Problem description
You received an unusual logon notification for your mailbox.
Cause
When you log on to Alibaba Mail, the system compares your current IP address with your frequently used IP addresses.
If your current IP address is new, Alibaba Mail identifies it as an unfamiliar IP address and sends an unusual logon notification.
The system dynamically identifies unfamiliar IP addresses based on your logon history.
If you use the same IP address multiple times, it will no longer be considered unfamiliar.
Solution
After you receive an unusual logon notification from Alibaba Mail, first, confirm the logon information in the notification.
Confirm whether the logon information is unusual
1. Check the following information about the logon:
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Check if the logon was performed by another user of the mailbox.
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Check if the IP address belongs to one of your mobile devices, such as a phone or an iPad.
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If the logon location is outside your country, confirm whether you used a VPN or proxy service.
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If this logon is from an Alibaba address, check if you have enabled the inquiry service on Alibaba.com.
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Have you attached your Alibaba Mail account to another mail system that uses the IP address specified in the notification, and configured it to retrieve emails?
2. After you verify the logon information, take the appropriate action:
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If you did not perform this logon, you must harden the security of your account.
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If you performed this logon, you can ignore the notification. To disable unusual logon notifications, see Disable unusual logon notification emails.
Disabling unusual logon notifications poses a security risk. Proceed with caution.
Harden security for a confirmed unusual logon
If you confirm that you did not perform the logon, your account may be compromised. Change your password immediately.
1. Create a complex password that follows the Alibaba Mail password policy. Do not use your account name in the password. Avoid sequential letters and numbers.
The new password must meet the following format requirements or the reset will fail.
Password requirements: 9–64 characters, combining at least three of: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. The password must also pass the backend password strength check.
2. Configure a blacklist for your mailbox by following these steps:
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On the mailbox page, click the settings icon in the upper-right corner to go to the domain management page.
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On the domain management page, the mailbox administrator can click Security Management > IP Logon Restrictions to restrict logons from a specific IP address or IP address segment. You can also add specific mailbox accounts to a whitelist.
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After you configure IP logon permissions, users can only log on to the mailbox or client from the specified IP addresses.
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All accounts, including accounts in the global whitelist, cannot log on from a blacklisted IP address.
3. The mailbox administrator can enable multi-factor authentication in domain management.
Follow these best practices for future mailbox use:
1. Change your password regularly. Avoid reusing old passwords.
2. Keep your account and password confidential.
3. Do not use your Alibaba Mail account on public, untrusted, or low-security websites to prevent malicious use of your account.
4. Regularly scan the computer that you use to send and receive emails for viruses.
5. When you use an email client to send and receive mail, use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. The default SSL ports for each mail service are as follows:
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SMTP: 465
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POP3: 995
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IMAP: 993
Applies to
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Alibaba Mail