Computer Support FAQ

Accessing the campus wireless network.
Am I eligible to get a user account?
How can I get a user account?
How long will my account last?
How do I configure my e-mail client software?
How do I subscribe to IMAP folders?
How do I create IMAP subfolders in Thunderbird?
How do I delete an IMAP mail folder in Thunderbird?
Compacting folders in Thunderbird.
Importing Eudora mailboxes into other Email clients.
Can I access my e-mail from the web?
How can I change my email password?
How do I setup a vacation auto-reply?
How do I disable my vacation auto-reply?
How do I setup email forwarding?
How do I change my Spam settings?
Who do I e-mail if I need help?
How do I get my computer connected to the network?
How do I set up a web page for my account?
I accidentally deleted an important file, how do I get it back?
Can I use ftp to transfer files?
What software is supported on my account?



Accessing the campus wireless network.

The campus wireless network is available in Harold Frank Hall and the Engineering Sciences Building as well as several other locations on campus. 

Login Process

You may login using your UCSBnetID.  Users with a UMail accounts can use their existing account name (excluding the @umail.ucsb.edu part) and password.  If your UMail account does not work, please change your UMail password and try again.

Visitors can acquire a UCSBnetID by visiting the Account Management page.

To login to the wireless network, follow these steps:

  1. Join the essid "UCSB Wireless Web" network.
  2. Open your web browser, and visit any page. The network will redirect you to a login page for authentication.
  3. Enter your UCSBNetID login and password.
  4. You will now be able to browse the internet.
Conditions of Use

The campus wireless network is for authorized users only.  Use of university resources must be in accordance with University policies and applicable law.  Sharing of login names is prohibited.  Users are solely responsible for any activity that occurs as a result of their login.  Access to port 25 (SMTP) is blocked due to spam issues, please use web-based email or submission-based (port 587) for email delivery instead of port 25.

Additional information

If you've forgotten your UCSBNetID login information, you can visit the Account Management page to recover or reset your password. 

Am I eligible to get a user account?

You are eligible for an account if you are staff or faculty, a researcher, or a graduate student.
Undergraduates are not eligible for accounts on the ECE mail server. However, undergraduates can
get accounts on the ECI mail server. This can be done by bringing a picture ID to Engineering I,
Room 3110 and filling out an account request form.

How can I get a user account?

You may apply for an account here.

How long will my account last?

Your account will last as long as you are currently employed or enrolled at UCSB.

How do I configure my e-mail client software?

You can find instructions here for Eudora, Outlook, and Thunderbird. Settings for other e-mail client software will be similar.

How do I subscribe to IMAP folders?

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Thunderbird?

Open Thunderbird, select File --> Subscribe. Click on the dot which then becomes a check mark. Click on the Subscribe button. Click OK.

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Entourage?

Open Entourage and select your account in the left margin to view its available IMAP folders. On the toolbar, click on the Update List button. From the View menu, make sure there is no check mark next to Subscribed Only. If there is, click on it once to uncheck it. Your full list of folders should be displayed.

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Eudora for Mac OS X?

From Eudora’s Window menu, select Mailboxes. Click the right-pointing triangle to the left of Dominant (or another account if you have more than one) to reveal the available IMAP folders. Now, click on thefar right icon at the bottom of the mailbox list and select, Refresh Mailbox List from the menu. The updated list of IMAP folders should now be displayed.

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Eudora for Windows?

First, make sure that Eudora is showing you your IMAP mailbox list by going toTools > Mailboxes. A list of mailboxes should appear in the left margin of the Eudora window. Now, right click on the heading of Dominant (or any other IMAP account heading) and select Refresh Mailbox List from the contextual menu. The mailbox list will be updated to show any additional folders that were created outside of the Eudora email program.

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Mac OS X Mail Client?

Go to Mail > Preferences and select Accounts. Highlight your email account and click the Advanced tab. Place a check next to the option to Automatically synchronize changed mailboxes. Close the Preferences and save the changes when prompted. Now, quit Mail and relaunch it. If your mailbox list is not showing, go to the View menu and select Show Mailboxes and click on the right-pointing triangle to the left of your account heading to reveal your IMAP folders.

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Netscape 7.x?

Open the File menu and choose Subscribe. You see the Subscribe dialog box. If necessary, click the Account drop-down list to choose your ECE IMAP email account. Select the folder that you want to subscribe to. Click the Subscribe button. You see a checkmark next to each folder to which you subscribe. Click OK. The list of your subscribed folders appears in the Mail window.

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Outlook?

With Outlook open, click Tools then IMAP Folders. Click the Query button. Select the folder you would like to subscribe to and click the subscribe button. Click OK. The list of your subscribed folders appears in the Mail window

How Do I Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Outlook Express?

With Outlook Express open, click Tools then IMAP Folders. Select the folder you would like to subscribe to and click the show button. Click OK. The list of your subscribed folders appears in the Mail window

How do I create IMAP subfolders in Thunderbird?

Subfolders (nested folders) allow you to organize your mailboxes in multiple levels of folders. This can be helpful in sorting and managing large numbers of mailboxes.
When you use the New Folder command in Thunderbird, by default it creates an actual mailbox within your IMAP folder or your Local Folders. You cannot add a subfolder to a mailbox.
To nest folders within your IMAP directory on the server, right-click on the IMAP account name (username@ece.ucsb.edu) and select New Folder. To create a master (top-level) folder, enter the name of the new folder followed immediately by a forward slash (/) and create it as a subfolder of username@ece.ucsb.edu. The new mail folder's name will appear in italics.
You can then create mailboxes or additional folders within this new folder by right clicking on the folder and following the procedure above.
For example: if you wanted to create a master folder called Projects and then a subfolder (mailbox) called Signal Processing beneath it, you would:
* First, create a New Folder in username@ece.ucsb.edu called Projects/
* Next, right-click on the new Projects folder in username@ece.ucsb.edu and select New Subfolder. Enter Signal Processing.
Note: You can create a folder that can contains subfolders or messages but not both.

How do I delete an IMAP mail folder in Thunderbird?

When you try to delete an IMAP mail folder in Thunderbird you may receive an error message similar to this: "The current command did not succeed. The mail server responded: Can't create mailbox node /home/user/Trash/: File Exists."
To correct this, do the following:
From the File menu choose Subscribe.
In the Subscribe window, find the Trash folder and unsubscribe.
You should now be able to delete the mail folder. Deleted mail will still be transferred to the Trash until it is emptied.
If this solution does not work, try the following:
From the Tools menu choose Account Settings.
In the Account Settings window select Server settings.
Find the setting "When I delete a message:" and change it to "Remove it immediately".
You should now be able to delete the mail folder, however, be aware that any mail that you delete will be erased immediately and will not be recoverable from the Trash folder. If this is not desired, you should change the "When I delete a message" setting back to "Move it to the Trash folder" when you are through deleting the mail folder.

Compacting Folders in Thunderbird.

Please view this knowledgebase article for more information on compacting folders in Thunderbird. Please note that until you compact your folders, messages marked for deletion are not actually deleted, and your mailbox can grow quite large.

Importing Eudora mailboxes into other Email clients.

Use the following steps to import locally stored Eudora mailboxes into Thunderbird, Apple Mail, or Outlook:

-----------------
Thunderbird:
Select Tools/Import
Select "Mail"
Select "Eudora"
(On Mac OS, Browse to the Eudora mail folder that you want to import, usually located in your home directory/Documents/Eudora Folder/Mail Folder.)
-----------------
Apple Mail:
Select File/Import Mailboxes...
Select "Eudora"
-----------------
Outlook:
See this article:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA011391911033.aspx
-----------------

Can I access my e-mail from the web?

You may access your e-mail from the web by going to https://mail.ece.ucsb.edu/webmail

How can I change my email password?

Open a Web browser and type in the address https://mail.ece.ucsb.edu:20000/changepass/.  Login using your current login name and password.
You can now change your password.  Don't forget to "Log Out" when you're finished.

How do I setup a vacation auto-reply?

Login to ECE department Web mail https://mail.ece.ucsb.edu/webmail
Click on Options
Click on Vacation Message
Check the box "Send auto reply to sender?"
Fill in Vacation subject
Fill in Vacation message
Click the Submit button

How do I disable my vacation auto-reply?

Login to ECE department Web mail https://mail.ece.ucsb.edu/webmail
Click on Options
Click on Vacation Message
Uncheck the box "Send auto reply to sender?"
Click the Submit button

How do I setup email forwarding?

Login to ECE department Web mail https://mail.ece.ucsb.edu/webmail
Click on Options
Click on Vacation Message
Check the box "Forward incoming messages to addresses listed below?"
Check the box "No local delivery; forward and/or auto-reply only."
Fill in Forwarding email addresses

How do I change my Spam settings?

Open a Web browser and type in the address https://mail.ece.ucsb.edu:20000/spam/.
Login using your email login name and password.
Change desired settings.
Don't forget to "Log Out" when you're finished.

Who do I e-mail if I need help?

You can e-mail computer support at this address: help@ece.ucsb.edu

Note! Because of excessive Spam, the help address only accepts email from .ucsb.edu addresses.

How do I get my computer hooked up to the network?

Go to http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/its/netconnect.html

How do I set up a web page for my account?

First fill out the ECE Web Page Account form located at
http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/its/aup.php
login into the web server via ssh.
Then type "mkdir public_html"
Then type "chmod 755 public_html"
Then place any files you wish viewable to the net inside that directory.
You must have an index.html or default.html in order to view the contents of your home directory.

I accidentally deleted an important file, how do I get it back?

Send an e-mail to help@ece.ucsb.edu requesting that the
lost file or directory be recovered. We will need the following information:
Name of file or directory
Date the file or directory was deleted

Can I use ftp to transfer files?

WinSCP is a freeware SCP (Secure CoPy) client for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/ME using SSH (Secure SHell).
Its main function is safe copying of files between a local and a remote computer.

Putty for windows, is available for those who prefer command line.

Cyberduck for OS X is an open source FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser licenced under the GPL
with an easy to use interface, integration with external editors and support for many Mac OS X system
technologies such as Spotlight, Bonjour, the Keychain and AppleScript.

MacSFTP is for Mac OS 8.1 or higher, including OS X,
This program is shareware and gives you a 15 day period to try it out. In order to keep using it a small fee is required.
An education discount is available using the matrix below (note: price changes may occur)
Here's the edu price matrix:
$100 for the 10 first users
$5/user up to 100 (after the 10 first)

Transmit 2 for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. Shareware, $24.95. Includes SFTP support.

Gideon for Mac OS X v10.2 or higher for the current release v1.3.
A small fee may be required for this share software. The unregistered version will run indefinitely.

We prefer that you use a secure file transfer client instead of ftp.
For Unix-based (Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X) operating systems simply enter "sftp hostname.domain.name" at the terminal.

From Macromedia's website - Macromedia Dreamweaver's FTP client
The Dreamweaver FTP client transfers files using the FTP protocol.
Although Dreamweaver does not provide options for secure encryption,
third-party software can be used to provide additional security.

What software is available for me to use?

A list of software supported can be found here.