FreeParking - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I've received duplicate emails.

A: Duplicate emails are normally the result of your email client connecting to the server multiple times before marking the email as read.

You should look at the headers for each email and check if the headers are unique. If not then your email client is most likely to blame.

For Microsoft clients such as Outlook check at https://windowsupdate.microsoft.com for any available updates.

Q: I have received a suspicious email from admin/webmaster@mydomain

A: If you have received an email from webmaster@yourdomain, administrator@yourdomain (or similar) threatening to close/suspend your account please be aware that it is likely to be a virus either on your PC, or on the PC of someone who has you in their address book. Please DO NOT open any attachment. These emails have NOT come from us.

This virus may worm its way to all addresses located in your email clients file.

We would advise and recommend you use http://housecall.trendmicro.com and check for updates at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

Q: I am receiving SPAM from my domain name

A: Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this awful misuse of your domain name. It is called "Joe Jobbing", whereby somebody hijacks your domain name for nefarious purposes such as the sending of spam.

The following is a link to wikipedia which explains it very well. Also included in the link are possible recourses of action:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_job

One thing you can do to stop getting the messages is to choose a number of forwarding aliases (e.g. info@yourdomain.co.uk, you@yourdomain.com etc.) and then set the wildcard (i.e. @yourdomain.com) to forward to a blackhole.

To do this enter blackhole@freeparking.com as the destination address for your wildcard forwarder and anything not going to the specified aliases will forward into a blackhole and be deleted straight away.

Be sure to do the last part after you have set up the forwarding accounts to avoid having valid mail go into the blackhole.

Q: What are the POP and SMTP server settings?

A: Please go to the help tab at: https://pop.freeparking.co.uk - that site has a pictorial help file on how to configure Outlook.

Pretty much all other mail client programs use the same settings as used by Outlook so please read the help for your particular mail client if you are having problems, and if you still can't get it working, contact the supplier of your email client.

Q: My ISP blocks port 25, is there an alternate ?

A: Hi, Our POP server also uses port 2525. Please consult your email client help files for how to configure an alternate port for SMTP

Q: What is SPAM?

A: Spam is unrequested email advertising or useless email designed to maliciously waste bandwidth and hard-drive space on as many computers as possible.

For more spam details see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam

Q: Which Email Client Software Does Freeparking Support?

A: You can use our Webmail application to access your email through any Internet browser or you can use any POP3-compatible email application.

The POP3 protocol itself is used to receive email. Details about POP3 can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop3

For more information on the benefits of webmail see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webmail

For a comparison of different email packages see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-mail_clients

Q: What is SMTP?

A: SMTP stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol" and it is used whenever you send email. If you aren't using webmail you must configure your email application to use the right SMTP settings.

For more details on SMTP see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smtp

Q: How does Freeparking protect me from SPAM?

A: We use spamhaus and ORDB to block spam from known spammers. It is very difficult to catch ALL spam without falsely blocking some emails. We delete as many confirmed SPAM emails as possible before they get to you and mark others suspected as SPAM with ***SPAM*** in the subject.

You can use your local email software to filter emails marked ***SPAM*** and we also suggest that you investigate using local anti-spam software on your computer.

More details on anti-spam methods and software are available here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopping_e-mail_abuse

Q: Why can't I log into my forwarding account from Outlook?

A: Forwarding accounts only forward mail, they do not store mail. To use the server as a POP3 mailbox which will store mail on the server, you must first log into https://pop.freeparking.co.uk/ and either upgrade one of the existing forwards or create a new POP3 mailbox.

You will then be able to log in from Webmail or use an Outlook type mail client. Information on how to set up Outlook is available by clicking 'HELP' on: https://pop.freeparking.co.uk/

Q: I've received a spam email.

A: Recently additional anti spam systems and countermeasures have been put into effect. Our development team are constantly looking at ways and means to help us combat spam.

Unfortunately, owing to the huge variety of spam and the various ploys used by spammers to bypass the countermeasures and filters in place, it is very difficult to block all spam with ejecting legitimate e-mail.

We recommend that you use an anti spam system on your local machine to catch anything that slips through the net.

Q: Over Quota messages.

A: Log into webmail for your domain and check that you have cleaned out your deleted items folder.

Also check ALL other folders for mail and delete it if necessary.

Checking the checkbox underneath 'Current folder' will select all mails - then click on delete.

Q: How long does it take for Email to start working after registration?

A: If you have registered this domain in the last 12 hours then please allow 24 hours for the Domain Name registration to propogate around the Internet before raising a support call.

If you currently only have POP3 forwarding set up, to use the server as a POP3 mailbox you must log into: https://pop.freeparking.co.uk/ and either upgrade one of the forwards or create a new POP3 mailbox. You will then be able to log in from webmail or outlook mail clients.

Q: SUSPECTED SPAM messages on email subjects.

A: This does NOT mean that the Freeparking email servers are blocked. Our systems query a blocking list for IP addresses of email servers connecting to ours. If a sending server is on the list our server will rewrite the email subject to include *SUSPECTED SPAM*. The person that sent you the email should take this up with their ISP or the blocking list maintainer using the URL added to the message subject. We have had to take this measure as blocklists sometimes incorrectly list our servers when our customers report mail that has been forwarded by our servers.

We ask that you do not raise support requests to freeparking on this issue, we would only refer you to the blocking list maintainer.

We understand that this may be frustrating to some customers however the problem is not with Freeparking, it is with some ISPs allowing spam to be sent from their networks. If mail from a trusted sender is marked as suspected spam, you should notify the sender of the problem and ask that they contact their ISP to get their servers de-listed.

Q: I don't receive email with some attachments

A: Our mail systems block any attachment with potentially damaging content such as .pif .bat .exe .com or .scr files.

There is a 10Mb limit for attachments sent or received.

Q: How do I configure email on my Blackberry

A: Some blackberry servers assume that the MX records for the domain are the same as the mailserver for the domain. If as in the case of Freeparking the MX records point to a spam filtering system in front of the POP server then the blackberry mail setup may need to be manually set to use pop.freeparking.co.uk as the target mailserver. Please contact your blackberry provider for exact setup details.

Q: I have received an email reporting that I have been sending out SPAM and asking that I open an attached document

A: This is a virus-spreading tactic - please ignore the message and do not open the attachment.

Even if your PC anti-virus client is up to date and functioning properly, for peace of mind you can always check out your PC using the following links:

http://housecall60.trendmicro.com
and
http://www.windowsecurity.com

Q: Does freeparking offer PTR functionality?

A: We do not offer a PTR service at this time; this must be done by your ISP. Adding a PTR record to your zone file held by us will have no effect.

Whoever is authoritative for your IP address range must add the record to their DNS. Ask your ISP to escalate the call to 3rd line support.

To check your IP address owner search for the IP at http://www.ripe.net in Europe, http://www.arin.net for North America

Q: I cannot SEND from my mobile device

A: If you cannot send from your mobile device, but you can from your email client and via the webmail interface, then it is possible that your service provider is blocking port 25 and they wish you to use their smtp server.

You should contact your service provider and see if this is the case. If so, they will give you the relevant smtp settings. Please note that the mail will still be sent from your domain, just not through our systems.

Q: I get a message: 452 too many recipients.

A: We have a limit of 15 recipients per email.

The limit of 15 is in place to prevent people using our servers to proliferate spam, something which could well result in our servers being blacklisted by other servers.

Q: Can I enter any keyboard command when choosing a password?

A: No- unfortunately you are only able to use alpha-numeric commands when choosing a password for your e-mail account.

Q: POP3 Email Problem.

A: If you have registered this domain in the last 12 hours then please allow 24 hours for the Domain Name registration to propogate around the Internet before raising a support call.

If you currently only have POP3 forwarding set up, to use the server as a POP3 mailbox you must log into: https://pop.freeparking.co.uk/ and upgrade one of the forwarders to create a new POP3 mailbox (you can have Unlimited standard mailboxes for free). You will then be able to log in from webmail or outlook mail clients.

Q: Outlook error 0x800CCC19.

A: Check that authentication is enabled on your mail client. (Tools, Accounts, click on the Mail tab, select the relevant Mail Account, then properties, Servers, and check the "My server requires authentication" box)

There is also a problem in Outlook Express 6 with certain file attachments (or technically called MIME types) when they appear in your POP3 mailbox. Your connection to the mailserver will then time out. The solution is to download the Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 from Microsoft which should fix the problem. See http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com for updates.

Q: Outlook Server Error: 550, Error Number: 0x800CCC79.

A: Check that authentication is enabled on your Outlook mail client. (Tools, Accounts, click on the Mail tab, select the relevant Mail Account, then Properties, Servers, and check the "My server requires authentication" box). Also go back and click on the "advanced" tab in order to remove the checks from the boxes: "This server requires a secure connection for both Outgoing mail (SMTP) and Incoming mail (POP3)"

Q: Error 503 - This mail server requires authentication. Please check your mail client settings.

A: Our servers require authentication to prevent spammers from sending mail as if it has come from your domain. Check that authentication is enabled on your mail client: (Tools, Accounts, click on the Mail tab, select the relevant Mail Account, then Properties, Servers, and check the "My server requires authentication" box).

Ensure the "Same settings as my incoming mail server" is also checked.

Q: Connection Socket Error: 10060, Error Number: 0x800CCC0E.

A: If you have just set up the POP3 service it may be that the DNS changes have not propagated yet. In this case please wait 24 hours for the changes to take effect before raising a support request.

The domain should be hosted on our nameservers to use our POP services.

Check that authentication is enabled on your Outlook mail client. (Tools, Accounts, click on the Mail tab, select the relevant Mail Account, then Properties, Servers, and check the "My server requires authentication" box).

Help on configuring Outlook is available at https://pop.freeparking.co.uk.

Q: I can't SEND mail via the POP server.

A: Check that authentication is enabled on your Outlook mail client: (Tools, Accounts, click on the Mail tab, select the relevant Mail Account, then Properties, Servers, and check the "My server requires authentication" box). Also remove the checks from the box: "This server requires a secure connection for both Outgoing mail (SMTP) and Incoming mail (POP3)".

If you are using Freeserve, Wanadoo or AOL and possibly some other ISPs, then your ISP may be blocking port 25 (SMTP) outbound from their networks. If this is the case then you will have to use your ISPs SMTP server for outbound mail. Check with your ISP for details or change to a less restrictive ISP. To check if your ISP has blocked port 25 outbound from it's network by typing: "TELNET 207.35.205.45 25" from a DOS window.

If that fails try using your ISPs SMTP server for outbound mail.

Q: Email not arriving into my POP3 Webmail Account

A: Your mail and mail2 addresses are not resolving to the Freeparking Mail Servers.

If you wish to have Freeparking manage your Mail Servers, use the following:-

Logon to your Freeparking members website, select the "Maintenance" option, select "Manage your own DNS Zone File", select the "DNS Manager Interface (advanced users)" option and then click on "Revert to Default Values" button to update the database and point your MailServers to Freeparking.

Q: Problem Logging onto the POP3 Mail Server from a PC Mail Client

A: You do not have a POP3 account at the moment - you only have POP3 - Forwarding addresses. In order for you to use the actual POP3 Mail Service you need to do the following:

Log into https://pop.freeparking.co.uk/ and either upgrade one of the forwards to a POP3 Account, or create a new POP3 Mail Account using the action panel on the right hand side of the screen after clicking the arrow to the right of the account you want to change.

You will then be able to log in from Webmail, Outlook or other Email Clients. Help on how to configure Outlook is also on https://pop.freeparking.co.uk/