While using webmail may be incredibly convenient, you’re also at the mercy of another company’s server and privacy policies. With
the way that people are connected online today it’s almost impossible to go back to the mail client system of old, even if security and privacy are far superior to Gmail.
But there is another solution that satisfi es both requirements; by hosting your very own webmail server you can have both the convenience of worldwide access while having
the privacy of a desktop mail client. By using Rainloop, you can quickly and easily set up your own webmail server with your own custom settings and email addresses.
You will need a server or always-on PC in order to host your webmail, otherwise it will only work when your computer is actually on. Be aware that it may also increase your bandwidth usage on a monthly basis, so don’t send huge fi les over it unless you need to. Interested? Let's get going.
A traditional mail client layout exists in Rainloop that connects with the folders and emails of your server
Customise your experience with different folders, extra accounts and even social network login support
Open and favourite emails are remembered between sessions so your unread accounts are accurate wherever you log in
The preview can be made fullscreen in the same window, instead of opening a different page or tab – this reduces server load
Resources
Rainloop
http://rainloop.net/downloads01
Server readyBefore we even begin to look at Rainloop in depth, we need to make sure the system hosting it is server ready. Install the following packages from the terminal:
$ sudo apt-get install apache2 php5 php5-mysql libmysqlclient15-dev mysql- server poppassd
Some or most of these packages may already be installed, but it’s worth checking.
02
Set up directoriesWe’ll need specifi c directories created to get Rainloop to work. You can do this in a fi le manager, but it works in the command line like so:
$ sudo mkdir /var/www/webmail
Move to the directory for the next step, as this is where all our Rainloop fi les will live.
04
Elevate permissionsOpen the terminal if it’s not already and use cd to move to /var/www/webmail. Run the following two commands to elevate the permissions of the necessary fi les:
sudo find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \; sudo find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
05
Final permissionsFinish off making sure all the permissions are set by running:
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/ www/webmail
Rainloop is now just about ready to go, and most of the rest of the setup will occur within the interface itself.
06
Access RainloopNow what we have to do is log into Rainloop from a browser; you do this either through the IP of the server or its web domain if you know it. If you’re accessing it on a local
01
Server ready07
Log inThe username and password for this default version of Rainloop is ‘admin’ and 12345 respectively. Log in to access the interface; our fi rst task is to then change the default password. Create a secure password using standard password etiquette, as the URL is quite common.
03
Download RainloopNow it’s time to get Rainloop. If you have a graphical interface, download the latest version of Rainloop from the website and unzip it.
08
Add domainsIn the Admin Panel, fi nd domains and then add a domain. Here you can add your own personal email or work domains and use the IP or server address in either or both of the IMAP and SMTP fi elds. You don’t need to add Gmail or a handful of other web services, as they’re already listed.
Otherwise, use wget to download it:
$ wget http://repository.rainloop.net/v1/ rainloop-[current version].zip
And then unzip it to proceed.
machine, use 127.0.0.1. Enter the following into your address bar:
http://[IP address or domain]/ webmail/?admin
09
Domain portsMake sure the ports are correct on the server addresses: for a local server, the default ports should be fi ne. Also, make sure that ‘Use short login form’ is checked, name the server as the @ address of your email (eg example.com) and then click Add to save it to the list.
10
Contacts databaseTo support contacts, we need to add a MySQL database. Open up the terminal again and type in:
$ sudo mysql -u root -p
Enter your password and you’ll be dropped into the MySQL shell to create the database.
11
Create the databaseTo create our contacts database, enter the following command:
create database rainloop;
This, as you might have guessed, simply creates the database named rainloop. To confi rm the operation and quit out of the MySQL shell use:
exit;
12
Enable ContactsBack in the admin panel on Rainloop, go to the Contacts tab and check the Enable Contacts box. Below that, change the type of the database to MySQL. You’ll then also need to add the username and password for the MySQL server.
13
Password changing plug-in You’ll need to add a specifi c password change plug-in to be able to change any passwords on a Linux mail-server. To do this, open up the terminal and fi rst install the plug-in to your system with:$ sudo apt-get install poppassd
14
Activate password plug-inNow you need to add the plug-in on the admin panel of Rainloop. Go to the packages tab and fi nd the plug-in on the list; activate it by clicking the arrow next to release date.
15
Log in to your emailTo log in to your webmail, go to the webmail address for your server:
http://[IP or domain]/webmail
And use your normal login details for the mail
16
Add a signatureClick on the gear symbol at the bottom to access the Settings. From here you can create an identity, each with an individual signature. This is useful for if you’re using multiple accounts, or if multiple people using the same email.
15
Log in to your emailaddress you’ve added to the server. It will log you in and work just like any email client, with a column of emails on the left and a preview pane located on the right. You can then expand the emails to take up fullscreen.
Rainloop will remember which emails you have read and connect to drafts and sent folders whenever you log in.