Introduction

Your account may have been blocked if it has been suspected of sending spam or multiple log-ins from different countries in a short period of time. The result is that you may not be able to log into your account, or you may receive a bounce back message that your address is not recognized as a valid sender. It also is important to determine how the block happened so that blocks can be avoided in the future.

Here are the steps that you can take to regain access. These steps assume you do not have antivirus software already running on your computer/device. Different types of email blocks require slightly different actions. If you are unsure, submit a ticket through Enterprise Service Centre (ESC) (http://uoft.me/esc).

Instructions

1. Determine how the account was blocked

• Was a mass email sent out intentionally?
• Was the UTORid password provided via a phishing email or entered into a web site which purported to be from the University of Toronto (U of T)?
• Was the UTORid password shared with anyone?
• Were public workstations used and/or open wireless networks?
• Is the UTORid password used for any other online accounts? (If so, you should presume that those accounts have become compromised, too.)
• Is free VPN software used, such as HolaVPN? If so, do research as to whether that service is truly secure and trustworthy.

If you answered "no" to the above questions, run an antivirus scan.

• Run a full antimalware scan on any computer used to access the UTmail+ account until no further threats are detected. It may need to be scanned multiple times. Use Malwarebytes (includes free versions for personal use on a Mac or PC).
  
  • See antivirus.utoronto.ca for UofT suggested free versions of antivirus software you can use.
• Send a screen print of the clean scan results to ESC (http://uoft.me/esc) and include the ticket number in the subject.

2. Reset password

• If your account is set up for password recovery, go to the UTORid account recovery page.
• If your account is not set up for password recovery, contact ESC (http://uoft.me/esc) and provide us with a North American cell phone number or alternate email address.
  
  • Or contact the Information Commons Help Desk (416-978-4357, help.desk@utoronto.ca) 

3. Further steps for account security

After resetting your password, log into UTmail+ via a web browser. Then perform the actions listed below.

• Sign out everywhere for Office 365:
  
  1. Click on your user icon in the top right corner of the screen and select View Account.
     
     
     
  2. At the bottom of the tile, with your name and email address, click Sign out everywhere, then click OK.
     
      
  3. You will be signed out of your account on all devices within an hour.
• Check the Deleted Items folder to see whether any legitimate messages may have been intentionally deleted.
• Check for any strange inbox rules which may have been added to your account. See our article about using inbox rules (KB0011468).
• Check for strange email addresses which may have been added to your blocked/safe senders list. See our article about adding email addresses to your safe senders list (KB0010745).
• Check the forwarding settings in UTmail+. See our article about forwarding email from UTmail+ (KB0011395).
• Check if there are no messages in the Outbox folder (a temporary holding folder for outgoing messages).
• Check from UTmail+ and any other email software used to access UTmail+.