Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs are organized into three sections - Email, VoIP, Home Networking.

• E-mail
  • What email clients are supported, and how do I configure them to check my CACHE email accounts?
  • Why can't I send mail with my other (non-HREC/CACHE) email accounts?
  • Why doesn't webmail display HTML Email and attachments?
  • How much space am I allowed on the CACHE servers?
  • I received a notice from Postmaster telling me I have something in quarantine, how do I get it out of Quarantine?
  • I'd rather use the spam filter built into my Email client, how can I keep the Vircom filter from quarantining my messages?
  • Why am I not receiving my mail?
  • I've chosen to be logged in automatically in Webmail, why am I still being asked for my password?
• VoIP
  • Does CACHE offer VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone service?
  • I'm setting up a VoIP phone system, and my provider tells me that I need to have a public IP address. How can I tell if I have a public IP?
  • The instructions for my VoIP system suggest putting the telephone adapter before the router, is that a good idea?
• Home Networking
  • How can I put a password on my Wireless network?
  • Why can't I connect remotely to my home connection through CACHE?
  • I have my own router or would like to manage the provided router, what do I need to know to configure it?

Email FAQs

1. What email clients are supported, and how do I configure them to check my CACHE email accounts?

CACHE supports Microsoft Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Apple Mail, click your client's name for setup instructions. If you would like to use a different client, see the Email Support page for generic server settings.

2. Why can't I send mail with my other (non-HREC/CACHE) email accounts?

HREC imposes a restriction on the use of external SMTP servers using Port 25. This is common practice among internet service providers and is considered the best way to stop spam sending viruses and trojans. Email must be sent over a port other than 25, almost all email providers now offer SMTP access over Port 587. Please check first with your email provider for updated settings to use an alternative port. Failing that, mail can be set to relay though the CACHE email server.

3. Why doesn't webmail display some HTML Email and attachments?

Webmail is a limited interface to your CACHE email account, provided as a convenience to users who would like to access their email while away from their personal computers. CACHE recommends the use of one of the email clients listed above and on the Email Support page for better support of features such as HTML email and embedded content.

4. How much space am I allowed on the CACHE servers?

CACHE has a quota of 50MB per email account. You will receive an email notice when you exceed 40MB on the server.

5. I received a notice from Postmaster telling me I have something in quarantine, how do I get it out of Quarantine.

Quarantied items can be released from the quarantine report email. However, quaratined items are only stored for 7 days before being discarded. Desired messages must be released within that time or they will be unrecoverable.

To check messages in quarantine, you must first log into webmail. Click the Quarantine link on the top or left side of the page (depending on the version of webmail). You can view and release quarantined messages from there.

6. I'd rather use the spam filter built into my Email client, how can I keep the Vircom filter from quarantining my messages?

There is a management page to make changes to the server-side filtering and behaviour of your email account. http://mail.hrec.coop/webadmin. You may also log into webmail, then click the Settings link on the left side of the page.

Other features such as the Anti-Virus, Forbidden Attachments, Quarantine Reports, Trusted Senders, and Blocked Senders can be managed from these pages.

7. Why am I not receiving my mail?

A reason may be that another email client (not webmail) has already downloaded the messages for your account and deleted them off the server. Check each email client that connects to the email account and make sure they are set to leave messages on the server after retrieving them.

Log into webmail, go to Settings, Options, then Mail Forwarding. Make sure that the box labeled "Don't leave a copy of a forwarded message in this mailbox." is not checked.

8. I've chosen to be logged in automatically in Webmail, why am I still being asked for my password?

Webmail stores your login information in the form of a cookie. If your browser is not set to accept cookies, or if you have anti-spyware or other privacy software clearing your cookies periodically, then webmail will require you to log in again.

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VoIP:

9. Does CACHE offer VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone service?

CACHE does not offer VoIP telephony services directly, however 3rd party services such as provided by Lingo are known to work using our fiber and fixed-wireless connections. Please inform CACHE if you plan to use VoIP service so that we can optimize your connection to provide the best VoIP service.

10. I'm setting up a VoIP phone system, and my provider tells me that I need to have a public IP address. How can I tell if I have a public IP?

By default, our fixed-wireless accounts are provided with a private IP address. Public IP addresses are available on request. In most cases a CACHE technician can reconfigure the router remotely to use a public IP.

11. The instructions for my VoIP system suggest putting the telephone adapter before the router, is that a good idea?

If you wish to put your VoIP adapter first, both the router and the VoIP adapter will need reconfigured. We can provide you with the necessary IP Address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, and DNS information to configure the VoIP adapter and router if you wish. Putting the VoIP adapter first is ideal because it prioritizes your voice traffic, but often the difference isn't noticeable and there is more configuration involved than putting it after the router.

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Home Networking:

12. How can I put a password on my Wireless network?

CACHE generally maintains management access to routers on the customer premise for support and troubleshooting purposes. We will turn management over to the customer if requested as we acknowledge that many people would like to manage their own wireless security settings. It may be possible for a CACHE technician to put a password on the network if you call into the office and provide your desired password.

13. Why can't I connect remotely to my home connection through CACHE?

We provide a private IP address with a standard fixed-wireless installation. This protects our users from what some security researchers have termed "Internet Background Radiation" - a constant stream of malicious code propagating itself on the internet (e.g. viruses and worms). However, any remote access applicaiton that doesn't use NAT traversal likely requires a public IP address and reconfiguration of the router. Public IP addresses are available on request and router management can be turned over to the end user.

14. I have my own router or would like to manage the provided router, what do I need to know to configure it?

CACHE uses static IP addresses (both public and private). We can provide you with the necessary IP Address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, and DNS information to configure a router. We request that you allow the router to respond to ping requests for network monitoring purposes, many new routers have that option turned off to increase security. Having that option off reduces our troubleshooting options and can delay support resolution if you have problems.

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