Need step-by-step to receive anytext@mydomain.org addresses

[Kerrith]

Just moved to a new host. Supportive as they have been I'm having a difficult time understanding the instructions of the not-native English language ticket staff.

I'm able to receive emails to myname@mydomain.org but not to admin@mydomain.org.

I created a new email account via cPanelX > Mail > Add/Remove Accounts > Create Account, named admin@mydomain.org but I'm not receiving its emails via Thunderbird.

My TB's account setting are:
Server Name: mydomain.org
User Name: myname@mydomain.org

The ticket staff said to use "mydomain.org" and not "mail.mydomain.org" for the Server Name.

I don't use Horde.

I have not found a tutorial for instructions on how to produce the desired result.

Tips?

Thanks,

Kerry

[RickG]

In the scenario you describe the user name for the new account in TB would be admin@mydomain.org, not myname@mydomain.org as indicated in your note above.

If the objective was to have admin@mydomain.org drop into the existing mailbox of myname@mydomain.org, you would simply create admin@mydomain.org as a Forward in cPanel, not a seperate acount.

[Kerrith]

Hi,

With our former host, who also had cPanelX, I was able to receive emails addressed to anytext@mydomain.org and I didn't have to fill out an account for each possible variation. Somehow it was done with one configuration.

For example: We still have a domain on our old host and in Thunderbird I have only one Account Setting for myotherdomian.org. Its User Name is myname@myotherdomain.org. I can receive emails from admin@myotherdomain.org, Inquiry@, Service@ etc. In its cPanleX I believe I have two email accounts, admin@myotherdomain.org and myname@myotherdomain.org. In other words I didn't have to make email accounts for Inquiry@ etc.

Hopefully some reader here will know how to do this.

Kerry

[RickG]

Hi Kerry:

What you described in your reply is referred to as "catchall" account.

If you look in your cPanel setup under Mail, you will see an option called "Default Address." To accomplish the behavior you want, you would set:

Send all unrouted e-mail for: mydomain.org to myname@mydomain.org

This would route all misc. addresses into one account w/o the need to set up forwarders or additional email accounts.

That said, 99.9% of system / mail administrators (including my self) will tell you in today's world this is a really bad idea as you open yourself up to Dictionary Attacks - a scenario in which a spammer sends (potentially) thousands of email messages to random addresses at your domain, hoping a few of them might get through. When you set your default address as above (instead of to :fail: which is probably how it was pre-defined), they would all be accepted which could bring your account to a crawl and causing all types of other resource problems.

Just something to think about. IMHO, it is worthwhile taking the time to create only the forwarders you need. If you want to read more about catchall addresses there is a great article by Chirpy here http://www.configserver.com/free/fail.html

Hope this helps -

[Kerrith]

Hi Rick,

Thanks for your instructions and your advice.

We have about 15 tutorials on three domains. My concern about making a new email account for each of the addresses is that Thunderbird's "Get Mail" will take forever to go through say seven addresses for each domain. Admin@, Info@ feedback@ feedbackrtut@ feedbackatut@, feedbackltut@ —I mean we're talking lots of addresses. I most certainly do understand the horrendous down side of having a catchall for each domain.

I don't suppose there's a way around this predicament, other than to change all the web email addresses into admin@ ?

Thanks,

Kerry

[RickG]

Originally Posted by Kerrith

I don't suppose there's a way around this predicament, other than to change all the web email addresses into admin@ ?

To clarify - you don't need to create actual accounts (i.e. from your Control Panel -> Mail -> Add/Remove/Manage Accounts) for each of these addresses.

You would manually create Forwarders (Control Panel -> Mail -> Forwarders) such as:

feedback@mydomain.org to myname@mydomain.org
feedbackrtut@mydomain.org to myname@mydomain.org
feedbackatut@mydomain.org to myname@mydomain.org
etc.

By using forwarders (aka aliases), TB is not checking "seven addresses per domain" -- it is still only pulling mail from one account where it has all accumulated.

At least this gives you control and avoids opening the back door by using a catchall. If you literally have seven forwarders per domain, and 3 domains, entering 21 of these records is really not a big deal. If you have many more and can put them in a text file, they could easily be added into the file /etc/valiases/domainname (but you'll need root access to do that). Yeah - I know its a pain, but a better business practice in the long run.

[Kerrith]

Thanks Rick, that's exactly what I wanted to hear.

FYI:

If you look in your cPanel setup under Mail, you will see an option called "Default Address." To accomplish the behavior you want, you would set:

My cPanel X > Mail > doesn't have "Default Address." no doubt it's a different version.

Much appreciation,

Kerry

[RickG]

Originally Posted by Kerrith

FYI: My cPanel X > Mail > doesn't have "Default Address." no doubt it's a different version.

Kerry - sounds like you might be the user (and not the host) of the server. If that is the case, then your web hosting company may have disabled / removed this option on the menu for exactly the reasons we've been discussing.

[Kerrith]

Yes, I subscribe to AN Hosting. They have since told me that they turned off that cPanel feature because it interfered with their antispam software. They also offered to manually create a "catchall" account for each domain for me but after reading your recommendation, and after implementing this new solution, I'm thinking there's no need.

My solution includes your idea of forwarding feedback@, info@, etc. to a new Gmail account. I believe this will do it.

Thanks so much for your help.

Kerry

[Kerrith]

Update:

FWIW:

I have since made forwarders for all the various prefixes of our email address however I created a gmail account and have all 20 forwarders forwarded to our gmail account. This is because gmail does a better job at screening spam.

Thanks all,

Kerry

[Infopro]

You might like to go this route instead of forwarding to gmail.

https://www.google.com/a/

[Kerrith]

Originally Posted by Infopro

You might like to go this route instead of forwarding to gmail.

https://www.google.com/a/

I do hava a gmail account so I'm not sure what else I was suppsoed to see on the google link.

Thanks,

Kerry

Love Chirpy

[Lyttek]

I think what they were getting at was "Google Apps for your domain" which lets you use the Google Apps with your own domain name...

[Kerrith]

Hi,

I don't know what you mean by "Google Apps."

Thanks,

Kerry

[Infopro]

Hi Kerry,

Have a closer look at the site. You can change your settings in cpanel email to use gmail instead. So instead of the forwarding to gmail you mentioned you do, you could just use gmail itself. Basically.