UAB-Email - Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

What is UAB-Email?
What is the BlazerID?
Can I read my e-mail via the Web?
What are the features of UAB-Email?
What are the differences in Outlook with the new UAB-Email?
What should I know about before upgrading to the new UAB-Email?
Help! I upgraded to UAB-Email, and my mail is all messed up! What happened?
Help! My bank/credit card company/eBay just sent me email saying my account would be closed unless I clicked NOW - What do I do?
What is Spam Scoring?
Help! I just got a message saying I was over my email limit, but there aren't many messages in my Inbox. What do I do?
How do I configure my computer to read UAB-Email with...
Why does Entourage say 'Unable to establish a secure connection'?
I've left the university - when will my Exchange account be deleted?
I'm leaving the university - Can I have mail going to my Exchange account forwarded to an off-campus address?
My Exchange account has been deleted - Can I get it back?
How do I assign or work as a delegate in Entourage?

Answers

What is UAB-Email?
UAB-Email is a system that allows any UAB faculty, student or employee acess to the UAB Email servers through a wide variety of clients and protocols. For more information, click here.

What is the BlazerID?
Your BlazerID allows you to access a wide variety of UAB IT computer services, all with a single BlazerID and password. For more details, go to BlazerID Central.

Can I read my email via the Web?
Yes! With Outlook Web Access, you can read your UAB-Email anytime, from any computer in the world that is connected to the Internet. For more details, click here.

What are the features of UAB-Email?
The UAB-Email system is based on the Microsoft Exchange technology. For a brief list of features, please click here. For more detailed information, please see the Microsoft website.

What are the differences in Outlook with the new UAB-Email?

Contacts in your address book are organized by first then last name (for example: Average Computer User is found under A, not C).
You must enter a person’s first name in order find an e-mail address in the directory ("Computer User" will return zero matches, but "A Computer User" will return a match, because Computer User’s first name is Average). You may also use the Find feature in Outlook to search by last name.

What should I know about before upgrading to the new UAB-Email?

You should review your contacts, personal distribution lists, and mailing lists to confirm that the e-mail addresses are still valid.
For those individuals using Entourage with a preferred e-mail alias that is different than your BlazerID, then you will need to use your complete e-mail address as your username/account ID when you log on to UAB E-mail. For example, if your preferred e-mail alias is ComputerUser@uab.edu, but your BlazerID is AverageComputerUser, you must enter your full e-mail address using the BlazerID (e.g. AverageComputerUser@uab.edu).
If your preferred e-mail alias has changed in the conversion to the new UAB e-mail system, you must re-subscribe to any LISTSERVs or “closed mailing lists” you were previously subscribed to. For example, if your email address prior to the conversion was AverageComputerUser@uab.edu, and afterwards shows up as ComputerUser@uab.edu, then re-subscribe to your mailing lists. If no change is made in your preferred e-mail alias, then re-subscription is not necessary.

Help! I upgraded to UAB-Email, and my mail is all messed up! What happened?
The UAB-Email system handles email aliases and contacts in a manner which may conflict with your old email client. Therefore, you may experience problems after upgrading to UAB-Email. However, help is only a click away at the AskIT Help Desk!.

Help! My bank/credit card company/eBay just sent me email saying my account would be closed unless I click NOW - What do I do?
Don't click!!!! Spam, spoofs and phishes are received by UAB email users everyday - many are used to deliver malicious trojans and viruses. To find out more, see our Spoofs page.

What is Spam Scoring?
SPAM is an increasing problem in the computing world, and the UAB IT Department has taken a pro-active approach to handling this problem. We have installed spam filters which process each and every piece of email sent to a "@uab.edu" address and "tags" it with special information. Spam Filter rules allow your email client to pick up these "tags" and mark the mail as junk. For more information, please click here. For information on UAB's Spam Blocking service, click here.

Help! I just got a message saying I was over my email limit, but there aren't many messages in my Inbox. What do I do?
The most likely culprit is your email Trash. When you click to delete an email message, it may not necessarily be removed from the system. It may just have been moved to a folder called "Deleted Items". Messages in your "Deleted Items" count towards your email quota, so it is important to clear out this folder regularly. For more information, please click here.

I've left the university - When will my Exchange account be deleted?
Exchange accounts for students are retained for 1 year after the student leaves UAB. For faculty and staff, the retention period is 3 months.

I'm leaving the university - Can I have mail going to my Exchange account forwarded to an off-campus address?
Yes. Go to BlazerID Central (http://www.uab.edu/blazerid) and click the link for UAB Electronic Phonebook - Change Information screen. After you log in with your BlazerID and password, go to the form field labeled : Real, host-based e-mail address. Enter the email address you wish your mail forwarded to and click Change!. All mail sent to your UAB email address will now go to the new one you just entered.

My Exchange account has been deleted - Can I get it back?
Have the Dean of your school (or Department head, for staff members), place a request with the AskIT Help Desk, to get your mail from backup. Your mailboxes will be retrieved and burned to a CD.