E-Mail Support

This page contains information and links that cover how to use, manage, and maintain your Hamilton e-mail account. If you have any problems following this information or have questions not answered here, you can call the Help Desk at x4181 or e-mail us at helpdesk@hamilton.edu.

For details regarding the transition to Mozilla Thunderbird as our supported replacement for Eudora, please refer to the following page:  Mozilla Thunderbird Migration

Topics covered on this page:

Requesting an e-mail account
Forgotten password
Changing your existing password
Accessing your e-mail via the Web
Accessing your e-mail via an e-mail client application
Activate or deactivate a vacation (auto-reply) message
Mail forwarding
SPAM
Viruses that spread via e-mail
Mass mailing lists (ListServ)
Graduate E-mail Account FAQ

Requesting an e-mail account

New Student Accounts: ITS automatically creates e-mail accounts for students when they are admitted. There is no need for students to ever request e-mail accounts for themselves.

New Employee Accounts: ITS automatically creates e-mail accounts for employees when notified of their being hired by Human Resources. Any requests for new employee accounts must go through Human Resources.

Departmental Accounts: Accounts for departmental use can be requested by contacting Christopher Forte at x4123 or by e-mail at cforte@hamilton.edu. The account will then be created after being approved by the head of the department.

Organizational Accounts: Student organizations can request accounts if they have either fully registered with Student Activities or have an employee/faculty sponsor. This is requested on the web form used for registering the organization.

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Forgotten Password

Students: If you are on campus and have forgotten your password, go to http://passchg.hamilton.edu and fill out the electronic form. This will generate a new password and a printed account sheet that can either be picked up at ITS (you must bring your campus ID card) or sent to you via campus mail. It WILL NOT be sent off campus. If you are off-campus, call the ITS Help Desk at 315-859-4181 or e-mail us at helpdesk@hamilton.edu for assistance.

Employees: Contact the ITS Help Desk at 315-859-4181 or e-mail us at helpdesk@hamilton.edu for assistance.

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Changing your existing password

If you know your current e-mail password and want to change it, you can do so via Communications Express as outlined below:

1. Go to http://webmail.hamilton.edu or https://lila.hamilton.edu/uwc/auth.
2. Login using your Logon ID and password.
3. Once your INBOX appears, click on the Options tab.
4. Click on Global.
5. Cick on Change Password.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

When you change your E-mail password, your Blackboard password and My Hamilton password will change with it. However, your network password (SSS, ESS, etc.) will NOT change with it. To make your network password match your new e-mail password, you will have to synchronize them via the My Hamilton portal as outlined in the following document:

Synchronizing your passwords.

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Accessing your e-mail via the web

Regardless of whether you are off campus or on campus you can check your e-mail from any computer as long as it has access to the Internet (World Wide Web). Once you're connected to the Internet, point your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, etc.) to http://webmail.hamilton.edu.

On the login page, fill in your Login ID (omit '@hamilton.edu') and e-mail password. When you click on Login, Sun Java Systems Communications Express will open and display your Inbox. The e-mail messages in Messenger Express are actually on the mail server itself. Messages you delete will be moved into the Trash mailbox. To empty the Trash, click on the Manage Folders link on the left (below your list of mail folders) and then click on the Empty Trash button that appears next to the Trash mailbox. Messages that you send in Communications Express will appear in the Sent mailbox.

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Accessing your e-mail via an e-mail client application

You can access your Hamilton e-mail account using an e-mail client application that supports the IMAP mail protocol. ITS supports the use of Mozilla Thunderbird and provides comprehensive documentation for configuring and using Thunderbird. College-owned computers for employees have Thunderbird installed and configured for the computer's user. If you want to install and configure Thunderbird on your personal computer to access your e-mail please contact the ITS Help Desk.

Thunderbird related documentation you may find useful can be found below:

Installing Thunderbird on Windows
Installing Thunderbird on Mac OS X

Setting up filters in Thunderbird (Mac & Win)
Creating a default signature in Thunderbird (Mac & Win)
Using multiple signatures in Thunderbird (Windows)
Using multiple signatures in Thunderbird (Macintosh)
Backing up your files(Windows XP)
Mozilla Thunderbird Known Issues

If you are comfortable using another e-mail program without support from ITS, you can use the generic settings below as a guide for setting up one of these e-mail clients. If you need further assisance, use the Help feature in the program or refer to the support website for the respective software company.

Generic E-Mail Client Settings (on-campus):

Incoming Mail Server: mail.hamilton.edu
Outgoing (STMP) Server: mail.hamilton.edu (on-campus)
SMTP Authentication is required if using mail.hamilton.edu
Protocol/Server Type: IMAP (not POP or POP3)
Username: The userid in your e-mail address (minus the @hamilton.edu)
Security (SSL, TLS, etc.): None

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Activate or deactivate a vacation (auto-reply) message

In Communications Express, click on Options and then click on Vacation Message and follow the on-screen instructions or refer to the following document for detailed instructions:

Creating an e-mail auto-reply message

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Mail Forwarding

You can have e-mail addressed to your Hamilton account forwarded to another e-mail account. By default, doing so will send a copy to the other address while keeping a copy of each message in the Inbox for your Hamilton account, which can fill up your e-mail quota if left unchecked. This default behavior can, however, be disabled. For detailed instructions on how to set up mail forwarding and how to avoid reaching your quota while doing so, please refer to the following document:

Forwarding Hamilton E-mail

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SPAM

To help users combat spam, ITS uses Sophos PureMessage to detect and mark messages most likely to be spam. Marked messages will will have "[SPAM:XX%]" added to the beginning of the subject line, with 'XX' being the probability of the message being spam. This allows users to filter such messages into a mailbox other than their Inbox, thus allowing them to clean their account of spam more efficiently and securely. The following documents outline how to filter spam:

Using Filters in Thunderbird
Communications Express E-mail Filters

For more information on spam and options you can configure in PureMessage, visit the ITS SPAM Site.

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Viruses that spread via e-mail

Many viruses spread as attachments in e-mail messages. ITS uses Sophos Anti-Virus on the mail server to detect and remove viruses in e-mail messages. When a virus is detected, the message has "[ALERT:VIRUS]" added to the beginning of the subject line. The virus file is shredded and replaced with a file named 'substitute.txt' with the following text:

____________________________________________________________
The original content of this message part has been replaced
by this text because it tested positive for the following
virus(es):

    <VIRUS NAME(S)>

The original message has been modified by the mail
administrator (the virus has been removed).

This notification is being sent to you and any other
original envelope recipient(s).   To avoid creating a
nuisance and to keep mail traffic under control, the
original sender  of the message has NOT been notified.
However, you may want to notify the sender at your
discretion.

If you have any questions, please contact the ITS help desk
at 859-4181.

Thank you.
____________________________________________________________

When you receive such a message, it is best to simply delete it and pay no attention to what is written in the body of the message. Often the body of the message will say something sounding official and urgent (i.e. 'Your account has been suspended,' 'Your account has been used to send spam,' 'There is a security risk with your account,' etc.) Such information is fraudulent and can be ignored.

The anti-virus software on the mail server checks for updates every half hour, which keeps it very up-to-date. However, this can provide a half hour window for new viruses to come in undetected. Be wary of any unsolicited e-mail message with an attachment, even if it is from someone you know. Never open an attachment unless you are 100% certain you know exactly what the file is.

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Mass mailing lists (ListServ)

The Hamilton ListServ system allows you to quickly send an e-mail to a group of individuals, such as a club or organization, the entire campus community, or certain class year of students. The ListServ groups for the entire campus, all students, all faculty, all employees, or a particular class year are mass mailing lists which are subject to certain policies. For more information on mass mailing policies and how to use ListServ, see the information on our ListServ web page:

ListServ Mailing List Info

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Questions?

If you have any further questions about e-mail, you send us an e-mail at helpdesk@hamilton.edu or call us:

ITS Help Desk & Help @ Night:
315-859-4181 (x4181) Mon-Fri, 8:30 AM - 10:00 PM (Sept-May when classes are in session), 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM (June-Aug)

Back to the Help Desk Main Page

Key Resources

Services (phone numbers)