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When you configure your email software (Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, Mac Mail, etc.), you may have several choices for how to send messages. For several reasons, it is best to use encryption to secure all of the data that pass between your email software and your mail server. This will prevent eavesdroppers from stealing your username and password, as well as the contents of your email.

1. You can use STARTTLS encryption on port 587. We recommend this.
2. You can use SSL/TLS encryption on port 465. We recommend this if your email client does not support STARTTLS.
3. You can send email without encryption through port 25 as long as your ISP does not block port 25. We discourage you from doing this because a) it is terribly insecure, particularly when using public WiFi, and b) most ISPs block port 25.

If you use STARTTLS or SSL/TLS then your email client may warn you that the SSL certificate on your server is self-signed or untrusted. As long as you have carefully typed the hostname of your mail server, you can safely accept that warning and use the certificate. Since it is self-signed, the certificate provides security but does not vouch for server's identity.

If you have a Cirrus or E-Commerce hosting account and want to use STARTTLS or SSL/TLS without a certificate warning then you must purchase an SSL certificate and install it on your server according to the instructions in Installing an SSL certificate for email use. If you have an SSL certificate for your web site, you can use the same certificate for your email server; you do not need to purchase a second certificate.

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