You should use these settings, unless you have been informed otherwise by our support department:
 
SMTP (outgoing):   mail.first-web.net
 
POP3 (incoming):  mail.first-web.net
 
You must configure your software to use SMTP authentication when you send email, using the same username and password as for your incoming email - without this authentication, you will not be able to send any email through our servers. (Note: SPA authentication is not supported. Contact us for further details if in doubt.)
 
Note: a common mistake is to set your email client to check for new incoming email too often, such as every 60 seconds. Depending on factors such as your connection speed, your computer's speed and your mailbox contents, this can stop you receiving any incoming email if the time taken for your computer to check for new email exceeds the short polling interval you have set. It can certainly prevent you checking for new email !  Therefore, you should set your polling interval to something sensible like every 5 minutes or every 10 minutes.
 
Backups
To back up your email you must first use POP3 software to download a copy of your email to your own computer, after which the local mailstore should be included in your usual backup routine. You will not be able to back up your email if you use Webmail only.
 
Secure email (encrypted email)
Although Internet email does not provide a built-in method of encryption, it is possible to acquire a 'digital ID' or 'email certificate' which you can share with your contacts so they can encrypt the emails they send to you. Companies such as Comodo** can provide digital IDs for use with Outlook or Outlook Express and instructions for installation and use.
 

1. 

   Accessing your mailbox via WebMail
   
   Access your mailbox by opening your web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer® or Netscape®) and enter www.first-webmail.com into the address bar at the top of the page.
   
   Enter the user name (i.e., your email address "yourname@mydomain.co.uk") and password. Note: your user name is your full email address.
   
   
   
   
2. Accessing your mailbox via a PDA,  XDA, iPAQ or other Mobile device. Will work with most new Mobile Phones.
   
   This is exactly the same as WebMail above - just open a web browser, enter the URL www.first-webmail.com and our web server will recognise that you are using a PDA or Mobile device and will adjust the display accordingly.
   
   You can also embed your username and password in the URL for convenience, but please make sure you enable password protection on your device - just in case you lose your PDA/Phone. Please contact our support department and we will send you details on how to achieve this.
   
   
   
3. Accessing your mailbox via a WAP browser
   
   Again this is exactly the same as WebMail, but if you only have a black and white screen, it will display characters (no graphics).  Enter your email address and password.
   
   General Note: Always log out of WebMail / PDA Mail / WAPMail instead of just closing the browser.
   
   
4. Accessing your mailbox via an email client (e.g., Outlook Express®)
   
   As examples, we have chosen the most popular email programs and provided you with instructions on how to configure them to access your mailbox using POP3.
   
   From the list below, please click on the program and its associated operating system to see the correct set-up instructions: