NC ITS Services: NC Mail

Support & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To open a new account or to contact the ITS Customer Service Center, please call us at one of the following numbers:

(800) 722-3946 - Toll Free
(919) 754-6000 - Local

FAQs

Q. What is an e-mail client?
A. E-mail clients are used to compose, send and receive e-mail. They are software applications that are installed on your machine. The e-mail client "talks" to the server where your mail is sent from and delivered. An e-mail server is a powerful computer that manages mail by storing messages, routing messages to other servers and generating error messages when things don't work quite right.

Q. How do I choose a e-mail client and which clients do you support?
A. Choosing the program you use to access your e-mail will be determined in large part by your Organization, NCMail supports any IMAP compliant mail client. Your Agency should be the one to determine what client to support. Other Factors are your PC, operating system and your Internet connection. NCMail supports any IMAP and SMTP standard compliant e-mail client. Within some of our more popular clients, several preferences need to be adjusted for e-mail to work optimally (see Documentation). Examples of e-mail client software include Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Netscape Messenger.

Q. What is IMAP?
A. IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. It is a method of accessing electronic mail or bulletin board messages that are kept on a central mail server.

Q. What happens when I send/receive a mail message?
A. NCMail uses the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send e-mail messages. SMTP uses the concept of spooling, a method of queuing data. Spooling allows mail to be sent from a local application to the SMTP application, which stores the mail. Once the mail has arrived at the spool, it is queued. A server checks to see if any messages are available and then attempts to deliver them. If the user is not available for delivery, the server may try later. Eventually, if the mail cannot be delivered, it will be discarded or perhaps returned to the sender. This is known as an end-to-end delivery system, because the server is attempting to contact the destination to deliver and it will keep the mail in the spool for a period of time until it has been delivered.

Q. How do I change my mail account password?
A. Login to webmail --> Select "Preferences" --> Under General you will scroll down to find Change Password section --> Enter your old password --> Enter your new password twice --> Click "Change Password". Your password is updated if you entered all fields correctly.

Q. How do I use webmail?
A. You can check the Webmail manual or Select "Help" from the navigation bar after logging into Webmail. After selecting help, a separate window opens which provides step-by-step information on each task that may be performed in webmail.

Q. How many user accounts may I configure with the same e-mail client?
A. Limitation is dependent upon the e-mail client used. With MS Outlook (Outlook 98, 2000, Express, etc.) or Netscape Messenger 6.2 and above, the number of accounts that may be configured is limited to the computer resources. With Netscape Messenger 4.79 and below, one can configure and run only one account. Only one account can be accessed in the same window when logging into webmail.

Q. What is the size limit on attachments or email messages?
A. The maximum message size that can be sent through NCMail is 50MB. This message size is inclusive of the email header information, the body of the email message and the MIME encapsulated attachment if attached.

Q. Why am I receiving the message that my account is blocked when I attempt to login to webmail?
A. The "blocked" message in webmail means that you have reached the maximum number of failed logins in a row. To "unblock" your account, you will need to contact your local NCMail admin to reset your password.