Email Errors

[Andy_N]

---

@Rainsbergerwrote:

Hi Guys

This morning my problem with not receiving my BT Mail with my Qutlook Express Client has be solved and today i received the days emails as usual again on my Windows XP desktop, although i have been told that this could only be temporary because BT have tweeked there servers so that i can receive my emails from BT, as i expected it was a problem with BT servers and security in the first place and of course i am using an outdated operating system, should it happen again i will finish using Outlook Express and just use my Email accounts web pages. Would like to thank the guy on BT for all his help in getting my emails back again all be it temporary many thanks. This topic can now be marked as Solved.

---

Hi, thanks for the feedback.

Were you actually told by someone in BT that they did something? They may have just kick started your account, rather than a generic security "fix".

I'd suggest not only using webmail. People have lost all their emails, so a backup routine is necessary. So do use a mail client (e.g. Thunderbird). It's easy to backup the TB profile folder (which is what I do) and store it onto external drives.

[PaddyB]

Hi @Andy_N,

As part of some server upgrades we disabled some old ciphers typically used by very old operating systems within transport-level security (TLS), this cipher is typically associated with older versions of TLS (v1. 0). We have now re-enabled this cipher and whilst this will allow those customers using old operating system/client combinations to work, these ciphers are not considered strong enough to protect communications and are recommended against by the security standards defined by the IETF.

We strongly recommend customers upgrade to the latest versions of software supporting TLS version 1.2 to ensure the security of their connections and email communication. Our intention remains to remove support for these old ciphers but we want to provide customers with additional information, guidance and time before we do this.

Thanks

PaddyB

[licquorice]

Well done @PaddyB  for actually managing to prise some real information from the email team. That new baseball bat must have worked!! 😀

[Fear]

[Andy_N]

---

@PaddyBwrote:

Hi @Andy_N,

As part of some server upgrades we disabled some old ciphers typically used by very old operating systems within transport-level security (TLS), this cipher is typically associated with older versions of TLS (v1. 0). We have now re-enabled this cipher and whilst this will allow those customers using old operating system/client combinations to work, these ciphers are not considered strong enough to protect communications and are recommended against by the security standards defined by the IETF.

We strongly recommend customers upgrade to the latest versions of software supporting TLS version 1.2 to ensure the security of their connections and email communication. Our intention remains to remove support for these old ciphers but we want to provide customers with additional information, guidance and time before we do this.

Thanks

PaddyB

---

Thanks very much, this is great feedback.

Of course, how will those affected customers actually know if they are not told about it? Granted there may not be many, but there could be a few 1000 ...

[gg30340]

It was made clear by Microsoft that support for Windows XP and Outlook Express has stopped and that these systems would become more and more less secure and that users should upgrade to a more modern/secure system. Microsoft even made the upgrade to Windows 10 free in order to facilitate this.

If the manufacturer of these systems no longer supplies support for them why would any user still using them expect any other manufacturer/suppler to support the outdated software.

[Andy_N]

---

@gg30340wrote:

It was made clear by Microsoft that support for Windows XP and Outlook Express has stopped and that these systems would become more and more less secure and that users should upgrade to a more modern/secure system. Microsoft even made the upgrade to Windows 10 free in order to facilitate this.

If the manufacturer of these systems no longer supplies support for them why would any user still using them expect any other manufacturer/suppler to support the outdated software.

---

Oh I agree completely 🙂

(Though the Win 10 upgrade was not free for XP or Vista users).

There are reasons people still use outdated software - possibly cost, possibly "I know what I like" etc, and they will naturally have to take the risks. I personally would not want to do that.

[gg30340]

The W10 upgrade was free for XP and Vista owners. It did however require a fresh install rather then being installed over the operating system in the way it was with W7 and W8.

In fact you can still install W10 for free if you already have a Windows operating system on your system.

EDIT:

I used this a couple of months back to change a couple of W7 laptops to W10 and had no issues. They have both recently updated to W10 version 1903 again without problem.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-you-can-still-get-a-free-windows-10-upgrade/

[gg30340]

I stand corrected about the XP & Vista to W10 being free. I forgot that the two PC's that I upgraded had been "upgraded" by the owners to W7 so it was in fact a W7 upgrade to W10 and not XP & Vista upgrades.