As many of you know, files over about 10mb in size shouldn’t be sent via email. They can clog the email server as well as slowing down your system if your email client (Outlook, Thunderbird, Mail) times out while downloading the file.

But what are you supposed to do when a client or vendor wants to send to you that 15mb pdf, graphics file or photo?

Well you’re supposed to FTP the file, but many of us feel intimidated by the prospect of FTPing. Although FTP (File Transfer Protocol) has been around as long as there has been an Internet, many of us are unfamiliar with how it works.

Plus you’d have to download and learn new software – FTP Client software.

Your OrangeCat Signature server has FTP built in and you can use the familiar Control Panel interface to upload and download files.

And we have put together a set of videos to show you exactly how to do it. Using the videos as a guideline, you can complete all the steps and be ready to upload and download your files in just a few minutes.

These are the first in a series of videos we are producing to show you how to get the most out of your OrangeCat server. Use the comment box at the bottom of this post to let us know if the videos were helpful – or what we might do to improve them.

So, the next time someone tries to email you a large file and some part of the email pipeline refuses to respond, you have an alternative. FTP does stand for File Transfer Protocol, emphasis on “File Transfer.”

Have a look at the videos today. I think these three videos have a total running time of around 10 minutes – it’s much easier to learn how to do something when somebody shows you.

The videos are available at:
http://OrangeCat.net/video/

Technorati Tags: email, Signature server, FTP, videos

Are you getting just a little too much spam in your email? I don’t know about you, but I have been averaging over 400 spam email messages per day in my email accounts. The filters trap most of them, but quite a few still have to be dealt with – and that is a waste of my time. So how does one begin to control the massive amounts of spam that arrive everyday?

Obviously, one of the best ways is to convince the spammers that the email address they are sending to is not a valid email address. And if you happen to be using Apple’s Mail.app on a Mac, the job is a little easier if you know about the Bounce command.

The Bounce command will send an email back to the sender with a message that make it appear that it came back from an invalid mailbox. If the spammer is actually using a valid email address themselves, they may filter it from further use by their spam generating program (their bulk mailer). Hey, every little bit helps.

To use the Bounce feature, you simply select the mail(s) you want to return and select Bounce from the Message menu – or simply type Shift-Command-B. You will then see this warning box:

Click OK and the email is bounced back to the sender. I typically select all (Command-A) in my junk mailbox as well and apply the Bounce command. I just started my Bounce program this past week so I don’t have any idea whether it is working, but any chance to lessen the spam load is welcome.

Do you think other email programs should include this type of feature? Let me know how you feel by commenting on this post. Use the comment form below.

Technorati Tags: spam, spam email, Apple, Mail.app