| Outgoing
Mail Relay and SMTP Authentication |
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SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) is used for the
transmission of e-mail on the Internet. A majority of Web
Hosting Service Providers (like Acme) are discontinuing the
practice of providing unrestricted outgoing SMTP -- largely due
to nearly impossible access control, and thus its high
vulnerability to spam, abuse and denial of service
attacks. However, SMTP service can be provided to
authorized users via authentication. This means that the
SMTP mail server 'knows' who you are, either because you are
within the same network as the mail server, or you have provided
a username and password to use it. As a fundamental
Internet service, this is something that is already provided to
you by your dial-up Internet Service Provider. Since you
are connecting to the Internet through your ISP's network, their
SMTP server is able to identify you as an authorized user.
Another means of validating users for sending outgoing
mail via SMTP is a newer method called SMTP
Authentication. SMTP AUTH is now required
to send mail through Acme's mail server. This allows our
mail server to verify that any mail it is asked to deliver is
actually originating from a valid user to whom we have granted
mail server privileges. It does this by requiring your
e-mail software to support SMTP AUTH (a configurable option in
your mail software settings) thereby sending your e-mail
username and encrypted password before transmitting outgoing
mail. SMTP AUTH is currently supported by newer e-mail
client software programs such as Netscape 4.05 and 4.5, Outlook
Express, Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 and a few others.
With these improved security measures in place, what
are my options for sending outgoing mail?
1. Change the OUTGOING SMTP option in your
e-mail software
This is by far the simplest option for most
situations, and is quickly becoming the de facto standard for a
majority of established web hosting services providers. Most
users will only need to change one field in their MAIL SETTINGS
referred to as the OUTGOING SMTP MAIL SERVER field. The actual
name of the field mail vary slightly depending upon your
e-mail software. This field should reflect the SMTP server at
your dial-up ISP. In most cases it is "mail.yourdialupisp.com"
or "smtp.yourdialupisp.com". Your dial-up ISP
can provide the correct mail server address for you to use.
In summary, all of your domain related e-mail service
is still handled by Acme. Using your dial-up ISP for
outgoing relay will not affect your domain name e-mail services,
and allows us to provide the highest level of security on our
mail servers. We strongly urge you to consider this option
first.
2. Try our new web-based messaging
server
Yes, there is some good news is all these
changes. If you are familiar with Hotmail, YahooMail! or
any of the other popular web-based e-mail services, Acme's mail
server offers many of the same features. You can now send
and receive mail from your account at Acme using any standard
web browser, anytime, anywhere (even while traveling).
3. Explore the possibility of using SMTP
AUTH with Acme's mail server
If you have current e-mail software, aren't afraid to
tinker with your mail settings and are willing to try something
new - you may still be able to relay outgoing mail through
Acme's SMTP server using the Internet mail standard RFC SMTP
AUTH method.
For Outlook, under TOOLS ->
ACCOUNTS. Select your mail account and click
on the PROPERTIES button. Under the SERVERS tab, check the
option for 'Outgoing mail server' - 'My server requires
authentication'. Click OK and exit the mail accounts
settings.
For Netscape 4.05, under EDIT ->
PREFERENCES. Select MAIL & GROUPS -> MAIL SERVER
In the MAIL SERVER USERNAME field type:
username%yourdomain.com
For Netscape 4.5, under EDIT ->
PREFERENCES. MAIL & NEWSGROUPS -> MAIL SERVERS
In the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) server field type:
imail.acmeinfo.com
In the Outgoing mail server user name field type:
username%yourdomain.com
Feel free to give it a try. We have successfully
tested this with Netscape 4.05, Netscape 4.5, Outlook Express,
Outlook '98 and Outlook 2000. Sorry, it is not
supported in older e-mail programs such as Eudora 3.0 and
Netscape 3.0. If you are not using a supported e-mail
client, or if you are having difficulty configuring SMTP
Authentication, you still have the less complicated options of
using your dial-up ISP's SMTP server or our new web-messaging
service for relaying outgoing mail.
A little background on SMTP (Simple Mail
Transport Protocol) Security
If you are unfamiliar with "spamming" and
"spoofing", the following paragraphs provide some
background.
The SMTP standard for Internet messaging allows
electronic mail to make its way across a network in
"hops" by passing from one computer system to another,
repeating this process until the mail arrives at its final
destination. This is part of the original design of SMTP and was
necessary in the early days of the Internet in order for e-mail
to travel between various networks.
This inherent design of SMTP allows a host computer
that needs to deliver a message to another computer (or even
hundreds or thousands of recipients) to make a connection (or
multiple connections) to some other unsuspecting SMTP server and
ask that server to deliver the message(s) on its behalf.
Recently there has been a lot of controversy over
unwanted e-mail. Many companies and ISPs have been blocking the
receipt of this mail from known sources and closing their open
SMTP mail relays.
When a bulk mailer chooses an ISP's mail server to
deliver unsolicited mail to thousands of other people (known as
"spamming"), our system immediately becomes busy
delivering tens of thousands of messages that did not originate
with our customers, tying up valuable system resources.
With this in mind, Acme has joined countless other ISP's who are
taking action to close their open SMTP relays and implement
strict security related to relay of outgoing mail.
For more information on the subject, check out the
following web sites and articles:
http://spam.abuse.net/overview
http://www.cauce.org
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