new client before it will replace the old one, and to bring over any calendar events or contacts you may wish to retain.

For Webmail 4:

The "Beta" version of the new client is available now at: https://beta.webmail4.com

Visit the new webmail client to get a feel for how it will work. If you note any concerns, please contact our Technical Support teams for more information.

On August 16, 2021, the normal web client will be replaced with this new version (replacing the current production URL). This means, the legacy webmail client will be permanently decommissioned and the older webmail client will be moved to a different location (https://webmail4.com). It is imperative that you migrate any Contacts or Calendar events from your old webmail client to the new webmail client before August 16, 2021.

See the Migration to the New Web Client section below for instructions on how to export your contacts from the old mail client and import them into the new mail client,

For Webmail 3/5:

The "Beta" version of the new client is available now at: https://beta-wm.mailanyone.net

Visit the new webmail client to get a feel for how it will work. If you note any concerns, please contact our Technical Support teams for more information.

On August 23, 2021, the normal web client will be replaced with this new version (replacing the current production URL). This means, the legacy webmail clients will be permanently decommissioned and visitors to https://wm.mailanyone.net will get the new webmail client. It is imperative that you migrate any Contacts or Calendar events from your current webmail client to the new webmail client, and that you move any files in Storage Folders to a new service, as suggested in the Deprecation of Features in Webmail 5 section, before August 23, 2021.

See below for instructions on how to export your contacts from the old mail client and import them into the new mail client.

Administrators: On August 23, 2021, your existing admin console logins via wm.mailanyone.net will be relocated to https://webmailadmin.mailanyone.net. You will log in separately to the webmail client. 

The new webmail client should be a major advance in terms of usability, features, and visual appeal. We hope you enjoy it!