MailRoute's team built the first cloud-based email filtering company, which we sold to Microsoft in 2005. Then we built MailRoute, an improved version of the original. After nearly 20 years in this industry, we offer comprehensive email protection based on what we consider to be best practices, including using TLS to encrypt mail both between servers and for email client connections.
We are HIPAA and ITAR compliant, and sign BAA's with our many customers who are in the healthcare industry.
What is "TLS"?
TLS stands for "Transport Layer Security". It's a way of encrypting data over the internet to provide for secure end-to-end communications. If you really want to get into the details, check out Wikipedia's article on TLS.
How is TLS used in email?
TLS provides certificate-based authentication and encryption in two important ways:
- Server-to-Server (SMTP): When email servers communicate with each other to transfer messages, TLS encrypts the connection between them. This prevents eavesdropping and tampering during mail delivery.
- Client-to-Server (IMAP/POP3/SMTP): When you check or send email using a mail client (like Outlook or Apple Mail), TLS encrypts the connection between your email client and our servers. This ensures your login credentials and email contents remain private.
How does MailRoute support TLS?
For Server-to-Server Communication:
MailRoute uses "opportunistic" TLS. This means that we advertise that we support it, and we turn it on whenever an email server we are talking to advertises its availability as well. When a sending mailserver connects to us, we exchange encryption keys and switch to a secure form of communication. Similarly, when we connect to an outside mailserver to relay an outbound message, we look for TLS support and use it when available.
For Email Clients:
Our Hosted Email service requires TLS for all client connections. This ensures that your username, password, and email data are always encrypted when:
- Receiving mail through IMAP or POP3
- Sending mail through SMTP
- Accessing webmail through HTTPS
Do I need to do something to support TLS?
For Server-to-Server Communication:
If you're using your own email server, you'll need to acquire the appropriate certificates, install them, and configure TLS. How you do this depends on your email server. Here are some links to help you configure it:
For Email Clients:
If you're using MailRoute's Hosted Email service, most modern email clients will automatically configure TLS. You'll just need to ensure you're using:
- IMAP/POP3 with TLS (usually port 993 for IMAP or 995 for POP3)
- SMTP with TLS (usually port 587)
- Your email client's built-in security settings enabled
The end result is secure, encrypted email communication at every step - whether between email servers or between your email client and our servers.
Start a free 30-day trial today.
Contact sales@mailroute.net or support@mailroute.net for more information.
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