4.4.4 Modifying the System Management Alias Accounts

Most mail systems (including Unoverica Message Transport) provide a "postmaster" account that is responsible for maintaining the general health and well-being of the mail system. Users of remote mail systems may send mail to the "postmaster" account, expecting assistance in locating a user's e-mail address, or reporting problems with your mail system.

Rather than create and maintain a "postmaster" user account on your system, it is better to create a "postmaster" alias that redirects incoming mail to your network administrator(s).

There are likely to be many other administrative accounts on your network. The list in Figure 4.39 contains the most common administrative accounts, all of which should be created as aliases, with alias recipients pointing to your network administrator's mailbox(es):

Figure 4.39 *Common administrative accounts that need aliases.*
Alias	Description
postmaster	The default administrative account for Unoverica Message Transport and other SENDMAIL-based mail products.
mailer-daemon	The account that Unoverica Message Transport system errors are generated by. Novice users may attempt to reply to mail sent by this account.
webmaster	The default administrative account used by most HTTP servers.
supervisor	The NetWare 3.x system management account. Accessing supervisor's mail using the POP3 protocol represents a security risk and should be avoided.
admin	The NetWare 4.x system management account. Accessing admin's mail using the POP3 protocol represents a security risk and should be avoided.
root	The standard UNIX system management account. Accessing root's mail using the POP3 protocol represents a security risk and should be avoided.
administrator	The standard Windows NT system management account. Accessing administrator's mail using the POP3 protocol represents a security risk and should be avoided.

For instructions on how to create these alias accounts, refer to section 4.4 Managing Alias Accounts.

In addition to the accounts listed in Figure 4.39, many network applications also provide their own user accounts. For example, Cheyenne's ARCserve has it's own system account, as do many other network products. These accounts should not be active, and should be aliased to a network administrator in case a user attempts to send mail to one of those accounts. For instructions on how to disable these accounts, refer to section 4.3.3 Disabling a User.

STEP: To continue the configuration process, go to section 4.5 Exporting and Importing User Accounts. To configure Unoverica Message Transport's mail routing services, allowing mail to be sent and received to a domain, or to configure Unoverica Message Transport to work with a firewall, go to Chapter 5: Configuring Mail Routing.

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