Reinforce the security of your LWS e-mail address in 3 steps

Procédure

Objective

This documentation presents the main solutions offered by LWS to strengthen the security of your e-mail address.

Depending on your needs, you can choose a single protection method or combine several. Each solution is designed for a different purpose: protecting access to webmail, preventing the use of the box in email software, or limiting connections to certain countries.

The purpose of this page is to help you understand the different options available so that you can choose the protection best suited to your situation.

About this documentation

This documentation is intended for users of a personalized LWS e-mail address managed from the LWS Panel, with possible access to Roundcube webmail depending on the method chosen.

This documentation involves two interfaces:

• the LWS Panel, to manage access restrictions and country limits;
• Roundcube webmail, to activate dual authentication.

This procedure does not detail :

• configuring Outlook, Thunderbird or a mail application on your phone ;
• securing your LWS customer area itself;
• recovering a lost phone after activating 2FA ;

Before choosing a security method

Not all protections meet the same needs. Before changing your settings, it is important to identify exactly what you want to protect.

For example

• if you want to protect your webmail connection, dual authentication is often the best solution;
• if you want to prevent your address being used in Outlook, Thunderbird or a mobile application, you can block certain access protocols;
• if you want to restrict connections to a specific geographical area, you can set up a country restriction.

Important

You are not obliged to activate all the protections.

You can :

• activate a single measure;
• activate several gradually;
• or adjust your security level over time according to your usage.

The different methods for securing your e-mail address

1. Activate double authentication (2FA) on webmail

Double authentication adds an additional check when connecting to your mailbox from Roundcube webmail. In addition to the password, a temporary code is requested to validate access.

When should you use this protection?

This solution is particularly useful if :

• you mainly use webmail;
• you want to strengthen security without blocking other access methods;
• you want to limit the risks associated with a compromised password.

Key points to remember

The 2FA protects mainly the webmail connection. It does not have the same role as a protocol block or a geographical restriction. It is often a good first measure to put in place if you want to improve security without making major changes to your practices.

Activate dual authentication (2FA) on your LWS mailbox

2. Block POP, IMAP and SMTP protocols

An e-mail address can be used from e-mail software such as Outlook or Thunderbird thanks to the POP, IMAP and SMTP protocols.

What is the purpose of this?

This protection makes it possible to limit or prevent the use of the mailbox in external software or applications. It is useful if you want better control over the access points to your email.

When should this protection be used?

This solution is suitable if :

• you prefer to use webmail;
• you no longer want the address to be configured in an e-mail program;
• you want to reduce the possibility of external access to your mailbox.

Points to note

Before activating this type of restriction, it is important to bear in mind that a protocol block may prevent certain legitimate uses, for example sending or retrieving emails from an application configured with this address. This method should therefore be chosen according to your actual habits.

Block the pop, imap, smtp protocol for my email address

3. Restrict access by country

LWS also offers a function for restricting access to e-mail addresses according to the country of connection. This protection is based on the geolocation of the IP address.

What does it do?

This measure allows you to authorise only certain countries and block connections from other geographical areas. It can be useful if you always check your e-mail from a limited number of countries.

When should this protection be used?

This solution may be suitable if :

• you work from one or more well-defined countries;
• you want to reduce the risk of attempts to connect from abroad;
• your usage is stable and predictable.

Points to bear in mind

This protection must be activated with caution. If you are travelling, if you are using a VPN or if the users concerned are connecting from several countries, an overly strict restriction may block legitimate access.

Restrict access to your LWS e-mail addresses to certain countries

Which method should you choose?

The right choice depends above all on your use.

You want protection that's easy to set up

Double authentication (2FA) is generally the easiest method for amateur users to understand. It strengthens the webmail connection without necessarily modifying the rest of your operation.

You want to avoid using external software

Blocking POP, IMAP and SMTP protocols is more suitable if your aim is to control precisely how the mailbox can be used.

You want to restrict connections to certain geographical areas

Limiting by country may be appropriate if your connections are made from clearly identified locations that are stable over time.

You want to further strengthen security

It is possible to combine several types of protection, but this is not compulsory. It's better to move forward gradually and choose only those measures that are really compatible with your day-to-day use.

Conclusion

LWS offers several solutions for strengthening the security of an e-mail address, but not all of them meet the same needs. Depending on your situation, you can choose to protect only webmail with double authentication, to limit certain modes of access to the mailbox, or to restrict connections to certain countries.

The key is to select a method that is consistent with your actual usage. You can start with a single security measure, then upgrade your configuration if necessary. For detailed implementation, please refer to the documentation dedicated to each function.