Configuring Mozilla Thunderbird to Connect to Exchange

You can use these instructions to create a secure connection to the University of Kansas Exchange servers. This document is divided into two sections: one contains instructions for configuring a new account and the other for reconfiguring an existing account.

These instructions assume that the user has already downloaded Thunderbird from www.mozilla.com and installed it. These instructions are written for Thunderbird version 1.5, but could easily be adapted for earlier versions.

Norton Antivirus software users: You will have to disable email scanning before you will be able to send email from your account. Go to http://symantec.atgnow.com/consumer/results.do to search for the article explaining how to disable mail scanning in Norton Internet Security 2005. Search for 2003020715374936 ( the article number) and follow the steps outlined in the article before continuing.

New Account

1. The first time that Thunderbird opens after it's installed, the Import Wizard will start.

If you don't want to import anything, click Don't import anything and click Next to continue.

However, if you have used Netscape, Outlook Express, Eudora, or Outlook for email, you probably will want to import the email and address books from that program. Select the program from which you want to import email, then click Next to continue. After the information is imported, Thunderbird will open.

2. Next, you may see the screen below. If Thunderbird is the only email program you're going to use on this computer, click Yes. If you may want to use other email programs, click No and Do not display this dialog again.

3. To set up a connection to KU's Exchange email servers, open the Tools pull-down menu and choose Account Settings. The following screen will appear. Click Add Account to continue.

4. At the next screen, select Email account and click Next.

5. Type your name in the box next to Your Name and your email address in the box next to Email Address. Click Next to continue.

6. At the next screen, click on IMAP. In the Incoming Server field, type imap.ku.edu. For Outgoing Server, type authsmtp.ku.edu, even if you use Sunflower or SBC for your Internet Service Provider.

7. At the next screen, type the name of your email account in both the Incoming User Name and Outgoing User Name fields. Click Next to continue.

8. At the next screen, type a name for this account. Your email address is a good choice, but you can type anything that will help you remember that this is your KU account. Click Next to continue.

9. Verify that the account information is correct, then click Finish.

10. Here's the resulting screen. Don't click OK yet, there's more configuration that still needs to be done before this will work correctly with Exchange. On the left side of the screen, click Server Settings.

11. On the Server Settings screen, look for the Security Settings section on the right side and click SSL. DO NOT click on the checkbox next to Use Secure Authentication. Then click on Outgoing Server (SMTP) located on the left side of the screen. This will display the SMTP settings.

12. Click on authsmtp.ku.edu in the list of SMTP servers on the right side of the screen, then click Edit.

13. In the SMTP Server window, type the following:

• Description: leave blank
• Server Name = authsmtp.ku.edu
• Port = 25 (AT&T/SBC DSL users, use port 587 instead)
• Check the Use name and password checkbox.
• User Name: Type your email username here
• Use secure connection = TLS

When you're done, click OK to continue.

14. Next, you need to make sure that you can see all of the email folders in your account. Go to the File menu and choose Subscribe. A list of all the folders in your account will appear. Those that are checked are displayed in the main Thunderbird screen. To display other folders, click on the box next to each folder that you want to see. Do not click on Calendar or Contacts. When you're done, click OK to return to the main Thunderbird screen. The folders you added should then appear in the list.

15. Next, you will need to set up access to KU's global address list. This will allow you to find the email addresses of most people on campus. At the main Thunderbird window, go to the Tools pull-down menu and choose Address Book. The screen below will appear.

16. Go to the File menu and choose New, then LDAP Directory. Fill in the fields as follows:
    
    • Name = KU Address Book (You can type anything here; this is what will appear in your list of Address Books.)
    • Hostname = whitepages.ku.edu
    • Base DN = ou=people,dc=ku,dc=edu
    • Port number = 636
    • Check the Use secure connection (SSL) checkbox.

17. Once you’ve set up access to the KU Address Book, you can tell Thunderbird to check for addresses automatically.
    
    • Open the Tools pull-down menu and choose Options.
    • Click on the Addressing tab.
    • Check the Directory Server checkbox and select KU Address Book from the pull-down list.
    • Click OK to save the change. From now on, whenever you compose a message, Thunderbird will look up names and email addresses in the KU Address Book automatically.
      
      
      
      
18. You're done setting up your connection to the KU Address Book and to your Exchange email account. If you have any questions, please contact the IT Customer Service Center by phoning 864-8080 or sending a message to itcsc@ku.edu.

Editing an existing account

1. Open Thunderbird and click on your KU account. Click on View Settings for this account.

2. In the resulting window, look for the Security Settings section on the right side and click SSL. DO NOT click on the checkbox next to Use Secure Authentication. Then click on Outgoing Server (SMTP) located on the left side of the screen. This will display the SMTP settings.

3. Select the existing SMTP server on the right side of the screen and click Add.

4. Type the following:

• Description: leave blank
• Server Name = authsmtp.ku.edu
• Port = 25 (AT&T/SBC DSL users, use port 587 instead)
• Check the Use name and password checkbox.
• User Name: Type your email username here
• Use secure connection = TLS

Click OK to finish.

5. Back at the SMTP Settings window, click on the authsmtp.ku.edu entry you just created and select Set Default. Once authsmtp.ku.edu is the default SMTP server, you can click on the old SMTP server entry and Remove it. Click OK to save the change.

If you already have access to the KU Address Book set up in Thunderbird, you're DONE! If not, proceed to #6.

6. Next, set up access to the KU Address Book. At the main Thunderbird window, go to the Tools pull-down menu and choose Address Book. The screen below will appear.

7. Go to the File menu and choose New, then LDAP Directory. Fill in the fields as follows:
   
   • Name = KU Address Book (You can type anything here; this is what will appear in your list of Address Books.)
   • Hostname = whitepages.ku.edu
   • Base DN = ou=people,dc=ku,dc=edu
   • Port number = 636
   • Check the Use secure connection (SSL) checkbox.
     
     
8. Once you’ve set up access to the KU Address Book, you can tell Thunderbird to check for addresses automatically.
   
   • Open the Tools pull-down menu and choose Options.
   • Click on the Addressing tab.
   • Check the Directory Server checkbox and select KU Address Book from the pull-down list.
   • Click OK to save the change. From now on, whenever you compose a message, Thunderbird will look up names and email addresses in the KU Address Book automatically.
     
     
     
     
9. Click OK to finish and return to the main Thunderbird screen.
   
   
10. When you're done setting up the Address Book, you need to make sure that you can see all of the email folders in your account. Go to the File menu and choose Subscribe. A list of all the folders in your account will appear. Those that are checked are displayed in the main Thunderbird screen. To display other folders, click on the box next to each folder that you want to see. Do not click on Calendar or Contacts. When you're done, click OK to return to the main Thunderbird screen. The folders you added should then appear in the list.

10. You're done!

11. If you have any questions, please contact the IT Customer Service Center by phoning 864-8080 or sending a message to itcsc@ku.edu.