Author Archives: Stan Honey

SailMail via Iridium GO! Mobile Hotspot

The Iridium GO! is a portable satellite terminal that provides Iridium voice and data access via Wifi connections to smart-phones, tablets and computers. Specialized apps or software are required, and while marketed primarily for phones and tablets the GO! works perfectly with SailMail from a PC using an updated version of Airmail for SailMail.

SailMail is now a certified application for the Iridium GO!. The updated software is available from the SailMail website at http://sailmail.com.

To connect to SailMail via the Iridium GO!, first update Airmail to version 3.5 if needed. Be sure the GO! is powered on and has a clear view of the sky, and connect the computer’s Wifi networking to “Iridium-xxxx” where “xxxx” is the serial# associated with your GO! device. Continue reading →

SailMail via Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro

The Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro offers a low-seed internet access which works well for connecting to Sailmail. There is one important caveat: The Inmarsat gateway allows full internet access, which means that other programs (including a variety of auto-update software) can hijack the connection and slow it dramatically, or even bring it to a virtual halt. It is important to disable other software, Airmail 3.5 includes a “Dedicated Route” option which solves this in a simple way.

In order to make a data connection, the IsatPhone Pro firmware must be version 4.0.0 or later (check the phone’s Settings menu, “About”). The updater software is found on the CD that came with the phone, and firmware files can be downloaded from Inmarsat (www.isatphonelive.com/support).

Also, you must have a data-enabled SIM card, check with your Inmarsat service provider. This is critical. You will also need the USB Device Drivers for the iSatPhone Pro, to connect it to the computer, those are also included on the IsatPhone CD, or can be downloaded from the “IsatPhoneLive” website above.

Run the USB-driver installation program before connecting the phone. Once you’ve got the USB drivers installed and the phone connected to the computer with no device-driver error messages from Windows, then you need to tweak the modem settings, and create a Windows “dial-up connection” to make use of the data connection.

Part One: Modem settings:
===========================
1. Open Windows Control Panel, select “small icon” view, and open “Device Manager”.
2. In Device Manager find “Modems”, expand that, and find the “iSatPhone Pro 1.0 Modem”.
3. Double-click that to open “Properties”, select the “Modem” tab, and set the “Maximum Port Speed” to 2400.
4. Now select the “Advanced” tab, and enter “&FE0&D2” in the “Extra Initialization” box (without the quotes, and “FE” is followed by the number zero).
5. Click OK, and close the Device Manager window.

Part Two: Configure a Dial-Up Networking connection
======================================================

For Windows-7 (Win-8 is similar):
————–
1. Open the “Network and Sharing Center” window from Windows Control Panel.
2. Click “Set up a new connection or network” and then click Next.
3. Select “Connect to the Internet” and click Next.
4. If you see “You are already connected to the internet”, click on “Set up a new connection anyway”.
5. Then select “No, Create a new connection” (unless you are checking settings of an existing connection).
6. Click on “Dial-up”, and (if prompted) select the “IsatPhone Pro 1.0 Modem”.
7. In the “Dial-up phone number” enter 28
For User name and Password enter INMARSAT (for both, all cap’s),
Check the “remember password” box.
For “Connection Name” enter “IsatPhone Pro”
8. Then click “Connect”, Windows will try to connect– click “Skip” to continue.
9. Click Close and return to Network Center.
10. Click Change Adaptor Settings” on the left, find “IsatPhone Pro” and right-click and select “Properties”. (Or, open the connection and then click the “Properties” button).
11. On the first tab make sure “Use dialing rules” is not checked, and click “Configure”
12. Then click “Configure”, set “Maximum speed” to 2400, and select all three hardware features, then click OK.
13. On the “Networking” tab, un-check all items except “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)”. (If any items won’t un-check, that is OK). Click OK to close.

For Windows-XP:
—————
1. Open “Network Connections” window (Start-button, Settings, Network Connections).
2. Click “Create a new connection”, click Next.
3. Select “Connect to the Internet” and click Next.
4. Select “Set up my connection manually” and click Next.
5. Select “Connect using a dial-up modem” and click Next.
6. If a “Select a Device” window appears, check the box next to “IsatPhone Pro 1.0 Modem”, and uncheck all other devices. Click Next.
7. Enter a connection name (e.g., “IsatPhone Pro”) and click Next.
8. In the Phone Number box, enter 28 and click Next.
9. Enter INMARSAT (upper case) for both username and password.
10. Click Next, then Finish.
11. Click Properties for the new dialup connection, make sure “use dialing rules” is NOT checked.
12. Then click “Configure”, set “Maximum modem speed” to 2400, and check all three hardware features, then click OK.
13. On the “Networking” tab, make sure “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” is checked. Uncheck all other components (if they won’t un-check, that is OK). Click OK and close the connection box.

To connect manually, click on the Networks icon in the system-tray (lower-right corner of the screen), select “IsatPhone Pro” and select “Connect”. Repeat to disconnect. You can also get to the connections properties from this window.

The following details are important:
====================================

* Don’t forget the “Extra initialization string” in the Part One, this is critical.

* Be sure that maximum speed is set to 2400, in two places.

* Under Network Connections (second step), only “TCP/IP (ver-4)” should be checked (others are OK if they can’t be un-checked).

* Your SIM card must be current and enabled for data (check with your airtime provider)

* You must be logged into Windows with Administrator privileges.

Once all that is done, open Airmail’s “telnet” window (click the “Internet” button on the toolbar or open the Modules menu then Telnet-client). Check the “dial first” box in the Telnet window, and select the “IsatPhone Pro” connection, and check the “Dedicated Route” option. At the top, “Server1” should be selected (SMSG1 for previous Airmail versions).

To check mail, click Airmail’s “Internet” button (or go to Modules menu, Telnet-client), make sure “Server1” is selected, make sure the phone has a good signal (should be 4-5 bars) and click the green “connect” button. Airmail will dial the phone, contact the server, and exchange mail. Watch the connection and make sure it disconnects when finished.

It takes about a minute to get connected to the internet (airtime charges start after about 20 seconds), 20 seconds to connect to Sailmail and check mail, and 15-20 seconds to disconnect.

Troubleshooting:
================

Remember that the IsatPhone antenna must be outdoors, with a clear view towards the satellite. The best antenna is a proper fixed-mount IsatPhone marine antenna, not cheap but strongly recommended if you are serious about it working reliably. The phone’s antenna also works, IF it is above-decks with a clear view towards the satellite– orient the antenna generally towards the satellite.

If you do not have an internet/telnet window at all then go to Airmail’s Tools menu, Options window, Modules tab, and check the box to the left of “Telnet Client”. Click OK.

To check your telnet settings first open the Telnet window (click the “Internet” button or go to Airmail’s Modules menu and select Internet or Telnet Client). Make sure “Sailmail” is selected if you have also configured Airmail for ham use. Select “WRD719” and click “Settings”, or if not found then click “New”.
Check the following settings:
remote callsign: “Server1” (or SMSG1)
remote host: smsg1.sailmail.com or 18.208.67.17  (see ** note)
Port: 50
TImeout: (blank)
Local callsign: (your Sailmail/marine callsign)
Password: (your Sailmail internet password, Case-Sensitive!).
Click OK to save settings.

** Note: For quickest access select “Server1” or “SMSG1” as the server, make sure the port is “50”, and enter the numeric IP-address instead of the name “smsg1.sailmail.com” — this saves a few seconds. But remember that this numeric address may change if we need to shift servers– so if you cannot connect then enter the “smsg1.sailmail.com” (without the quotes) and note the address which is shown when you connect. A second gateway server is SMSG2, remote-host: smsg2.sailmail.com or 44.232.19.175 and port: 50.

If you want to initiate a Data connection manually, open the Dial-Up Networking window and open the “IsatPhone Pro” dial-up connection and click “dial”. And don’t forget to disconnect when you are finished!

support@sailmail.com
(revised 2015-10-18)

Relaying group messages, part II, “mail-merge”

This is the second of a two-part document on using Sailmail’s relay-processor for sending group messages. Part one covered the basics, if you need a copy of that then send a (blank) email to: relayinfo@saildocs.com.

An advanced “insert” option is also available for group messages, which will insert personalized text into each message. To use this “insert” option, add one or more additional fields after each email address, separated with a semi-colon (;). Then, in your message, insert the code “<%1>” (without quotes) to substitute the first parameter, <%2> to substitute the second parameter, etc. A “default” value can be included, for example to insert the word “Family” if no name is supplied then use the code “<%1/Family>”.

When each message is created, the text from the fields which follow the email address is substituted for each “<%>” code. If there is no corresponding text-field following the email address, then the default value (following the “/”) is used, and if that is not provided then the code is deleted and nothing is inserted.

So our sample note (from part-1) would look like this:

=====
To: relay@saildocs.com
Subject: Update from the “Leaky Duck”

wxy9999@sailmail.com;Jim
somebody@hotmail.com;Joe
another@hotmail.com

Dear <%1/Friends>,
This is an update of our adventures aboard “Leaky Duck”.
Please send us mail at this address (but keep it short).
=====

The first copy would be sent to wxy9999@sailmail.com and would start with “Dear Jim”, the second copy would go to somebody@hotmail.com and start with “Dear Joe”, and the third copy would go to another@hotmail.com and start with “Dear Friends”.

More than one insert-code can be used. An example of how this might be used would be the case where you want to enourage only certain recipients to reply to your Sailmail address and invite others to reply to your hotmail address. Let’s suppose that our Sailmail address is wxy1234@sailmail.com, and our hotmail address is leakyduck@hotmail.com. Create the note as follows:

=====
To: relay@saildocs.com
Subject: Update from the “Leaky Duck”

wxy9999@sailmail.com;Jim
somebody@hotmail.com;Joe;wxy1234@sailmail.com
another@hotmail.com

Dear <%1/Friends>,
This is an update of our adventures aboard “Leaky Duck”.
Please send us mail at <%2/leakyduck@hotmail.com>.
=====

The individual copies are sent as above, except that the copy to somebody@hotmail (addressed to “Joe”) says “please send us mail at wxy1234@sailmail.com” while the others say “please send us mail at leakyduck@hotmail.com”.

A couple of things to note here: First, the “<%2/…” code might get split by Airmail’s word-wrapping. That’s OK as long as we didn’t hit the “Enter” key inside the code to insert a “hard” (fixed) end-of-line. Ordinary word-wrap gets unwrapped before processing and likely gets wrapped differently by the recipient’s computer depending on the size of their own email window. “Hard” end-of-line codes (inserted with the Enter key) are not permitted between the “<>” characters in an insert-code.

Remember that the relay-processor is automated and takes whatever you say literally. Create your message carefully and check it twice. Once you send it, it is gone. There is no getting it back. If you are not sure, send yourself a test note before turning it loose on your friends.

And again, for email security reasons this feature is only available to Sailmail members for messages which are sent via radio, from the web-mail page or using the Sailmail POP3/SMTP server. The Sailmail terms and conditions apply to the use of this relay-processor.

Enjoy,
Jim & Sue Corenman
Stan and Sally Honey
sysop@sailmail.com

SailMail via Globalstar

Globalstar offers a internet PPP data connection for their GSP-1600 and later phones. You will need the data cable for the phone, and for a 9-pin serial data cable you will need a USB/serial adapter (we recommend any of the adapters using the FTDI chipset, e.g. Sabrent CB-FTDI).

Prior to using your Globalstar phone for a PPP internet connection for the first time, you need to set up a “Standard modem driver” on your computer, and then set up a dial-up networking connection for the Globalstar PPP data service. These steps are both described in detail below for Windows 7, 8 and 10.

First step: Install a Modem-Driver:
===================================

1. Close all applications (at least any that use internet).
2. Open Windows Control Panel.
3. Set “View by” to large or small icons, then double-click on “Phone and Modem Options”.
4. Select the “Modems” tab and click “Add”…
5. Check “Don’t detect my modem; I will select it from a list” and then click “Next”.
6. Select “Standard Modem Types”, then “Standard 33600 bps Modem” and then click “Next”.
7. Click the “Selected ports” button and highlight the COM Port that you will use with the Globalstar phone (e.g., COM1). Click Next, then Finish.
8. Now go back to Control Panel, open “Device Manager”, find “Modems” and expand that, and find the “Standard 33600 bps Modem” that you just created. Double-click that to open “Properties”, select the “Modem” tab and set the max port speed to 38400.
9. Click OK, then close Device manager.

(Note: You can also access the modem properties box via “Phone and Modems”, but “max port speed” is disabled. Go through Device Manager instead).

Second step: Configure a Dial-Up Networking connection
======================================================

1. Open Windows Control Panel and select “Network and Sharing Center”.
2. Click “Set up a new connection or network” and then click Next.
3. Select “Connect to the Internet” and click Next.
4. If you see “You are already connected to the internet”, click on “Set up a new connection anyway”.
5. Then select “No, Create a new connection” (unless you are checking settings of an existing connection).
6. Click on “Dial-up”, and (if prompted) select “Standard 33600 bps Modem”.
7. In the “Dial-up phone number” box enter #777. Leave user name and Password blank, and for “Connection Name” enter “Globalstar”.
8. Then click “Connect”, Windows will try to connect– click “Skip” to continue.
9. Click “Close” and return to Network Center.
10. There should be no changes to the network properties, to check click “Change Adaptor Settings” on the left, find “Globalstar” and right-click and select “Properties”. (Or, open the connection and then click the “Properties” button).
11. On the first tab verify that “Use dialing rules” is not checked.
12. Then click “Configure”, and check that only Hardware flow control is checked, then click OK.
13. On the “Networking” tab, “File and printer sharing” and “Client for Microsoft Networks” should NOT be checked.
14. Click OK to close.

To connect manually, click on the Networks icon in the system-tray (lower-right corner of the screen), select “Globalstar” and select “Connect”. Repeat to disconnect. You can also get to the connections properties from this window.

Once all that is done, open Airmail’s “Telnet” window (click the “Internet” button on the toolbar or open the Modules menu then Telnet-client). Check the “dial first” box in the Telnet window, and select the “Globalstar” connection, and make sure that the “hang up” box is also checked. In recent versions of Airmail the Telnet-window is already set up, just select station “Server1” (or WRD719). Also be sure to check the box for “Set up dedicated route”, this will block other programs from trying to “hijack” your Globalstar connection.

To check mail, click Airmail’s “Internet” button (or go to Modules menu, Telnet-client), make sure WRD719 is selected in the callsign box and click the green “connect” button. Airmail will dial the phone, contact the server, and exchange mail. Watch the connection and make sure it disconnects when finished.

Troubleshooting:
================

Remember that the Globalstar antenna must be outdoors, with a clear view of the sky. The best antenna is a proper fixed-mount marine antenna, not cheap but strongly recommended if you are serious about it working reliably. The next-best is the small “hockey-puck” car-style antenna, IF it is stuck to a piece of metal (e.g. a car, or a metal pie-tin 8″/20cm or larger). It is meant to work on a car roof, and needs the metal ground-plane. The phone’s antenna also works (as a third choice), IF it is above-decks with a clear view and oriented vertically.

If the phone doesn’t connect at all, check the signal and then check the modem and connection settings above.
If the phone connects but you cannot connect to SailMail then check the Telnet settings below. You should be using port-50.
If you do not have an Internet/Telnet window at all then go to Airmail’s Tools menu, Options window, Modules tab, and check the box to the left of “Telnet Client”. Click OK.

To check your Telnet settings first open the Telnet window (click the “Internet” button or go to Airmail’s Modules menu and select Internet or Telnet Client). Make sure “SailMail” is selected if you have also configured Airmail for ham use. Select “Server1” or “WRD719” and click “Settings”, or if not found then click “New”.
Check the following settings:
remote callsign: “Server1” or WRD719
remote host: 72.32.198.206 (see ** note)
Port: 50
TImeout: (blank)
Local callsign: (your SailMail/marine callsign)
Password: (your SailMail internet password, Case-Sensitive!).
Click OK to save settings.

** Note: For quickest access use the main server (“Server1” or WRD719), make sure the port is “50”, and enter the numeric IP-address “72.32.198.206”– this saves a few seconds. But remember that this address may change if we need to shift servers– so if you cannot connect then enter the server name “server1.sailmail.com” and note the address which is shown when you connect. (Don’t include the quotes shown here). The backup server is “backup1” or WHV382, remote-host is backup1.sailmail.com or 64.119.5.153 and port is 50.

If you want to initiate a PPP Data call manually, open the Dial-Up Networking window and open the “Globalstar” dial-up connection and click “dial”. And don’t forget to disconnect when you are finished!

Cheers, Jim
support@sailmail.com
(revised 2015-12-21)

SailMail via Inmarsat Fleet BroadBand

This note describes using Sailmail with Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband service. The FBB terminals offer a relatively high-seed internet connection which works well with Sailmail, and Sailmail provides important protection against unwanted content as well as a means to prevent unauthorized use of bandwidth. This is an important consideration as the Inmarsat gateway allows full internet access. This means that other programs (including a variety of auto-update software) can hijack the connection and run costs up very quickly. Sailmail’s client program includes a “Dedicated Route” option provides this protection in a simple way.

Setup is done as follows:

First, open the FBB/BGAN web page (http://ut.bgan) and make sure that there is a “start standard” link on the “Dashboard” page. If not, see below for “Disable auto-connect”.

Then open the Settings menu, then LAN and then PPPoE on the left, and select “Enabled” for PPPoE. Click “Apply”.

Set up a PPPoE connection for Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 as follows:

1. Open the “Network and Sharing Center” window from Windows Control Panel.
2. Click “Set up a new connection or network” and then click Next.
3. Select “Connect to the Internet” and click Next.
4. If you see “You are already connected to the internet”, then click on “Set up a new connection anyway”.
5. Then select “No, Create a new connection” (unless you are checking settings of an existing connection).
6. Select “Broadband (PPPoE)”, click Next.
7. In the next window enter “void” for username and “void” for password (without the quotes).
(Note: If you have a login name and password from your airtime provider then use those).
Check the “remember password” box.
For connection name enter “Inmarsat-FBB” (or something descriptive).
8. Then click “Connect”, Windows will try to connect– you can click “Skip” to continue.
9. Click “Close” and return to Network Center.

That’s it. To connect manually, click on the Networks icon in the system-tray (lower-right corner of the screen), select “Inmarsat-FBB” (or whatever name was entered) and select “Connect”. Repeat to disconnect. You can also get to the connections properties from this window.
Once all that is done, open Airmail’s “telnet” window (click the “Internet” button on the toolbar or open the Modules menu then Telnet-client). Check the “dial first” box in the Telnet window, and select “Fleet” (or whatever name was used), and check the “Dedicated Route” option. At the top “Server1” should be selected (WRD719 for previous Airmail versions).

To check mail, click Airmail’s “Internet” button (or go to Modules menu, Telnet-client), make sure “Server1” is selected, make sure the phone has a good signal (should be 4-5 bars) and click the green “connect” button. Airmail will dial the phone, contact the server, and exchange mail. Watch the connection and make sure it disconnects when finished.

Troubleshooting:
================

Remember that you must be logged in as an administrator user to make system or settings changes.

If the terminal connects automatically (and no “Start standard” appears on the “Dashboard), then go to the Settings menu, then LAN on left, find the “Profiles” heading and set “Automatic Activation” to “disabled”.

If you do not have an internet/telnet window at all then go to Airmail’s Tools menu, Options window, Modules tab, and check the box to the left of “Telnet Client”. Click OK.

To check your telnet settings first open the Telnet window (click the “Internet” button or go to Airmail’s Modules menu and select Internet or Telnet Client). Make sure “Sailmail” is selected if you have also configured Airmail for ham use. Select “WRD719” and click “Settings”, or if not found then click “New”.
Check the following settings:
remote callsign: “Server1” (or WRD719)
remote host: 72.32.198.206 (or pop3.sailmail.com)
Port: 50
TImeout: (blank)
Local callsign: (your Sailmail/marine callsign)
Password: (your Sailmail internet password, Case-Sensitive!).
Click OK to save settings.

If you want to initiate a Data connection manually, open the Dial-Up Networking window and open the “Fleet” dial-up connection and click “dial”. And don’t forget to disconnect when you are finished!

support@sailmail.com
(revised 2015-06-24)

Accessing SailMail from an iPad or iPhone

Information on accessing Sailmail via POP3, via the internet, using normal Email Clients is available here.

Information on accessing SailMail using AirMail, when your computer has Internet access is available here.

The following information covers setting up an iPad or iPhone to access your Sailmail mailbox via internet to Sailmail’s email servers:

1. If this is the first mail account you’re setting up then tap “Mail”.
Otherwise, from the Home screen tap “Settings” then scroll down to “Passwords & Accounts” and click “Add Account” to create a new account.

2. The next page is a list of useless accounts, select “Other”, then “Add Mail Account”.

3. In the “Name” box enter your name or boat-name, in the “Address” enter your complete Sailmail email-address, for “Password” enter your Sailmail password (in your Welcome message), “Description” can be your email address or “Sailmail”. Click “Next”.

4. On the next page you have a choice of IMAP or POP, select “POP”. Under “Incoming Mail Server”, for Host Name enter “pop3.sailmail.com” (without quotes), for User Name enter your Sailmail callsign or ID (without the “@sailmail.com), “Password” should already be entered.

5. Scroll down to “Outgoing Mail Server” and for Host Name enter “smtp.sailmail.com”,
for User Name enter the same user-name and password as above for POP.
Then click “Save”. You will need to finish SMTP settings, (7) below, but the iDevice will try to verify the settings.

6. If you see an error “Cannot connect using SSL” then click “No”. You will see a warning that the account may not be able to send/receive, click “Save”.

7. Now go back to the Account Settings page by clicking on the account name.

  • Under “Outgoing mail server” click “SMTP” to open SMTP settings.
  • Check that Primary Server “smtp.sailmail.com” is set “on”, then click on that to open those settings.
  • Be sure that SSL is OFF, and verify that “Authentication” is “Password”
  • change “Server Port” to 2525, then click “Done”.

8. Now go back to the settings for the account, scroll down if needed and click “Advanced”. This takes you to more settings, including “Incoming settings”.

  • Be sure that SSL is OFF, and verify that “Authentication” is “Password”
  • Change Server Port to 110. There is no “Done” button, go back to the account settings.

If you have problems sending or receiving email, check everything above. Computers are humorless when it comes to spelling. Incoming mail is POP (pop3), no SSL, port 110. Outgoing mail is SMTP, no SSL, port 2525.

revised 2019-09-17 Jim Corenman

Accessing SailMail messages via a normal email program, e.g. Outlook via POP3

You can access your SailMail account via normal POP3/SMTP email connections from any email client program such as Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. Airmail can also connect via POP3/SMTP from its Mail Client window, although for low-speed satellite connections you would want to use the Internet/Satellite Gateway client window.

You can also retrieve your SailMail messages into another email account such as Gmail, live.com, etc.– see below for details.

Generally, the only information needed for setup is your SailMail address.

If that seems too simple, here are the details.
Netscape), use the following settings:

For incoming mail:

  • The incoming POP3 mail server is pop3.sailmail.com
  • The POP3 port is 995 (secure) or 110 (standard)
  • Your POP3 username is your Sailmail address or just the name-part (before the “@”)
  • Your POP3 password is your SailMail password, included in your “Welcome” message– same as used for any access to SailMail.
  • The connection can be secure (SSL/TLS) or not, as you prefer.

For outgoing mail:

  • The outgoing SMTP mail server is smtp.sailmail.com
  • the SMTP port is 465 or 587 (secure) or 2525 (non-standard, not secure)
  • Your SMTP username and password are the same as for incoming POP3 email.
  • The connection can be secure (SSL/TLS) or not, as you prefer.

Most email apps and programs will figure this out if you simply provide your SailMail address and password. And Airmail will be pre-configured for POP3/SMTP connections to SailMail.

You can also retrieve messages from SailMail into most web-based email accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo mail, etc. Again, the only info you usually need is your SailMail address but the info above applies here also.

For replying to an email that was sent to SailMail and retrieved into another account such as Gmail, you can send the reply using Gmail’s outgoing mail server (for example) or use SailMail’s outgoing SMTP mail server with the info above.

In some cases, a premium (i.e. paid) service is needed in order to fetch mail from another account. This is not the case for Gmail.

For Gmail, here is how to set up message retrieval:

  • Find the settings button (gear icon, upper-right), then “Settings”.
  • Click “Accounts and Import”
  • Find “Check mail from other accounts”, click on “Add a mail account”.
  • Enter your complete SailMail email address, click Next
  • Select “Import emails from my other account (POP3), click Next
  • Enter your SailMail password
  • If you want to original to remain in SailMail mailserver for retrieval via radio for example, check “Leave a copy or retrieved message on server”.
  • Click “Add account”

Other email systems will be similar. The important things to remember are that your login username can be your SailMail address or just the name-part (before the “@”), the mail servers are pop3.sailmail.com and smtp.sailmail.com, and connections can be secure (recommended) or not.

Computer Security

Most of us are well aware of the need to protect our computers from the hazards lurking on the internet, but it is less clear exactly what is needed. The danger is viruses or “worms” or “trojans”, different types of malicious programs that can infect your computer. (We’ll call them all “viruses” for simplicity). As long as the computer stays on the boat and only connects through Sailmail then it is safe. Viruses cannot get through the server- incoming mail is scanned but more importantly Sailmail does not forward file-attachments (except for certain files which are inherently safe) so there is no way to send a virus via Sailmail. (The same is not true for Winlink, malicious programs can be sent as file-attachments and a brand-new virus will always get past a scanner).

Think of your computer as a fortress surrounded by hordes of bad guys (e.g. the battle for Helms Deep in “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”). At sea, you have the world’s largest moat with a slender well-fortified bridge (Sailmail). If you connect your computer directly to the internet then you need both strong bastion walls and solders on the inside (firewalls and anti-virus software, respectively). The connections we are concerned about include wireless connections in a marina, a dial-up connection via a cell-phone, or taking the computer ashore and connecting it to a phone line or network connection. These all expose your computer to potential threats. The threats can come from a virus attached to email, or as part of a malicious website, or by a direct connection to your computer (think of ladders over the walls).

So the basic rules are to keep your operating system updated, protect your internet connection, never open a questionable email or a suspicious website, and keep your anti-virus updated.

Operating system updates are important in order to make sure that your computer is secure against known vulnerabilities which have been fixed.

In order to protect your computer from a direct connection you need a “firewall” to block unauthorized connections. Windows includes an effective built-in firewall which should be left turned on, check Windows Security-center on the Windows control-panel. There are normally no programs which require that it be turned off.

There are other firewall software programs available, including various “internet security” packages. Many of these go overboard in terms of protection, adding no security but seriously interfering with normal use of the computer. Also, do not attempt to use more than one software firewall, this can tie things into knots. Our advice is to use Windows firewall (and disable any others).

Most local wired or wireless networks include an internet “router” which also acts as a firewall by blocking direct connections from the internet. But an internet router will not block a connection from a fellow user of the local network, who might themselves be infected. So continue to use your computer firewall.

It is also important to disable file-sharing unless you need this for a local connection. Windows-7 manages this as “private” versus “public” networks. File-sharing is disabled for public networks, be sure this is selected for any sort of internet-connected network, unless you are protected by your own hardware router.

For Windows-XP file-sharing is controlled as part of the TCP/IP properties for the each network connection- uncheck the “File and Printer Sharing” box to disable all file-sharing.

The final level of protection is a good anti-virus program which is kept up-to-date. Most new computers come with a “trial” version of some “all-in-one” internet security program, free for a while and then needs a paid subscription. There are two problems here: The “all-in-one” solutions aren’t as good– and a lot more intrusive– than Windows firewall plus a good stand-alone anti-virus program; and there are free versions of good programs (supported by their corporate customers) that there is no real advantage to a paid program.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a well-rated anti-virus program that works well without getting in the way, we use that here. AVG/free anti-virus is also good, and Kaspersky and FProt are also good but apparently no longer have free versions. Symantec and Norton anti-virus programs work well, but they tend to be packaged with firewall software as “Internet Security” packages which are overly complex and intrusive, and we have to recommend against them.

Google or any browser search engine can find these, be sure to include “free” in the search as all of these folks like to push the paid version (except Microsoft, they already got your money).

Some folks take the view “anything but Microsoft”, ten years ago that was reasonable but things change. Particularly after they got past Vista they seem to “get it” to a much higher degree.

And remember that any anti-virus software is only as good as its most recent update.

There’s another tool work considering, and that is an anti-malware program to periodically scan for spyware and other nasties that aren’t malicious enough to qualify as a virus or worm, but stuff you definitely don’t want it on your computer. MalwareBytes anti-malware free version is highly regarded, as are teh free versions of “Spybot Search & Destroy” and “Ad-Aware”.

For all of these (except Microsoft) read the websites carefully, some push paid versions, or “free” upgrades to the full version (only free for a limited time), or try to trick you into installing some other “clean your PC” crap. Read the info carefully.

But remember that anti-virus software only works if it can find the virus in its database. So there is always an opportunity for a new virus to sneak through before the company can update the definitions and you can download them. For this reason it is still necessary to use common sense and not open a file attachment from an unknown sender, and avoid visiting suspicious websites. There are relatively few malicious websites but if you get a note from an unknown person asking you to check out an interesting website then don’t.

And lastly, beware of the “phishing” expeditions. If your bank writes to you and asks that you go to a website to re-verify something, don’t. Contact the bank first- it may be a pirate website trying to hijack your login and password information.

A few links:
Microsoft Security Essentials: http://windows.microsoft.com/mse
AVG Anti-virus free: http://free.avg.com
MalwareBytes anti-malware: http://www.malwarebytes.org

Good sailing!
Jim
support@sailmail.com

updated 2012-01-08

Using Iridium’s AxcessPoint with Sailmail

The Iridium AxcessPoint is a hardware device available from Iridium that connects to an Iridium handset and creates a wifi hotspot.

The Iridium AxcessPoint WiFi device comes from the factory programmed with a firewall to limit internet access, but port 50 (used for Sailmail access) is not open. The following setup will allow the AxcessPoint to be used with Sailmail, but for most applications it is simpler to connect directly to the Iridum phone and use the Iridium PPP setup (http://saildocs.com/iridiumPPP or send a blank email to: iridiumPPP@saildocs.com).

To use the AxcessPoint with Sailmail some initial setup is needed:

1. Connect to the AxcessPoint via WiFi using Windows wireless networking.
2. Open a browser and go to http://192.168.0.1
3. Login with the last 6 digits of the mac address. The mac address is on
the box and in the battery compartment.

Note that the Admin password can be changed Under Tools->Admin. However, there is no way to reset the unit so if the password is lost then unit must be returned to Iridium for service.

4. Go to advanced->Outbound Filter

Once there you need to add a rule which opens port 50. Then save settings, the device will reboot.

Other ports can be closed if no other use is planned. This will avoid competition for the Iridium Connection and may speed things up. You can also disable DNS on port 53 if you use the numeric-IP address instead of “pop3.sailmail.com” (see this page: http://saildocs.com/stations).

Don’t forget to save the settings and wait for the unit to reboot.

5. Log back into the unit then go to modem settings.
6. Change the mode to manual. This is especially important if the firewall is left open. Otherwise the unit will make a data call as soon as the user wifi connects to it.

Note that DNS is what brings up the connection so if you have blocked all the ports then “on demand” does not work. If you leave DNS open then any DNS activity on the users computer will cause the unit to start a PPP connection. So… it is best if you set this to manual.

Once in manual mode you will need to log in to the web page to bring up the connection and take it down.

Connecting to Sailmail:

Once the above setup has been done, connect to Sailmail as follows:

1. Connect to the AxcessPoint via WiFi.
2. Open a browser and login to http://192.168.0.1 (see above for password).
3. Go to status and hit the connect button wait for the unit to go online.
4. Back on the PC run AirMail and do your terminal session.
5. when done, go back to the browser and disconnect.

That should do it, please let us know of any problems or questions.

Cheers, Jim
support@sailmail.com

2018-02-21