How to use your Email account?
How to use webmail?
How to use an Email client?

How to use your Email account?
Whence you have an Email address and a password, you're almost ready set, all you need to know now is how to set it up. For reading your Email and sending out Email you have in principle two options: either you use webmail or you use an Email client, a software that helps you to manage all your Email. Popular Email clients are Thunderbird, Mozilla, Eudora, Netscape Messanger, Kmail, Outlook Express...but there are many more. Either way - webmail as well as using an Email client - has its goods and bads and most people end up using both options - whatever you like.

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How to use webmail?
Managing your mail via webmail is comfortable when you're traveling a lot without a notebook or when you end up using many different computers. You don't need to know anything but your login name, your password and the url, where you find your webmail. For old d-a-s-h adresses this is always https://emdash.org. For new d-a-s-h addresses this is always https://mail.d-a-s-h.org.

The https shows you, that the site uses encryption for the transfer of data, for instance for the transfer of your password. This is a security standard by now that most browsers are able to handle. But nevertheless, in case you're working with a really old browser, you might want to check, whether it allows 128 bit encryption. Mostly you'll find that information under "info" or "about" in the navigation of the browser. If you're browser is still running on 40 bit encryption, it will not be able to open the page (https://emdash.org) and there will be no way around but to get a new browser. (You'll find browsers for free for instance at http://www.mozilla.com or http://www.netscape.com or http://www.opera.com)

Now you go to:

https://emdash.org or https://mail.d-a-s-h.org

Then fill in your username (with d-a-s-h accounts this is always your Email address) and your password - for example:

username: user@emdash.org
password: ***********

After that you'll find an interface that shows you all the mail you've gotten and now you can start reading and answering. The only thing left to remember is: Sign out when you leave.

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How to use an Email client?
Most people that have one computer that they work on constantly, use Email clients in order to manage their mails.

Here you have two options: you can either use an imap or a pop3 protocol. The major difference is: the pop3 protocol will download you mail on your computer and the imap always just gets something like an image of your mail. That means for imap, that whatever happens to your computer or no matter how often you get your mail, it will always be there, until you delete it on the server. With the pop3 protocol your mail is on your computer whence you downloaded it. A second difference is, that the pop3 protocol is a lot easier to handle for most Email clients. You'll probably have less troubles setting it up the way you like it than with imap.

Whence you have decided which Email client and which protocol you want to use, you now have to set up your mailaccount.

For that you need to know the following data:

old d-a-s-h email accounts:

incoming mail server: lola.jff.de
outgoing mail server: lola.jff.de
username: your Email adress
password: ********
protokoll: IMAP / POP3 (you have to chose.)

The incoming mail server uses SSL (Port 993 or 995). So be sure to check this option (in most Email clients you'll find this under 'optoin' or 'advanced').

The outgoing mailserver uses authentification. This is the same one you used for your incoming mail server (same username and password).

new d-a-s-h email accounts:
(You can also look at the detailled description with screen shots German and English)
incoming mail server: idash.org
outgoing mail server: idash.org
username: your Email adress
password: ********
protokoll: IMAP / POP3 (you have to chose.)

The incoming mail server uses SSL (Port 993 or 995). So be sure to check this option (in most Email clients you'll find this under 'optoin' or 'advanced').

The outgoing mailserver uses authentification. This is the same one you used for your incoming mail server (same username and password). The outgoing mailserver also uses encryption for the transfer of the password, so you need to enable TLS encryption. Depening on the client, you enable the option "use secure connection" or "use TLs, if available". If you use microsoft outlook / outlook express, make sure you enable TLS support in your internet options (system preferences). If you have a client that gives you the choice between SSL and TLS, choose TLS. You want to use port 25 for SMTP.

If you've installed Symantec (Norton) Antivirus version 9, which is the new standard for Windows machines, it does not support SSL or TLS encrypted email via port 25. If you want to still use the d-a-s-h smtp server you need to configure Symantec (Norton) Antivirus not to autoprotect Internet email - Configure -> Internet Email Autoprotect-> (Uncheck) Internet Email Autoprotect.

Most Email clients have an assistance for setting up an Email account. If you use that, make sure to extra check the option "SSL" for your incoming mail. If you don't use the automated assistance, look for the option: 'new account'. Then you just click through all the options.

That's it. Now you're set to use your new mailaccount.

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