How do I compose an email message?

You can compose a message by clicking the "Compose" link on the dark blue navigation bar. These messages can be sent from any of your Mailshell addresses by using the drop-down menu in the "From" field; you can also create a new address by using the input field. Type your message, then click the "Send" button.

Mailshell also provides many additional features you can use when sending messages: Save copy in Sent folder, Priority, Track Delivery, and Send Encrypted.

Please note: Mailshell also provides a useful way for you to send email from your disposable Mailshell addresses using an outside email account. To learn how, click here.

How do I compose a message to a contact in my Address Book?

There are two ways to compose messages to your contacts:

• From the Address Book section of My Mailshell, click the email address of the contact you would like to compose to. You'll be taken to the Compose page with the email address already entered.
  
  
• From the Compose section of My Mailshell, click the "Address Book" link or any of the "To," "Cc," or "Bcc" links. A window showing your contacts will pop up; check the appropriate boxes next to the contacts you wish to include, then click the "Done" button.

Can I compose messages from my Mailshell addresses without signing in?

Mailshell provides a useful way for you to send email from your disposable Mailshell addresses using an outside email account; this feature is called "remote compose." To learn how to do this, click here.

Please note: While using this method to send messages will protect your email address from being displayed in the "From" field, it will not be protected if you include it in the body of your email and in certain other cases, such as Outlook read receipts. The best policy is not to include your real email address within the message body and be aware of whether you have any automatic signatures or features that include the address in the header in places other than the "From" field.

Couldn't anyone use remote compose to send email using my addresses?

Mailshell does provide a security feature to prevent unauthorized use of your addresses when composing outside of Mailshell: you can set your account so that only addresses listed as forwarding addresses are allowed to send messages using your Mailshell addresses. By default this feature is turned off. To turn it on:



• Click the "Compose Options" link in the Options page.



• Set the radio buttons for "Restrict Addresses for Remote Compose" to "On."



• Click the "Save Settings" button.


Anyone attempting to send an email using one of your Mailshell addresses from an outside address not listed will receive a bounce message saying they are not authorized to use that email address.

Can I use remote compose to send from an email address that has not been created?

Yes, you can send messages using remote compose from any address @yourdomain.com, including addresses that have not been created, pending addresses, and deleted addresses. (Note that if you send a message from a deleted address, you will not be able to receive any reply to the message at that address.)

What happens if I send a message using remote compose and it bounces?

The returning bounce error will be treated like any other message and will be saved or forwarded according to the delivery setting for the address you used.

How do I save an outgoing message in the Sent folder?

You can save a copy of any message you compose in the Sent folder by checking the "Save copy in Sent folder" box. (By default, outgoing messages are saved in the Sent folder unless you uncheck that box. If you do not wish to save most of your outgoing messages, you can change the default.)

What does "Priority" mean?

When composing a message, Mailshell lets you set a message priority of Low, Normal, High, or Urgent by using the "Priority" drop-down menu. If the recipient has an email client that supports viewing priorities, the message will be flagged appropriately when they receive it.

Please note: Mailshell's web client does not support viewing priorities. If you receive a message that has a priority attached to it, it will not be displayed.

What does "Track Delivery" do?

If you have the Premium Service, you can track messages you compose in My Mailshell and know when the recipients have opened the message. To have the message tracked, simply check the "Track Delivery" box when composing a message. You can then go to your Sent folder to view information about the message: the "Tracking Status" column will display a link that says either "Not Opened" or "Opened:" and the date on which the message was first opened. (If the message was opened today, you will also see the Pacific Standard Time it was opened.) If you sent the message to multiple recipients, this link will display only the date it was first opened by any of those recipients; you can click on the link to see when each individual recipient opened it.

If you would like to track most of your messages, you can change the default setting for Track Delivery to "On"; you also have the option of receiving an email confirmation when messages have been opened.

If you have the basic service, this feature is available during a free 30-day trial when you first sign up. Once that period has expired, you can upgrade to the Premium Service to continue using it.

How do I know when a tracked message has been opened?

You can see the status of a tracked message by going to the Sent folder: the "Tracking Status" column will display a link that says either "Not Opened" or "Opened:" and the date on which the message was first opened. (If the message was opened today, you will also see the Pacific Standard Time it was opened.) If you sent the message to multiple recipients, this link will display only the date it was first opened by any of those recipients; you can click on the link to see when each individual recipient opened it.

You can also choose to receive email confirmations for tracked messages: click the "Compose Options" link in Options to set the Tracking Delivery Options.

What does "Send Encrypted" do?

If you have the Premium Service, you can send password- or PGP-encrypted messages when you compose in My Mailshell. To do this, check the "Send Encrypted" box when composing the message. You will then be prompted for additional information:



• If you wish to use password encryption, enter a password, an optional hint that the recipient can use to guess the password, and an expiration time. When the recipient receives the encrypted message, they will see the hint (if given) and be asked to enter the password before they can view the message. Once the time you have selected has elapsed, the message will be automatically deleted.



• If you are sending to a single recipient and that recipient has a registered PGP key, you have the additional option of using PGP encryption instead of password encryption. If the recipient has more than one registered key, select the key you wish to use using the drop-down menu (normally, the most recent key is the best one to choose).



Click the "Send" button when you are done.

If you have chosen password encryption, your recipient will receive an email asking them to enter your password before they can then view the message. If you have chosen PGP encryption, your recipient will receive the encrypted message and will need to decrypt it using their own software.

If you have the basic service, this feature is available during a free 30-day trial when you first sign up. Once that period has expired, you can upgrade to the Premium Service to continue using it.

Please note: For security reasons, if you choose PGP encryption and are saving the message in your Sent folder, the message will be stored encrypted; you will not be able to decrypt it to view its contents.

What is PGP encryption?

PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the industry standard for encryption technology and is much stronger than simple password encryption. The PGP system consists of two matched keys for each individual: a public key (stored on accessible central key servers and used for encryption) and a private key (stored by individuals and used for decryption). To send a PGP-encrypted message, you use your recipient's public key to encrypt it, and your recipient would then use his or her corresponding private key to decrypt it. (For instance, if you wanted to send a PGP-encrypted message to joe@yahoo.com, you would encrypt it using the public key for joe@yahoo.com; he would then decrypt it using the private key stored on his personal computer.)

Mailshell's Premium Service allows you to send PGP-encrypted messages to single email addresses that have registered public keys. You can learn more about PGP, including how to download the free cryptographic software and create your own public and private keys, at the MIT distribution center or Gnu Privacy Guard.

How can I get my own PGP keys and software?

If you wish to receive PGP-encrypted messages, you can download the free cryptographic software used to create key pairs and encrypt and decrypt messages from the MIT distribution center or Gnu Privacy Guard.

I received a PGP-encrypted message and don't know how to decrypt it. What do I do?

Mailshell users can only send PGP-encrypted messages to email addresses that have a public key available on one of the public key servers--so at some point, a key was created for your email address with a private (decryption) key stored locally. If you do not have the software that stores the corresponding private key and allows you to decrypt messages (e.g., PGP Freeware or Gnu Privacy Guard), you will be unable to read the message. You can do one of two things:



• Reply to the sender and ask him or her to re-send the message using no encryption or password encryption instead.



• Download the software, create a new public key, and upload the new key to a key server, then ask the sender to re-send the message using the new key.



If you do have the software, you should refer to the program documentation for help decrypting the message.

Why does it say "Upgrade to Remove Mailshell-Inserted Ads" on the Compose page?

If you have the basic service, Mailshell appends ad footers to all your outgoing email messages; you can see this footer beneath the "Message Body" in the Compose section of My Mailshell. If you do not wish to have these ads appended, you can upgrade to the Premium Service.