Traveler's Mail continues to have a place on the Cornell campus, but a change awaits the many people who prefer this no-frills e-mail service. Beginning Oct. 5, to use Traveler's Mail through any on-campus connection, you'll need SideCar and Kerberos, the security software used at Cornell and delivered with Bear Access (it can also be downloaded separately).
One reason why this pre-mouse, command-driven, screen-by-screen, utterly basic e-mail service has remained so popular is that, until now, it let you access your e-mail from anywhere, with nothing more than telnet software and an Internet connection.
But simplicity was also its weakness. Traveler's Mail had no way to protect Network ID passwords, which are the key to much personal, confidential and sensitive data. Passwords may also open the door to servers and other components of Cornell's networks.
Unfortunately, the university's networks are constantly probed and prodded by unscrupulous hackers looking for ways to break in and wreak havoc here or elsewhere. Cornell's best defense is to make its networks as impermeable as possible, and that means protecting passwords wherever possible.
Traveler's Mail has been one of the few Cornell services that could send passwords exactly as they were typed. Such "clear-text" passwords are easy for hackers to grab. Last January, Traveler's Mail was hacked and passwords were possibly stolen.
For the security of the university's networks, Cornell Information Technologies couldn't allow Traveler's Mail to remain as it was. Requiring SideCar and Kerberos for on-campus use helps protect the networks by encrypting (scrambling) passwords.
Off campus, Traveler's Mail can still be used without SideCar and Kerberos. This provision enables community members to access their e-mail while traveling without having to install special Cornell software. If you have the choice, though, use SideCar and Kerberos for added security.
In Bear Access 99, Traveler's Mail is in the Updates & Extras folder. (This folder is not available in campus computer labs.) For more information see www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/email/tmail.html.
Traveler's Mail is one of three ways to access your e-mail at Cornell. The others are Eudora and WebEmail. Eudora is the recommended method because it lets you store e-mail messages, it's easy to use and it has timesaving and organizational features.
WebEmail uses Netscape or Internet Explorer to display your e-mail. Both WebEmail and Traveler's Mail can be convenient when you're using someone else's computer because they won't download your messages to that computer. Instead, your messages are temporarily stored on a central Cornell computer, so you can use Eudora later to get the same messages you saw in Traveler's Mail or WebEmail.
Find out more about these services, at www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/email/.
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