Email Migration FAQ

1. Can I still access my email via http://mail1.monash.edu.au?
2. Will this change affect the accessing of my staff email via the my.monash Portal?
3. Why do I get an error message when I connect to mail1.monash.edu.au?
4. Why can I no-longer access the non-secure staff webmail interface?
5. What other functionality is being lost/changed in the move?
6. How do I change my email client to access my staff email via the new address?
7. What does the "A communication error occured. Please try again." error mean?
8. How do I prevent the empty "Client Authentication" popup under Internet Explorer?
9. Who do I contact if I have any further questions?

Can I still access my email via mail1.monash.edu.au?

Yes. The address mail1.monash.edu.au and mail.monash.edu.au both point to the same servers. We would recommend that you use mail.monash.edu.au for future access to avoid security error messages as outlined below.

Will this change affect the accessing of my staff email via the my.monash Portal?

No. Access to your email via the my.monash portal will remain exactly the same. Yo u access the same staff email whether you use the my.monash portal, the WebMail interface (http://mail.monash.edu.au) or an IMAP client such as Netscape Messenger. Which interface you use to access your email is entirely your own choice.

Why do I get an error message when I connect to mail1.monash.edu.au?

You get the following error popup messages when accessing the old address (mail1.monash.edu.au) because the security certificate that the servers present to your web & email client (Netscape/Mozilla/Outlook) have the address 'mail.monash.edu.au' encoded within; whereas you have connected to the host called mail1.monash.edu.au. Therefore the email client/web browser gets confused when the two names don't match and present an error message warning the user.

If you do get the error message, please click Continue/OK/Yes to continue.

Why can I no-longer access the non-secure staff webmail interface?

The ability to access staff email via a non-encrypted web session has been permanently disabled for security reasons. The use of an insecure web protocol to access your email is a security risk as your username & password details are passing across the Internet without being encrypted.

This is increasingly important when you consider that a large number of staff access their email via webmail and at home and overseas where Monash has no control over the network and who may be 'listening in' to the Internet traffic being sent and received.

Disabling non-encrypted web sessions brings staff webmail access into line with the current student encryted-only webmail access and IT Security Policy.

What other functionality is being lost/changed in the move?

The current tool (http://mail1.monash.edu.au:21000/bin/user/admin/bin/enduser) to modify email settings (vacation messages/delivery options) is to be be rewritten and replaced - for backwards compatibility the same link will remain valid but will redirect users to the new site. The new tool will provide greater browser support then the current tool which doesn't function properly with Internet Explorer or Mozilla.

The Personal folder information tool (https://mail1.monash.edu.au:444/cgi-bin/folders.cgi) is to be discontinued. The folder information ('Folders Tab') in the webmail client is the most accurate source of information and should be used in preference regardless. The Personal folder information tool therefore duplicates functionality that already exists within the webmail interface and therefore will not be ported to the new email server architecture.

How do I change my email client to access my email via the new address?

Instructions on modifying your Netscape, Mozilla & Outlook email client settings to use the new the new staff email address can be found at the following web-sites:

What does the "A communication error occured. Please try again." error mean?

If when you are sending an email or attempting to save a draft email/template you receive this error message, the most li kely cause is an incorrect setting in your Netscape Profile when your account was modified to use mail.monash.edu.au instead of mail1.monash.edu.au.

To check whether you have the incorrect settings
1. Go to Edit->Preferences... in your Netscape Email Client

2. Check the "Copies and Folders" options under "Mail & Newsgroups"
3. Verify that you no-longer have mail1.monash.edu.au in the "Place a copy in folder" options as circled in red above.

4. If any of the settings are incorrect, click on the "Choose Folder" button and select the correct location for the Fold er as show above.

How do I prevent the empty "Client Authentication" popup under Internet Explorer?

A behaviour bug under Internet Explorer causes the following "Client Authentication" popup to be displayed when you conne ct to the Monash WebMail interface even when you have no Digital Certificate installed in your web browser. This behaviour is isolated to Internet Explorer and doesn' t affect the Mozilla or Netscape Web browsers.

A workaround for the bug is to add the address https://mail.monash.edu.au to the list of Trusted internet sites in your I nternet preferences. The steps to perform this workaround are as follows.

1. Start Internet Explorer

2. Click on "Tools" (A) then "Internet Options" (B).

3. Click on the "Security" Tab (A) then the "Trusted Sites" icon (B) and finally the "Sites" button (C).

4. Add in the address https://mail.monash.edu.au address then click "Add" then "OK". 5. Close the Internet Options dialogue box by clicking on "OK".

You should now be able to connect to https://mail.monash.edu.au without the blank "Client Authentication" popup from occu rring.

Who do I contact if I have any further questions?

Please contact your local support officer or the ITS Service Desk for further assistance and support.