MailEnable: A Free Mail Server for Small Business [2025]

MailEnable is the most popular free mail server software for windows platform. It provides secure email and collaboration services, with powerful messaging services like Exchange ActiveSync, IMAP, SMTP, POP3 and collaboration tools such as calendaring (CalDAV), contacts (CardDAV), tasks and notes.

It has commercial editions for large organizations. With server based licensing (unlimited users) MailEnable becomes most cost effective mail server solution for email hosting.

MailEnable offers a wide range of powerful features beyond just sending and receiving emails. These features are categorized into messaging, collaboration, security, and system management.

Below is a summary of the key features included in the free edition. For a full comparison of features across editions, you can refer to the official link provided below.

In this guide, we will walk you through a complete, step-by-step process to install and configure MailEnable. We’ll also cover essential security configurations and troubleshooting’s.

We will cover:

• How to Install MailEnable
• How to configure MailEnable with Domain, User, List etc.
• How to configure security features.
• Configure SMTP Relay, SmartHost, Webmail and WebAdmin.
• Troubleshoot services and monitoring logs.

Let’s dive in! 👍

Contents

Chapter1:

Setup Preparation

In this chapter, we are going to discuss about the requirements before setting up MailEnable.

How the setup will work, the domain, vps, and the DNS server configurations to run the MailEnable properly.

We needs to choose the right provider, which allows all the Incoming and outgoing ports required to function the mail server properly.

Let’s dive right in.

We will follow a simple deployment architecture. MailEnable will be installed on a VPS, which will serve as the primary mail server responsible for sending and receiving emails from both internal and external users.

In this setup, emails will be delivered directly to the MailEnable server without relying on any intermediary servers for inbound or outbound message routing.

To ensure smooth email operations, several important factors must be addressed before deploying MailEnable. These considerations impact email deliverability and security.

Key considerations:

• Static IP Address with a Good Reputation: Use a dedicated, clean static IP to avoid blacklisting and deliverability issues.
• Open Ports: Ensure that essential ports are open and properly routed.
  • Email protocols: 25 (SMTP), 465 (SMTPS), 587 (SMTP submission), 110 (POP3), 995 (POP3S), 143 (IMAP), 993 (IMAPS)
  • Web services: 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS)
• Reliable Server Hardware or VPS: Select a server with adequate CPU, RAM, and disk space. High uptime is crucial for consistent email service availability.
• Operating System: Choose a recommended operating system version and patch level.
• SSL/TLS Certificates: Use valid SSL/TLS certificates to encrypt mail traffic and secure webmail access.
• Firewall: Set up the firewall to allow only necessary ports and block unauthorized access.
• Anti-Spam and Anti-Virus Measures: Implement tools such as SpamAssassin and ClamAV to protect against unwanted and malicious emails.

With that, User Authentication & Access Management, Regular Software Updates, Monitoring & Logging, Backup Strategy, Legal and Compliance etc. needs to be considered before setup.

Before we begin, ensure you have the following:

• A Domain name: Purchase a domain name from Godaddy or Namecheap or a domain registrar of your choice.
• A VPS or Physical Server: You need a Windows VPS or a Physical Server for the MailEnable installation. Contabo, Vultr, DigitalOcean or Hostinger are Considered best VPS providers.
• DNS Configuration: Essential DNS Records A, PTR, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC needs to be configured.

Once you have met the requirements, proceed to Next Section for the MailEnable Installation.

Select a domain name for the email server. You can purchase from Godaddy or Namecheap. Before purchase check the domain reputation, and avoid top-level spammy domains, Check this list to see which tld’s you should avoid.

If you have an existing domain, check if it is blacklisted. You should remove it from the blacklist before mail server setup.

You can purchase a Windows VPS or Physical servers from the below renowned providers.

Before purchase, make sure the server meets MailEnable system requirements and check the server IP, if it blacklisted already.

Next, configure essential DNS records, including A, MX, TXT and PTR records. Point the MX record to your VPS’s IP address and configure SPF, DKIM and DMARC (TXT) records. you can generate the records from here.

Below i have provided some example records, you should create for your own domain:

Now, let’s move on to the installation 👍

Chapter2:

MailEnable Installation

In this chapter, we are going to install MailEnable.

At first we will install the required windows components for the MailEnable installation. then we will follow the step-by-step wizards to complete the installation.

After that, we will check the services are running and webmail and Web Administration portals are accessible.

We will make sure the server will continue to run properly.

Let’s dive right in.

MailEnable requires IIS web server and .NET framework for the webmail and web administration portal. First we will install the required components.

• Go to, Control Panel -> All Control Panel Items -> Programs and Features
• Select, “.NET Framework 3.5” and “Internet Information Services” -> Click “OK“

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Go to the Download Section of the mailEnable Site and Download the Standard Edition.

Now, double-click on the software package to start the installation wizard.

1. This is the first dialogue box appears as soon as you run the installation, MailEnable will try to reach internet, which may warned by the virus checker, nothing to worry about it.

Click “OK“

2. This is the “Welcome” screen of the MailEnable Installation.

Click “Next“

3. Provide the software registered owner and company name.

Click “Next“

4. This is the software “Terms and Condition” page.

Click “Next“

5. Select MailEnable service components. by-default, all are selected. Webmail and Web Administration portals are important features, better leave all selected.

Click “Next“

6. Choose Program Files Location. you can change the default selected if necessary.

Click “Next“

7. Select Program Manager Group, where MailEnable will show on the Windows menu.

Click “Next“

8. Select MailEnable Repository to store configuration data.

Click “Next“

9. Enter MailEnable Postoffice Name and Postmaster password. Postoffice name should be similar to the domain name.

Click “Next“

10. Select the MailEnable email store location. You can change to a location where disk space are available.

Click “Next“

11. Select the SMTP Connector details, provide your domain name, DNS server IP’s and SMTP port. Default SMTP port 25 is OK.

Click “Next“

12. Now the Software is ready to install.

Click “Next“

13. During the Installation, it will create virtual directories for Webmail and Webadmin on IIS. Select the “Default Web Site” as the Web Server.

Click “Next“

14. This time it is asking for the WebAdmin Portal. like before, select the “Default Web Site” as the Web Server. it will create separate virtual directory for both webmail and webadmin.

Click “Next“

15. Now, the Installation is Complete. It is asking to run the diagnostic utility and check the SMTP relay settings, we will check those later.

Click “Finish“

15. Now, it will show the “Welcome” page. where the webmail and webadmin URL are shown. There is a link of a quick start guide also.

16. Click on the Webmail and WebAdmin Link to check the portals are accessible.

17. Now Open the MailEnable Management Dashboard. Go to Windows Start Menu -> All Apps -> MailEnable.

So, our MailEnable Installation is done successfully. On the Next section, we will configure MailEnable Step-by-step.

Chapter3:

MailEnable Configuration

In this chapter, we are going to configure MailEnable step-by-step.

We’ll set up users, groups, and mailing lists.

We will integrate MailEnable with windows and Active Directory, so that windows users can directly login to MailEnable

Then, we’ll secure the server with SSL, configure SMTP, and set up relay options.

Let’s dive right in.

In this chapter, we are going to discuss the followings:

• #1: Users and Mailboxes
• #2: Create Groups & Lists
• #3: Windows Authentication
• #4: SSL Configuration
• #5: SMTP Configuration
• #6: Relay and Smarthost

To create a mailbox, Open MailEnable Management console -> Expand Post Offices -> Right Click Mailboxes -> Create Mailbox

User can be a normal user or admin, later we can change to “sysadmin” also.

Now, we will look into the details of Users Mailbox Properties: Select a Mailbox -> Right Click -> Properties.

General Settings:

1. User must change password at next login: User has to reset password during login.
2. Mailbox Type: we can change the user type to a normal user, admin or sysadmin.
3. Mailbox has a size limit: we can assign individual mailbox quota from here.
4. Prevent user from authenticating: user cannot login but email will be received.
5. Mailbox is disabled: email will not be received in this case.

Addresses:

1. Friendly Name: User can provide a friendly name to show with the email address.
2. Add Email: We can add multiple email address for a user/mailbox.

Redirection:

1. Redirect this mailbox to: Provide an email address where the mail will be redirected.
2. Keep a copy of the message in mailbox: When an email is redirected, a copy is retained in the user’s mailbox.

Action:

1. Enable Autoresponder: if enabled, sender will get auto response from the user mailbox.
2. Only send responses between these times: We can select the time range from when the auto responder will be activated.
3. Enable delivery event: The Postoffice Connector executes the configured executable when delivering mail to a mailbox. you can find detail configuration here.

Messages:

1. You can double click on any email to open the email in notepad to see details.
2. Forward Inbox: you can add email address here to forward all emails to that email.

Now, we will create groups, and add local and remote users to the groups.

Select Groups -> Right Click -> New Group.

1. Group Name: Provide a group name
2. Group is disabled: select it to disable the group.
3. Add Email: create group email address, we can add multiple email for the group.

Add Group Members:

Select the group -> Right Click -> Create New Group Member

1. You can add group members by providing their email addresses.
2. Click Advanced: you can select multiple mailboxes to add on the group.

• Members added with email are shown in [SMTP:email] format, [SF] are local mailboxes.

Lists are discussion groups, if any member posts any discussion, it will sent out to all members of the list.

Select Lists -> Right Click -> New Lists

1. List Name: Provide a list name
2. Select a domain for the list.
3. Provide list owner or moderator email address.
4. List is disabled: Select it to disable the list.
5. Enable list help: users can send a message with ‘help’ in the subject line to receive information about list commands.
6. Send from: email will be send from moderator or list email address.
7. List type: unmoderated lists are where users can post discussion directly, where in moderated list, discussions must be approved by the moderator.

Add/Import members to the List:

Select the List -> Right Click -> Create New List Member Or, Import Members

1. You can enter email address to add on the list.
2. Import Members: You can import members from a CSV file. CSV files can be comma or tab delimited, we can ignore the first first line for the column headers, and the email column can be selected.

List Properties:

General Settings:

• In the general settings, we can change all the options we selected during list creation, the list name, owner email address, list type etc.

Options:

1. List Mode: owner can allow or deny users to join the list dynamically through email. If allowed, users can send an email with ‘subscribe’ in subject to join the list or ‘unsubscribe’ to get removed from the list. Or, moderator can approve manually to join through email.
2. Posting Permission: Select who can post on the list, any user or only the list members, or the posting to the list needs a password.
3. Reply Options: When user replies on a post, reply email can be sent to the list address, posters address or to the moderators address.
4. List Subject Prefix: Posts subject can be altered with specified prefix or remains un altered.

Header/Footer:

• On the discussions, we can add specific texts, on the header and footer of each message. After selecting the “Attach header” or “Attach footer” options, we can provide texts by clicking the ‘Edit’ button.

Now, we will integrate windows authentication with MailEnable. We will directly login to the MailEnable through windows authentication, mailbox will be created automatically.

Open the Local Users and Groups:

• Go to, Start -> Run -> Type ‘mmc’ then click OK -> File -> Add/Remove Snap in -> Select ‘Local User and and Groups’ -> Click ‘Add’.

• On the ‘Choose Target Machine’ window, select ‘Local Computer’ -> Click Finish -> Click OK.

Create some Users:

1. Select Users -> Right Click -> New User
2. Provide User Name, Password and Confirm Password then Click Create.

Enable Integrated Authentication for All Postoffices:

This is a global settings, it will enable Integrated Authentication for all Postoffices. without enabling here, you cannot enable this option per Postoffice wise.

• Go to Messaging Manager -> Properties -> Security
• Tick the ‘Enable Integrated Authentication’ checkbox.

Enable Integrated Authentication for Each Post Office:

1. Go to, Post Offices -> Select a Post Office Name -> Properties -> General Tab.
2. Check the ‘Use Integrated Windows Authentication’ checkbox.
3. Select the ‘Use Post Office name as Windows domain name’ option, as we created the post office with the domain name, otherwise we have to map post office name to windows domain name.
4. Method: We can choose local windows authentication or Active directory.
5. Select the Checkbox ‘Automatically create mailbox if successful login and one doesn’t exist’, it will create mailbox after login.
6. Select ‘Users must authenticate against Windows/LDAP and not fall back to local configured password’, this option will ensure we must authenticate through integrated authentication, the mailenable password will not be used, if we fail to authenticate on integrated authentication.

Active Directory Integration:

We need to provide details for LDAP or Active Directory authentication.

1. LDAP Server: the hostname for the directory server, normally a domain controller or a generic LDAP Server.
2. Port: the default port is 389 for any LDAP server including Active directory.
3. BindDN: In MailEnable, the %m and %p placeholders are used for dynamic substitution in LDAP/Active Directory bindings. For example, %m = Mailbox name (munna), and %p = Post Office name (mailserverguru.com) so, %m@%p will be munna@mailserverguru.com.

• Now, Open the webmail and Login with the windows Username and password

• If the webmail login is successful, we will see the user mailbox is created.

Now, We will configure SSL for MailEnable, SSL will be used with Webmail, WebAdmin, POP3, IMAP and SMTP services.

We can use CA certificate if we want, but for this demo we will be using Self-signed certificate.

Create SSL Certificate:

1. Open the IIS Manager. Click on the IIS Server Instance.
2. From the right ‘Actions’ Pane, Click on ‘Create Self-signed Certificate’ Link.
3. Specify a friendly name for the certificate and select the certificate store, then Click OK.
4. Now, you can see the certificate is created issued to the server hostname.

Assign SSL to MailEnable:

1. Open MailEnable -> Servers -> localhost -> Properties -> SSL.
2. Select the Default SSL Certificate from the drop down menu.

Now, we will work with the MailEnable SMTP configuration. specially the inbound settings. on the next section, we will work with the outbound settings.

SMTP Inbound Configuration:

1. Go to, SMTP -> Properties -> Inbound.
2. Port Settings: We can configure the SMTP ports (like, 587 or 465) from here.
3. Advanced Settings: We can configure, the maximum message size and number of concurrent connections from here.
4. IP Address Connection Restrictions: By default all IP’s are allowed to connect to SMTP service to send emails, we can apply IP based restrictions. only selected IP’s can connect to mailEnable SMTP service.
5. Allow clients to establish secure sessions via STARTTLS: it will enable STARTTLS on the server, client can communicate with the server’s 25 port using TLS.

SMTP Port Settings:

SMTP Port (465):

1. SMTP service listens on port: the port number usually is 465 with SSL enabled, this is called the SMTPS port.
2. Require SSL: This is recommended to use SSL on this port.
3. Require connections to authenticate before sending email: this will enforce user authentication before sending any email through this port. from the dropdown, select “only allow secure authentication using SSL or TLS” in this case authentication information will be sent from the client using encryption.

Submission Port (587):

• Listen on alternate port: 587 is the port number, which is used as alternate to 465, this is called the submission port, this port also applies the same security settings like the 465. main difference is connecting to 465 requires SSL from the start of the connection, whereas 587 uses non SSL connection at first then it upgrades the connection using STARTTLS.

Now, we will work with the SMTP outbound configurations. We will configure email relay and send email using 3rd party smarthost.

SMTP Outbound Settings:

Open the SMTP Properties: Go to SMTP -> Properties -> Outbound

1. Advanced Settings: maximum number of send threads, Timeout for remote mail servers and Outbound queue poll intervals settings are ok, we don’t need to change those unless necessary
2. Limit outbound message size: we can assign a size based on our needs, default 10MB is Ok for now.

3. Outbound IP Binding: We can bind an IP address for sending the outbound emails, default is to send using the first ip configured on the system.
4. Outbound TLS: this is optional, most of the remote mail server doesn’t support TLS for inbound SMTP connections.
5. Outbound Abuse Monitoring: this is an important feature, you can monitor outbound failed emails sent by an user, default is 20, if the user sends upto 20 failed email per hour it will log in the SMTP debug log.

Relay Settings:

Here, multiple relay permission mechanism being described, among them, authentication based relay is best option.

1. Allow Mail Relay: Enabling email relay on the system. this is mandatory setting.
2. Allow Relay for Authenticated Senders: Users must authenticate themselves to the server, before server allows them to send mail through.
   • Authentication methods are:
     • MailEnable/Integrated Authentication: this is most common, users authenticate with their MailEnable mailbox credentials.
     • Windows authentication against local machine: uses the Windows username/password valid for that machine
     • Authenticate against the following username/password: email client must configure the authentication username/password we provided here.

3. Allow Relay for privileged IP ranges: this is not a good option, if we allow relay based on IP, infected clients can send spams easily because they are not authenticated and IP are allowed to send mail through.
4. Allow Relay for Local sender addresses: If any local senders email id found in ‘from’ address, he will be allowed to send mail, this is not a good option at all.
5. POP before SMTP authentication: this is an Old technology, not recommended now these days.

Smart Host Configuration:

Smart host is the responsible SMTP server for sending outbound emails on behalf of the
MailEnable server. MailEnable will forward all outbound emails to this SMTP server.

Smart Host can be configured in two places, SMTP connector level and Domain level, per domain wise Smart Host configuration can be different.

Smart Host Configuration on SMTP Connector:

1. Smart Host Enabled: Enable the Smart Host Feature on this SMTP connector.
   • IP/Domain: Provide the Smart Host Hostname or IP
   • Port: Provide the Port number to connect
2. The Remote Server require authentication: this is mandatory setting, Remote Smart Host providers do not allow sending without proper authentication.
   • Account name: Provide the account name on the Smart Host provider
   • Password: Password of the account.
3. Domain Smart hosting takes priority: If we configure different smart host for different domain, then this option we have to select.

Smart Host Configuration on Domain/Post Office:

The below configuration only will be applicable to this domain/post office.

Select the, Post Office -> Properties -> Outbound

1. Smarthost all outbound email for Post Office: check this option to enable smart host for this domain or Post office.
   • IP/Domain: Provide the Smart Host Hostname or IP
   • Port: Provide the Port number to connect
2. The Remote Server require authentication: this is mandatory setting, Smart Host providers needs to authenticate users before allow them to send through them.
   • Account name: Provide the account name on the Smart Host provider
   • Password: Password of the account.

Chapter4:

Webmail and WebAdmin

In this chapter, we will configure Webmail, WebAdmin, POP3 and IMAP service for MailEnable.

We’ll enable various Webmail features and show how to work with spam and detail logging.

We’ll customize the WebAdmin capabilities. and show you how to configure POP3 and IMAP service with security features.

Let’s dive right in.

In this chapter, we are going to discuss the followings:

• #1: Webmail Configuration
• #2: WebAdmin Configuration
• #3: POP3 Configuration
• #4: IMAP Configuration

Now, lets configure the webmail. Open the webmail properties: Go to Webmail -> Properties.

General Settings:

• Webmail options: we can enable features on the webmail, like, enabling tasks, calendaring, autoresponder, enable media player, youtube preview in the email, adding redirections etc. we can enable or disable features from here.
• Site Configuration: you can add webmail for multiple configured site on this machine.

Spam Settings:

We can enable the “Report as spam” menu option from here.
when user clicks the “Report as spam” option, user can perform any of the below actions.

• Move spam to global spam folder.
• Delete message
• Mark the sender IP as spam source
• Copy spam to global spam folder then junk
• Move message to junk folder
• Mark the sender IP as spam source then junk

we can also create a separate directory and dedicate it to store spam emails.

Logging:

We can enable detailed logging for email activities on the webmail. There are many logging items like, delete, move, list, sending, receiving all actions can be logged. we can log to activity log file or on the windows event log.

Advanced Settings:

1. File Upload Size Limit: webmail will through error if we try to upload file larger than this size.
2. Service Configuration Screen: If enabled, webmail will show client configuration settings under options.
3. Webmail Anonymous User Sign Up: if we want to allow anonymous user can login to webmail, we can check this option,
4. SMS via Exchange ActiveSync: this service requires MailEnable commercial Edition.

Web Administration are configured at Post Office level. If you Open WebAdmin Properties from Services and Connectors, it provides notes to configure at Post office Level.

WebAdmin Post Office Level Settings:

Go to Post Office -> Properties -> Web Admin.

1. Enable Web Administration for post office: It will enable the WebAdmin for this Post Office/domain.
2. Can create and edit mailboxes: We can create and edit mailboxes from WebAdmin.
   • Provide the Maximum number of mailboxes can be created
   • Provide the mailbox size limit
3. Can create and edit lists: lists can be created and edited from the WebAdmin
   • provide maximum number of lists can be created
   • provide number of addresses in each list
4. Can add, edit, and remove domains: We can add, edit and remove domain from the WebAdmin Portal.

Login to WebAdmin using the Postmaster’s credentials. The default WebAdmin URL provided earlier. After login you will find this interface, you can see the options available.

Now, lets configure the POP3 service.

Go to Services and Connectors, Select POP -> Properties.

General Settings:

1. Maximum Concurrent Connections: Server will allow up to 16 concurrent connections by default, we can set based on our connection needs.
2. POP Port: by default, POP3 port is 110, we normally do not apply SSL on this port.
3. Also listen on alternate port: 995 with SSL is a common practice for secure alternate port.
4. We can enable on the server side the Authenticated POP or APOP, NTLMv1, CRAM-MD5 auth. client has to configure accordingly.
5. IP Address Connections Restrictions: we can allow or deny clients IP to access the POP3 service.
6. Inbound IP bindings: We can select an IP to bind it with the POP3 service. client has to communicate only to this IP.

Advanced Settings:

1. Use alternate welcome message: Provide a message here, it will be displayed to email clients during connecting to the service.
2. Allow concurrent mailbox access: This setting allows multiple devices or clients to connect to the same mailbox simultaneously.

Logging:

• We can enable POP3 logging, Log type is the W3C Extended Log file format. We can configure the file path for the activity log and debug from here.

Now, we will configure the IMAP Service.

Go to, Services and Connectors, Select IMAP -> Properties.

General Settings:

1. Listening Port: default IMAP listening port is 143, normally we do not enable SSL for 143 port connections. 993 is the alternate listening port, we can enable SSL for this port, which is a common practice. clients has to communicate with SSL to the IMAP Server.
2. Client Connections: We can define the maximum number of concurrent connections, which is currently unlimited. connections will be timed out after 2600 seconds of inactivity.
3. Inbound IP binding: We can bind or dedicated an IP for the IMAP Service.

Settings and Logging:

• On the security settings, we can enable the SSL/TLS support for the IMAP service.
• Enforcing clients to use SSL/TLS for authentication, without SSL/TLS they cannot authenticate to server.
• Enabling the NTLMv1, CRAM-MD5 and Plain Authentication support, client can authenticate using any protocol support they have on their email clients.
• Like POP3, we can enable the IMAP Logging, Activity and Debug log file can be specified.

Chapter5:

MailEnable Security

In this chapter, we will discuss how to secure MailEnable server.

We’ll show you, how to manually block specific domains and malicious emails.

We’ll work with DNS blacklisting and configure custom blacklist provider.

We’ll whitelist trusted IPs, and performs other critical security checks.

Let’s dive right in.

In this chapter, we are going to discuss the followings:

• #1: Domain Blacklist
• #2: Block Email Address
• #3: DNS Blacklisting
• #4: IP Whitelist
• #5: Important Security Checks

Our first step is to block unwanted domains. We can deny receiving emails from these domains.

This is a manual effort, later we will see how we can do this in bulk through DNS blacklist providers.

This approach is effective, when we don’t want to receive emails from some selected domains, though, the domains are not known spammer, rather we don’t want to receive from them intentionally.

Domain Blacklist is a domain level settings.

1. Go to, Post Offices -> Domains -> Select Domain -> Properties -> Blacklist
2. Click ‘Add‘ button to add domains. we have to manually add domains one by one.

We can block individual email addresses, MailEnable will reject emails from these addresses.
from a particular domain, if we block few addresses, rest of the accounts can send us emails.

This is an SMTP connector level settings, means it will effect all domains configured.

1. Select, SMTP Connector -> Properties -> Blocked Addresses.
2. Click Add and to include email addresses to the blacklist.

Now, we will configure DNS Blacklists to block blacklisted sources. DNS blacklist provides huge number of known spammers ip, this is a crucial step in email security.

To configure DNS blcklists, Go to SMTP Connector -> Properties -> DNS Blacklisting.

1. Enable DNS Blacklisting: Check this option to enable the DNS blicklist protection.
2. Action When Detected: We can either reject the message or mark them as spam for further spam processing.
3. Click Add button and select Blacklist providers from the list.
4. Enable URL Blacklisting: Check this option to enable the URL blacklisting.

5. Action When Detected: We have three choices, reject the message, mark message as spam or Replace the spammy URL.
6. Click Add button and select Blacklist providers from the list for URL checking.
7. Click Configure Blacklists Button, it will open dialog box to enter your custom dns blacklists.
8. Provide the custom DNS blacklist domain/FQDN name on the Zone field, then Click Add to include the new blacklist, then click save.

[Note:] Adding more than 4 blacklist providers are not recommended.

If we want to create some exception among the blacklisted sources, we can add them to the whitelists.

Email from whitelisted IP’s will be received by the server, without Blacklist check.

To Configure the Whitelist, Select the whitelist tab on the SMTP Connector properties.

1. Enable Whitelist: It will enable the whitelist feature.
2. Click Add button to add IP’s for Whitelisting.
3. Enable Outbound Whitelist: Remote server IP can be automatically whitelisted, if we send an email to them.

There are other Important Security features available on the SMTP Properties.

Go to SMTP Properties and Open the Security tab.

1. Sender email domain must be local or resolvable through DNS: Spammers often send spam email with fake domain name, before email receive it will check sender’s domain existence by DNS checking.
2. Authenticated senders must use address from their post office: Senders must use valid account credentials for the SMTp authentication.
3. Restrict the number of recipients per email to 20: spammers often add large number of recipient in the email, this option will restrict to 20 by default.
4. Limit number of recipients per hour to 200: by default, email cannot be sent to over 200 recipients per hour.

5. PTR Record Check: Before email receive MailEnable will check the sender domains PTR record, if PTR is not found, we can reject email or accept.
6. Address Spoofing: We can allow address spoofing only to valid and authenticated senders.
7. Use an alternate welcome message: This custom message sent when other mail server connects to it.
8. Connection Dropping: Drop a connection if the failed number of recipient reaches to 6 by default. then we can add that ip to denied list.
9. EHLO Blocking: when a server connects to send message, it send EHLO command with a message, if the message matches this list, it will drop the connection.

Chapter6:

MailEnable Troubleshooting

In this chapter, we covered the essential troubleshooting techniques for MailEnable.

We’ll start with the built-in diagnostic utility to identify system issues. Track message flow to locate delivery problems, and monitor services for proper operation.

we’ll Check connectors for configuration errors, and analyze logs for detailed error information.

Let’s dive right in.

In this chapter, we are going to discuss the followings:

• #1: Diagnostic Utility
• #2: Message Tracking
• #3: Service Monitoring
• #4: Service and Connectors
• #5: Log Monitoring

Frist tool we are going to explore is the MailEnable diagnostic utility.

Click on System -> Diagnose.

It will run the diagnostic tool and generate a detailed report on system and services. There are multiple sections on the report to show the running hardware, software and configurations.

Second tool is the Message tracking tool. This is another important tool, where we can track and trace a message.

We need to provide sender or recipient email address to find the mails, then if we click the “Show Transaction” button, it will show the detailed email log, and “Trace Message” button will trace the message, how it is routed and delivered.

Third tool is the Service Monitoring tool. From here, we can see the detail service status.

We can start/stop or restart all services at once, or individual services also can be managed from the right pane.

In the Services and Connectors Menu, we will find these two important components.

Services are the main functionalities MailEnable provides. Important services are POP3, IMAP4 and Web mail.

Connectors move emails between local or remote systems or subsystems. important connectors are, SMTP connector, Post office connector and List server connector.

we can select any service or connector and open the properties to change the configurations.

Logs are the main source of information for troubleshooting. it provides all the details of the transactions inside MailEnable.

Every service and components have multiple logs, the activity log, debug log and W3C logs.

Select a log file and double click it to open. you can see all the transaction details.

Conclusion

Congratulations! By following this comprehensive guide, you’ve successfully installed, configured, and secured MailEnable as a robust, free mail server for your small business. We’ve covered everything from initial setup and essential configurations to vital security features and troubleshooting, empowering you with full control over your email infrastructure.

MailEnable offers a powerful and cost-effective solution for secure communication and collaboration. We hope this guide has provided you with the confidence to manage your own mail services effectively.

Feel free to explore further and share your experiences or any questions in the comments below! 👍

FAQ