UNH IT: CIS Unix Frequently Asked Questions

Your suggestions for additions, deletions, or clarifications to this document are welcome; please send mail to the System Administrators (sysman@cisunix.unh.edu).

Unwanted Mail Questions

I'm receiving unacceptable amounts of unwanted commercial e-mail (aka “spam”) in my Inbox. What should I do?
The CIS Unix systems provide you with tools to set up a reasonably effective spam filter, based on the SpamAssassin program, that diverts unwanted mail into an alternate mailbox. This is not (however) set up for you by default. If you would like to investigate and possibly start SpamAssassin-based spam filtering, please visit the Spam Filtering web page.

Some unsolicited commercial e-mail comes with directions on how to (allegedly) remove yourself from the mailing list. Following the instructions may work if the mail is coming from a reputable and responsible enterprise. All too often, however, your response is simply used to verify that your address is still working; this information is quickly passed on to other unscrupulous advertisers. You may get removed from that particular mailing list, but wind up with more unsolicited commercial e-mail than you would have otherwise.
I have tried the simple SpamAssassin filtering described above, and I'm still getting too much spam in my Inbox. What should I do?
Our best current suggestion is to install, configure, and use a mail client on your local computer that contains advanced spam filtering features. Although detailed instructions on how to install and configure a mail client is beyond the scope of this document, general configuration information for CIS Unix users is here.

One option is Thunderbird, a mail client developed by the Mozilla organization. Versions are available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Its junk mail filtering facilities are described here.

Microsoft Outlook also has advanced spam-filtering features. Here is a good place to start for Outlook 2010. (Similar ocumentation for previous versions of Outlook is also available at the Microsoft Office site.)

For Mac users, Apple's Mail program also has a built-in junk mail detector, and tuning it is pretty easy.

Not that it matters, but I currently use bogofilter on my Linux workstation to filter spam messages. It works fine. It's not officially supported by UNH IT, but I can answer questions about it.
I've received harrassing or threatening e-mail I suspect may be in violation of law or University rules. What should I do?
First of all, don't delete or alter such messages. If the message may be in violation of law or UNH rules, they are important evidence.

If you would like our advice, forward the e-mail to the system administrators (<sysman@cisunix.unh.edu>). We'll attempt to give you our help and best advice on how to proceed.

At your discretion, you may want to contact the police or appropriate University authorities first. That's fine. Given your permission, we will devote maximum effort into cooperation with any legitimate investigation.
I'm receiving annoying e-mail that is not spam, and I don't want to get the sender in trouble. What should I do?

If you're getting persistent annoying messages from a particular address, the simplest thing to do is to put the address on your WebMail Blacklist. This works even if WebMail is not your everyday mail program. See the WebMail Blacklist Maintenance page for more information. You can set up more sophisticated mail "filters" within WebMail, although details are beyond the scope of this document.

WebMail filters operate by writing a “procmail filter” in your home directory. You can also (if you want) do this yourself, although it's a little tricky. Try to find something in the mail header that the messages have in common: the sender's address, a subject line. Use your favorite editor to create a .procmailrc file in your home directory. For example:

% pico .procmailrc

You place rules in the file to handle incoming mail that matches criteria you specify differently. For example, here's a .procmailrc file with one rule:


:0:
* ^From.*dimwit@annoy.me.edu
/dev/null

This throws away mail that is from dimwit@annoy.me.edu. (The /dev/null file is a Unix data sink.)


	Obviously, this is something you want to be careful with, since typing mistakes can cause mail you wanted to get thrown away. If you aren't comfortable with a Unix editor, the Help Desk can help. The `.procmailrc` file can do many other things besides this; if you're interested, a good place to start is the Procmail Quick Start page.

This method isn't useful for spam filtering, since spammers continually alter their subject lines and sender addresses. Speaking of which:

I've received mail referring to a message apparently from me that I'm sure I didn't send! What's up with that?
It's unfortunately common for spammers and virus writers to send mail with forged “From” addresses. Often they pick common names (joe, bill, bob), and sometimes they pick addresses found in Microsoft Outlook address books on infected machines. If your address is forged on such mail, and there's an error in delivery, then you'll receive the resulting error messsage.

There's not a lot you or we can do about this. Delete the message and move on.

WebMail Questions

My WebMail Inbox is suddently empty! What should I do?
There are two possibilities:
1. Most common explanation: you're out of disk space. The software that displays your Inbox (and other file folders) may not work well, or at all, when you're out of disk space. Check the "Quota status" display to find out if this is the case. If it is, please consult this document for information on how to find out where your disk space is being used and how to free up space in your account.
2. You may have (perhaps accidentally) used POP3 mail client software to read your mail, and that client was configured to download messages and delete them from the server. This can be done from either a program running (hopefully) on your own computer, like Outlook or Thunderbird; it's also possible for clients run by third parties, (like Google's Gmail, or Blackberry) to do this on your behalf.
  
  The good news is that your mail is almost certainly not lost; it's probably available on whatever computer or third party system did this on your behalf.
I'm having a problem deleting mail messages. What should I do?
WebMail obsesses over deleting things “safely” in order to be sure your mailboxes aren't accidentally corrupted. Which is fine, but it means (paradoxically) you need some more free space in your account to get rid of large volumes of mail. If you get UID COPY failed: Message copy failed: Disk quota exceeded messages while trying to delete mail, this could be the problem.

One thing to try is deleting smaller amounts of stuff first before you delete the big stuff. (The more free space you have in your account the more stuff you can delete.)

This may not work if you are absolutely out of space. In that case, please see this document.
I can't compose or reply to messages in WebMail! What should I do?
WebMail can be a more than a little picky about your browser's add-ons or configuration. The most common problem is a conflict between so-called “popup blockers” and the ability to compose or reply to messages. If you're having a problem with WebMail, see if the same thing happens when you use a different computer. If the problem only occurs on your computer, here are some things to check:
- One thing to try (and probably the least work) is to disable WebMail's default option to compose mail in a separate window:
  1. Click the “Options” icon in the top icon bar;
  2. On the resulting screen, if you don't see “Options for Mail” at the top of the frame, select “Mail” from the “Edit options for:” pulldown menu;
  3. On the resulting screen, click on “Message Composition”;
  4. On the resulting screen, uncheck the “Compose messages in a separate window?” option.
  5. Click “Save Options”.
- You might want to install and use the Firefox web browser. (This method is very effective in “fixing” problems with Microsoft Internet Explorer: use something else instead.) Firefox is available for all major platforms. Visit the Firefox website for information and download.
- Make sure your web browser is up to date. For Internet Explorer on Microsoft Windows, you can select “Windows Update” from the “Tools” menu in the browser; this will take you to Microsoft's update site.
- WebMail makes heavy use of Javascript and cookies; it's possible to configure your browser to disable these. If WebMail doesn't seem to work at all, you might want to check your security settings.
- Check your add-on software. Various packages, including “Google Toolbar”, “AIM Toolbar Pop-up Blocker”, “Pop-Up Stopper”, “Content Advisor”, and the “CommonName” program have interfered with normal operation of WebMail. If you have a popup blocker installed, many of them will allow you to selectively enable popups. (For example, I'm told that if you have the AIM Toolbar Pop-up Blocker installed, you can hold down the CTRL key while left clicking on the link to allow popups.)
Deleted mail messages keep showing up in my Inbox! What's up with that?
This can be a symptom of a conflict between your web browser's "cache" and the current state of your Inbox. Often clearing your cache will make the problem go away. For Internet Explorer, please see Microsoft's How and Why to Clear Your Cache document.
Where is the address book?
It's under “Organizing” in the leftside menu (click the plus sign, if necessary). See, things are so organized now, they're hard to find. Ironic.
How can I look up someone's e-mail address if I know their name?
Open up the Address Book (see this answer if necessary); click the "Search Icon" in the upper icon menu if necessary; choose “CIS Unix Directory” from the “From” pulldown menu.

You can do a “Basic Search” to find your recipient if you know their exact name as we have it (including middle initial). You can also search on first name or last name by choosing appropriately from the “Find” pulldown menu. (You should be aware that common names may return a lot of results.) When you've composed your query, click “Search”.

More useful searches can be obtained by clicking the “Advanced Search” on the right side of the screen. Choose “CIS Unix Directory” from the “Directory” pulldown menu. Type (for example) your recipient's first and last names into the appropriate boxes and click “Search”.

In either Basic or Advanced Searches, any matches will be displayed. Clicking on the name will display the complete entry for the individual; clicking on the e-mail address will bring up a compose window with the address pre-entered.

You can also do a “Basic Search” of the User Directory from a compose window.
How do I quickly add addresses to my addressbook from a mail message?
It used to be in the olden days that a little address book icon appeared next to addresses in mail messages; this allowed you to quickly add the addresses to your address book.

This is now an option. If you want it (or want it back):
1. Click the “Options” icon in the top icon bar;
2. On the resulting screen, if you don't see “Options for Mail” at the top of the frame, select “Mail” from the “Edit options for:” pulldown menu;
3. On the resulting screen, choose "Address Books" from the right column;
4. On the resulting screen, choose your addressbook from the pulldown menu on the bottom (it should have your name on it);
5. Click "Save Options".
Where are my mail folders?
Click the "Folders" icon, then it may be necessary to click "Expand All" to see them.
How do I save mail I send?
You don't have to save copies of mail messages you send out to others, but it's an option. If you want to do that:
1. Click the “Options” icon in the top icon bar;
2. On the resulting screen, if you don't see “Options for Mail” at the top of the frame, select “Mail” from the “Edit options for:” pulldown menu;
3. On the resulting screen, click "Personal Information" in the left column;
4. On the resulting screen, choose "Default Identity" from the pulldown menu labelled "Select the identity you want to change";
5. At the bottom of the screen, make sure the "Save sent mail" option is checked;
6. If desired, choose a folder from the appropriate pulldown in which to save your mail;
7. Click "Save Options";
8. Optionally, repeat for your other identities, if you have them.
How do I set up a signature in WebMail?
Some people like to have a signature on their sent mail: a block of text containing your full name, contact information, affiliation, pithy quote, etc. To do that:
1. Click the “Options” icon in the top icon bar;
2. On the resulting screen, if you don't see “Options for Mail” at the top of the frame, select “Mail” from the “Edit options for:” pulldown menu;
3. On the resulting screen, click "Personal Information" in the left column;
4. On the resulting screen, choose "Default Identity" from the pulldown menu labelled "Select the identity you want to change";
5. Fill in the "Your signature:" text block;
6. Click "Save Options";
7. Optionally, repeat for your other identities, if you have them.
My messages are listed in the wrong order! What should I do?
If incoming messages do not appear where you expect them to in the Inbox, probably you have (accidentally) specified a sort-order for your messages that you don't want. To (for example) sort on reverse-received order, click on the '#' at the top of the message-number column, then click on the little triangle next to that to get it to point down.

(You can sort on any column, up or down, this is just an example.)
My question isn't answered here! What should I do?
Thanks for looking here. For further information, you might try (a) checking out the CIS Unix WebMail Infrequently-Asked Questions document; (b) looking at the Horde User's FAQ, written by the people who wrote the WebMail software; or (c) using the “Problems” link from within WebMail to send us mail.

Other Mail Questions

How can I forward (or stop forwarding, or change the forwarding address for) my CIS Unix e-mail elsewhere?

There's more than one way to do it.

You can start, stop, or change e-mail forwarding from within CIS Unix WebMail. Instructions on how to do that are here.
You can set up, remove, or change e-mail forwarding on the web at https://webmail.unh.edu/cisunix/emailforward.html.
Hardy users can set up (or change) forwarding in a normal login session. Give the Unix shell command:
```
% echo me@somewhere.else.com > ~/.forward
```
Substitute your desired forwarding address for me@somewhere.else.com in the command you actually type.

To remove forwarding and start receiving mail on your CIS Unix account again, give the Unix shell command:
```
% rm .forward
```


	However you do it, you should test mail forwarding by sending yourself e-mail to your CIS Unix address and making sure it goes to the address you expect.

I will be away from my office for a time. Is there a way to set up an auto-reply to notify people who send me e-mail about my absence?

Unsurprisingly, there's more than one way to do it.

You can set up auto-reply from within CIS Unix WebMail. Instructions on how to do that are here.
You can configure or disable auto-replying on the web at https://webmail.unh.edu/cisunix/vacation.html.
To set up auto-replying in a login session:
1. Create a .forward in your home directory:
```
    % pico .forward
    
```
  If you want to have the system throw away your incoming mail so you won't go over quota while on vacation, enter this line in the .forward file:
```
    "| vacation joe"
    
```
  If you would like to store incoming messages until you return you should alter this line to read:
```
    \joe, "| vacation joe"
    
```
  And if you have a 'first.last@unh.edu'-style alias, you'll probably want to specify that as well:
```
    \joe, "| vacation -a joseph.englebart@unh.edu joe"
    
```
  In any case, you (of course) substitute your own username for joe. You also need to be extremely careful with punctuation and spacing. The quotation marks (") need to be there. The vertical bar (|) is obtained by typing Shift+\.
  
  Once you've done that to your satisfaction, type Ctrl+X to Exit, Y to save changes, and Enter to save as .forward.
2. Optionally, create a .vacation.msg file to be sent as your auto-reply:
```
    % pico .vacation.msg
    
```
  For example, you could enter something like the following (with appropriate substitutions):
```
    From: Joe Englebart <joe@cisunix.unh.edu>
    Subject: Vacation

    I'm off to dance with wolves on the Siberian tundra.
    I will not be receiving mail until I return on January 3, 2003.  
    If you have an urgent request, please send mail to someone.else@unh.edu.
    
```
  The From: line should be the first line in the file; there should be a blank line between the Subject: line and the message text. Once you've done that to your satisfaction, type Ctrl+X to Exit, Y to save changes, and Enter to save as .vacation.msg.
3. To remove the autoreply feature when you return, give the Unix shell command:
```
    % rm .forward
    
```


	However you do it, you should test the auto-reply by having a friend send you e-mail to your CIS Unix address and making sure they get the desired reply.

I got a mail message telling me that incoming mail to me has been deferred due to disk space problems. What should I do?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Here are some guidelines:
- First, note that one thing may not work well at all: asking for help via e-mail. If e-mail to your account is failing because you're out of disk space, you won't see any reply, helpful or not. If you need help, phone the CIS Help Desk at (603)862-4242.
- One (relatively) easy thing to do is to look through your stored e-mail for large messages; Pine and other mailers will usually show some indication of each message's size. Often large attachments (pictures, songs, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) can only be used directly on a PC; transfer the attachments to your PC if you want, and delete the messages.
- PC-based mail programs like Eudora will often have an option to “leave mail on the server”. This is very often a poor choice, since it's easy to let the mail pile up until there are disk-space problems.
- The Out of Disk Space? web page provides more information on Unix shell commands you can use to track down where space in your Unix directory is being used and to reclaim space. If you're not comfortable with shell commands, you might be able to mount your Unix directory on your PC (see guidelines here); you can then use more familiar tools for finding large useless files and deleting them.
- If you really do need additional long-term disk space, see this document for information.
The staff at Dimond Academic Commons Information Technology Support Center (DAC ITSC) in the Dimond Library is available to help anyone with account quota issues. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You may also call 862-4242 for additional support.
I received an e-mail message from which an attachment was replaced by an “Important Message from the UNH E-Mail Virus Scanning Service.”

Or: I sent an e-mail message with an attachment, and the recipient has informed me that the attachment was replaced by an “Important Message from the UNH E-Mail Virus Scanning Service.”

What should I do?
UNH uses the MailScanner™ program for e-mail security and anti-spam protection. It does a pretty good job of removing e-mailed malware and detecting spam messages. However, its rules for detecting malware can sometimes trap innocent attachments, causing them to be “quarantined” and replaced by the message referred to above.

The most common problems are:
- An attachment filename with multiple embedded periods (e. g., Samson.full.doc.pdf) There are some instances where multiple periods are permitted, but your best bet is to avoid them.
- An attachment filename with many embedded spaces.
- A very long attachment filename.
- Many, many, filename extensions are banned. (e. g., .scr, .bat, .exe, …)
If you know about these rules ahead of time, they're not hard to get around: keep filenames of reasonable length, avoid spaces, use a period only to indicate the file extension. Don't e-mail programs or any sort of "active" content.

But if you receive a notice that an innocent attachment was quarantined due to one of the draconian name rules, you can forward the message to <Mailscanner.Admin@unh.edu> requesting that it be dequarantined, renamed, and resent to you.

The mail-scanning process can be frustrating to people who take adequate precautions to protect their computers against malicious software. Apologies.

Terminal Session Questions

I can't run standard commands like pine or lynx or menu. Or I get logged out immediately after I log in. What should I do?

Almost always this is due to a corrupt or missing .login file. You can customize your Unix computing environment in many ways by editing your .login, .cshrc, and source.in files in your home directory. (Most commonly, you can set up command aliases to make typing common commands faster and easier to remember.)

However, you can also cause problems for yourself if there are syntax errors in your changes, or if you just delete any of these files. Possible symptoms: being logged out immediately or normal commands becoming unavailable.

If you think you've made a mistake in (or deleted) one of your startup files, you can recover things yourself (if you can log in). First, rename your existing startup files so they won't be read at login:

%  /bin/mv .login login.save
%  /bin/mv .cshrc cshrc.save
%  /bin/mv source.in source.in.save


	You'll get an error message if these startup files don't exist. Ignore that.

Then give yourself a fresh copy of the default .login file:

% echo source /usr/local/etc/generic.login > .login

Then log out and back in again. Things should work. You should be able to try doing your customizations again, if you still want to.

If your startup files are preventing you from logging in on one machine (say Fermat), try the other (Newton). Sometimes minor differences between the machines can make one more "forgiving" of startup file problems than another.

If you can't log in anywhere, you'll have to contact the Help Desk (call 2-4242) or use the CIS Help Desk Questions form to have a system administrator fix your account.

How can I see the message of the day again?
Sometimes the system scrolls the “message of the day” (/etc/motd) file by fast enough so that it can't be read by mortal human beings, even ones with a college education. If you think you may have missed something important, give the command:
```
% more /etc/motd
```
When I try to log out, the computer tells me I have stopped or suspended jobs. What should I do?

During your session, you may have (accidentally or on purpose) typed Ctrl+Z to suspend a process. Suspended processes remain “in the background” as long as you are logged in, or until you start them up again, whichever comes first. If you attempt to log out with a suspended process in the background, the system will warn you:

% logout
There are suspended jobs. 
%

To clean up a suspended job, give the fg command to “bring it to the foreground.”

% fg

At this point, you can either let the process run to completion, or exit from the program properly, for example by typing Ctrl+C. Then attempt to log out again. If you still get the suspended jobs message, repeat the above.


	If you are in a hurry, a second logout command given immediately after the first will log you out. However, this will also kill the suspended jobs, which may not be what you want to do.

How can I change my shell?
Give the command:
```
% chsh
```
and follow the prompts.

Account Questions

I'm leaving the University. When will my account go away?
UNH student accounts are maintained for 140 days after you graduate or (otherwise) leave the University. More information is here.
How do I remove my pubpages web pages?
Please see the "Takedown" section of the Pubpages Basics document.

Page Maintenance:

Paul A. Sand <pas@unh.edu>

Last modified: 2012-05-09 1:20 PM EDT
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