Mail Server Hardware Upgrade Tonight

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:20:37 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/28/mail-server-hardware-upgrade-tonight.aspx Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:20:37 GMT newsitem28 Firehouse Solutions Customers:

This notice is to inform you that our mail server hardware will be upgraded tonight: Tuesday, March 20 at 0100 hours. The server's disk storage system will be replaced with a RAID setup capable of storing up to 5 Terabytes of data. There will be approximately 1 hour of downtime. Rest assured, all incoming and outgoing e-mail will be spooled and delivered once the upgrade process is complete.

Tomorrow, our team will set the e-mail disk space limit to 10 Gigabytes Per Domain. Now is a great time to access the web interface for SmarterMail and adjust the "Mailbox Size Limit" for the users of your domain. You can do this by logging into SmarterMail and selecting Settings > Domain Settings > Users. Click on each user to adjust the limits.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via Support@FirehouseSolutions.com or 301-475-1900.

Mail Server Security, Information, and Upgrades

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:36:10 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/27/mail-server-security-information-and-upgrades.aspx Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:36:10 GMT newsitem27 Killing the Spam

Over the past few months, our team received feedback from customers indicating that unwanted spam was clogging many user accounts. In a few cases, the spam was so intense that it caused accounts to become unusable. In response, we contacted SmarterTools and hired a mail server engineer to reevaluate the security settings on our server. The following mail server adjustments have been made across all domains:

Deactivate SpamAssassin Pattern Matching
Activate CommTouch Premium Antispam (Boosting spam protection to 99.5%)
Activate Greylisting as a method of defending against spam
Activate Barracuda Reputation Block List
Provide more memory for Bayesian Filtering
Adjust Weights and Filtering Accordingly

After the above changes were made, the engineer tested several accounts known to be heavily spammed. The new configuration has provided excellent results with a significant reduction in spam. Additionally, the engineer assisted us to set triggers and safeguards in place in the event spammers access user accounts within our mail server. We have decided to adopt this configuration and expect it to be a solid and reliable solution for our customers.

New E-mail Server Information Page

After receiving multiple requests to assist in setting up e-mail on computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices, our team has created a web page outlining the mail server settings. Feel free to visit our E-mail Server Information page which outlines the recommend settings to establish IMAP service.

SmarterMail 9 is Here

Finally, we will be upgrading the mail server software to the newest version, SmarterMail 9, on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 0200 hours. The upgrade will require a server restart and should only take approximately 10 minutes. SmarterMail 9 offers many exciting features, which include:

Improved Synchronization with Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail
Instant Messaging
Interface Enhancements for Mobile Devices
SMTP Authentication for Outgoing Messages
Outgoing Spam Quarantine
Outgoing Virus Quarantine
Administrative Enhancements

As always, our team strives to provide a fast, easy, and reliable electronic mail solution for our customers. Any feedback is appreciated.

Website Statistics Software Upgraded

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:37:00 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/26/website-statistics-software-upgraded.aspx Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:37:00 GMT newsitem26 Firehouse Solutions has recently upgraded our Statistics Server to the newest version, SmarterStats 7.0. This version of SmarterStats offers many new features which include:

Site Tuning Functionality
Interface Enhancements for Mobile Devices
Support for .ZIP and .GZ files
New Report Items
Better Browser Detection
Page Details View
Improved Bot Detection

Remember, administrators can access SmarterStats directly from the Members Area by logging in and selecting the "Website Statistics" button within the "Administration" menu. The screen will provide a 3 month snapshot and access to the SmarterStats interface.

Introducting Sign Up Sheets

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:44:10 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/25/introducting-sign-up-sheets.aspx Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:44:10 GMT newsitem25 Firehouse Solutions will be deploying our Sign Up Sheets feature in your Members Area on Tuesday, November 1, 2011. Sign Up Sheets support functions that requires member participation. They can be used for events, drills, bingo, duty nights, and much more. Each sign up sheet supports an unlimited number of groups, which is often used to specify apparatus, and slots (or positions).

Sign Up Sheets can be created by any member, however, they can be managed by a Sign Up Sheets Manager or Website Administrator. Sign Up Sheets also support attachments. An online tutorial is available on our YouTube Account here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM7SDhOmJk8&hd=1

The feature is accessible by members via: Members Area > Online Tools > Sign Up Sheets
The feature is accessible by administrators via: Members Area > Website Management > Sign Up Sheets Management

We hope you enjoy this new feature! If you have any comments, questions, or feedback, please contact us via Support@FirehouseSolutions.com.

Attaching Files to Announcements

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:44:53 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/24/attaching-files-to-announcements.aspx Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:44:53 GMT newsitem24 Users may now add attachments to announcements created in the Members Area. When creating an announcement, simply click Add Attachments > Add Files. Then select the files from your computer and press Upload. This particular feature is powered by Flash, which is installed on 99% of Internet-enabled computers. The upload tool allows users to select multiple files, remove files, and view upload progress bars.

Over the next few months, we plan to test and implement this same upload tool on the online calendar, forum, document library, meeting minutes, news, and photo galleries. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via Support@FirehouseSolutions.com.

SmarterTools Integration and Upgrades

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:44:41 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/23/smartertools-integration-and-upgrades.aspx Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:44:41 GMT newsitem23

Firehouse Solutions has recently upgraded SmarterStats to Version 6.3. The newest version has a redesigned interface, new reporting items, dual axis charting, and many more exciting features which allow administrators to view the most accurate and detailed statistics for your website.

Through an effort to integrate SmarterStats with your website, we have provided the following Website Statistics feature, which is available to administrators:

1. Log into the Members Area
2. Under the Administration Menu, Select Website Statistics
3. Click Access SmarterStats

Additionally, our team has been testing SmarterMail Version 8. We will be upgrading SmarterMail to Version 8.2.4212 at 2300 hours on Monday, August 1, 2011. The upgrade will take approximately 15 minutes. Since the upgrade process requires a restart, access to e-mail may be intermittent during this time.

SmarterMail 8 offers improved contact sharing, touch-and-go functionality, improved synchronization, improved message management, enhanced signature options, password retrieval, improved performance, and cleaner administration. If you have any questions about these upgrades, feel free to contact us via Support@FirehouseSolutions.com.

Members Area Upgrades

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:06:52 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/22/members-area-upgrades.aspx Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:06:52 GMT newsitem22 We hope that everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season! We have been working on several new features that will be implemented on Wednesday, January 5, 2011.

Mainly, we have redesigned the Members Area application and Online Members listing. The new application, seen on the Southern Maryland Volunteer Firemen's Association, is less complicated. It also allows our team to set custom fields for your organization, such as Station, Department ID, etc.

Additionally, administrators will now have the ability to delete members from the Members Area. You will no longer have to contact our team to complete this task. The online members listing is also slightly updated and allows you to click on an e-mail address, which will automatically launch your e-mail program to contact a member.

More updates will follow. Please contact us via Support@FirehouseSolutions.com if you have any questions.

SmarterMail 7 and Server Upgrades

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:47:25 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/21/smartermail-7-and-server-upgrades.aspx Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:47:25 GMT newsitem21 After a thorough test and review, our team will be performing an upgrade on the e-mail server on August 12, 2010 at 1:00 AM EST. We will be upgrading the mail server to SmarterMail 7. This process will not result in any loss of messages, preferences, or user settings, but it could slightly delay the flow of messages for a brief period while the install is taking place. A server restart is required during the installation process.

SmarterMail 7 offers dozens of new features to improve the user and administrator experience, including improved searching, synchronization center, redesigned webmail interface, file storage, follow-up flagging, linked tasks, and much more. Further information on SmarterMail 7 can be found at http://www.smartertools.com/smartermail/mail-server-software.aspx.

We're also happy to inform you that we've adjusted the Website Disk Space from 2 Gigabytes to 4 Gigabytes. We're also adjusting the E-mail Disk Space from 2 Gigabytes to 4 Gigabytes. These allocations are established per customer (not per user).

We hope you enjoy the new upgrade. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

Password Requirements

Thu, 27 May 2010 17:01:51 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/20/password-requirements.aspx Thu, 27 May 2010 17:01:51 GMT newsitem20 As some customers are aware, our mail server recently became compromised and was used as a relay for spammers. This vulnerability was discovered to be a result of insufficient password requirements, which allowed the alleged spammer to access accounts using simple passwords.

Beginning July 1, 2010, Firehouse Solutions will be adopting the following password requirements for the Mail Server and Members Area:

Must be at least 6 characters
Require a number
Require a capital letter
Require a lower case letter
Cannot match username

The guidelines have been heavily researched by our team and are common practice among many secure websites throughout the Internet. We encourage you to send this announcement to your users and ask them to update their passwords within SmarterMail and the Members Area. After July 1, 2010 the servers will "force" users that do not meet the password requirements to update their password upon login.

The primary objective of this change is to ensure a safe and secure online environment for all users. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us via Support@FirehouseSolutions.com.

Introducing News Toolbar and More

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:47:50 GMT

http://support.firehousesolutions.com/News/19/introducing-news-toolbar-and-more.aspx Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:47:50 GMT newsitem19

Firehouse Solutions has developed and tested a News Toolbar to be deployed on your website. This is a notification that on Thursday, April 8, 2010, our team will deploy the feature to our customers.

The news toolbar will allow website visitors to easily share and interact with your news stories. More specifically, visitors will be able to e-mail the story to a friend, print the story, export to PDF (portable document format), subscribe to an RSS feed, map the incident location, and post to Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, or any other social network.

Additionally, we have made adjustments to the web browser title bar so that the news title will appear depending on which story the visitor is viewing. This promotes more organized bookmarking and helps with search engine placement.

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