Email Settings – SMTP AUTH, SSL and POP3/IMAP
Sending and receiving email is a task in our daily lives that we have come to rely on. Once we set up an email account on our device(s), we expect it to “just work.” On the backside, there are quite a few things happening that we don’t see or worry about, unless they quit working.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the technical protocol for transmitting email. It is the standard that defines how email travels from the sender to the recipient. It is an exchange of data between an email application (Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, etc.) to an email server (@gondtc.com).
By extension, SMTP AUTH is the mechanism used to authenticate the email account to the email server. This authentication is what allows an email application to send email from the server. NDTC uses the email address and email password as the authentication method.
Using SMTP AUTH is a security feature for the email server and the email customer. It protects the server from spammers using the email server as a relay for sending unwanted spam. It helps protect the integrity of the email account from sending unauthorized email.
As email spammers have become more sophisticated and more determined to wreak havoc on unsuspecting email accounts, it is important for email providers, such as NDTC, to keep the server and email accounts as secure as possible.
On August 1st, 2023, NDTC will implement SMTP AUTH as a required setting on all @gondtc.com email accounts, regardless of what Internet Protocol (IP) address it is sending email from.
This may not affect your device(s), depending on how the email account is configured on them. Devices used outside of your home Wi-Fi network to send email may already configured to use SMTP AUTH. Devices that are generally not portable or don’t leave your home network might not be configured with SMTP AUTH, and will need to be configured with SMTP AUTH to send emails.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is an encryption-based security protocol that ensures privacy in email transmission between an email application and an email server. SSL is also referred to as the newer standard TLS (Transport Layer Security). Both play the same role of encrypting data exchanges.
NDTC implemented SSL/TLS on our email server, utilizing an SSL Certificate, years ago. This protocol is also configured in the email application settings.
Email applications can be set up to retrieve emails from the server using two different protocols. The protocol that you use should be determined by the number of devices that you will use to access your email and how you want to manage your email storage. This is an Incoming Mail setting.
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IMAP |
Best for people that access their email on multiple devices or if multiple people access the same account. Changes made are synced to the server and to all applications that access the account. The server stores the email. |
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POP3 |
POP3 will download and remove email from the server and store it locally on the device that accessed the account on the server. |
The recommended email settings that your devices should be configured to for secure connections to the @gondtc.com email server:
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Incoming Server |
mail.gondtc.com |
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Username |
{this is your email address, without the @gondtc.com} |
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Password |
The password for your email account |
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Incoming Port |
IMAP SSL – 993 POP3 – SSL 995 |
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Outgoing Server |
mail.gondtc.com |
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Username & Password |
Same as Incoming |
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Outgoing Port |
SMTP AUTH – 465 or 587 |
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Advanced |
Use SSL & Authentication (Password) |
If you have questions about configuring your devices, call our Helpdesk at 662.8350 for assistance. They are available 24/7.