Set up Thunderbird

Setting up email

When you start Thunderbird for the first time, type:

• Your full name
• Your e-mail address in the form brukernavn@uio.no
• Your UiO password

Then click on Configure manually.

• The protocol for getting email is IMAP.
• Hostname is imap.uio.no with port 143.
• Connection security is STARTTLS.
• Authentication method must be set to Normal password.
• Enter your username in the Username field.

To be able to send e-mail, you must specify an outgoing e-mail server.

• Enter smtp.uio.no in hostname, with port 587.
• STARTTLS as Connection Security.
• Authentication method is Normal password.
• Enter your username in the Username field.

Press the Re-test button to test the setup and finish with Done.

Settings for using Thunderbird with Windows outside of UiO

Thunderbird (and the IMAP protocol) does not support two-factor authentication, and can therefore only be used on UiO's wired network. If you want to use Thunderbird outside UiO, a proxy must be used. This part of the guide shows how to set this up.

1. Go to Settings in Thunderbird again and select General. Navigate down to Network & Disk Space.
2. Click on Settings... to Configure how Thunderbird connects to the Internet.
3. Select Manual proxy configuration and enter localhost in the Socks host field. Port is set to 10143. Then select SOCKS v5. Finish with OK.

Restart Thunderbird. The program will not be able to download new mail or send mail until you have set up and opened an SSH tunnel in PuTTY (Windows):

1. Start the PuTTY program
2. Create new connection.
3. Write login.uio.no (for two-factor authentication from Azure AD / MS365, e.g. with the Microsoft Authenticator app) or rlogin.uio.no if you are using a TOTP client set up through password.uio.no (users who do not have a Microsoft 365 license, such as alumni users, must use rlogin). Connection type is set to SSH. Note! It can take up to 20 minutes from the time the 2FA setup is activated on passord.uio.no until it is synchronized to rlogin.
4. Go to Tunnels for this connection. First select Dynamic and Auto. Enter 10143 as Source port and click Add.
5. Enter login-proxy or rlogin-proxy in the Saved session field. And click Save. You have now saved the setup for easier access.
6. Click Open to activate the SSH proxy setup.

When the SSH proxy setup is activated, two-factor authentication is required on the phone. If using the Microsoft Authenticator app, you should Approve the message below.

If using a different app, input the code shown in the app.

You need to start PuTTY with the proxy setup every time you start Thunderbird outside of UiO, and note that you are also prompted for two-factor authentication every time Thunderbird is started (and not every 30 days as usual).

Settings for using Thunderbird with Mac and Linux outside of UiO

Thunderbird (and the IMAP protocol) does not support two-factor authentication, and can therefore only be used on UiO's wired network. If you want to use Thunderbird outside UiO, a proxy must be used. This part of the guide shows how to set this up.

1. Go to Settings in Thunderbird again and select General. Navigate down to Network & Disk Space.
2. Click on Settings... to Configure how Thunderbird connects to the Internet.
3. Select Manual proxy configuration and enter localhost in the Socks host field. Port is set to 10143. Then select SOCKS v5. Finish with OK.

Restart Thunderbird. The program will not be able to download new emails or send emails until you type the following command in Terminal (macOS and Linux) for two-factor authentication using Azure AD / MS 365:

ssh -N -D 10143 username@login.uio.no

On macOS using a TOTP (like Google Authenticator) it looks like this:

If using the Microsoft Authenticator app it will send a push notification for you to Approve the login on your phone:

If you use a TOTP client set up through password.uio.no, write this command as well:

ssh -N -D 10143 username@rlogin.uio.no

The SSH command must be rlogin.uio.no for users who do not have a Microsoft 365 license (eg alumni) as well. Note! It can take up to 20 minutes from the time the 2FA setup is activated on passord.uio.no until it is synchronized to rlogin.

These commands must be run every time you start Thunderbird.

Note that you will be prompted for two-factor authentication every time you start Thunderbird (and not every 30 days).

Add signature to outgoing email

• Click Add a signature in the Account Setup window.
• Enter the desired signature in the Signature text field.
• Close the window to save the outgoing email signature.