I often see posts asking about running a mail server on a Dynamic IP address. Twenty years ago I started running my server on a dynamic IP address. However, times have changed, and it is more difficult to do so. Stil, there are mail server roles that work reasonably well on a dynamic IP address.
(more…)Tag: SMTP
Posts releated to SMTP services
Faking IMAP for Exchange Email
For years I have had problems getting IMAP access to exchange servers. Many organizations don’t enable IMAP on their Exchange servers, and others don’t do it right. I recently came across a solution that works with the Microsoft WebMail interface to provide an IMAP and/or POP3 access to the mail servers. This allows the use of IMAP mail clients like Thunderbird or Microsoft Live Mail.
This article describes the solution as I have implemented it. It uses the open-source DavMail Gateway written in Java. It accesses a WebMail server and provides access via standard protocols like IMAP, SMTP, and CalDav. This program can be configured for personal use on a desktop, or group use on a server. When configuring a server, it is recommended that you provide SSL keys so that secure protocols can be used.
(more…)Email Logins for Dovecot and Exim
While I was cleaning up my Ubuntu Email server configuration, I consolidated my login security. My SMTP server is Exim and my IMAP server is Dovecot. Mail User Agents (MUAs) use authentication over TLS encrypted connections to access IMAP and SMTP. Both programs had their own password configuration.
Exim includes Dovecot in its supported authentication mechanisms. This enables one authentication mechanism to be used for both SMTP and IMAP (or POP3). This post also includes configuration details for forced authentication over the Submission port.
(more…)Signing Return Path Addresses with Exim
I have been receiving a fair amount of Spam from an e-mail forwarder. They are unwilling to correct their problems. Much of this Spam is in the form of bounce notifications. Attempting to reject other Spam resulted in more notifications. To control this Spam I implemented signed return path addresses. As a side benefit, I am also rejecting bogus notifications sent directly to me.
Signing my return path allows me to reject faked notification e-mail. The SMTP standard requires that no email sent with a null return path “
(more…)<>” (aka Envelope Sender) be returned. Its purpose is for allowing for notifications about existing messages. These include notifications such as address unknown, message delivered, and message read. E-mail notifications which are not about a previously sent message can be refused. Signing the return path allowed me to reject such invalid notifications.Running an Email Server
I administer an email server for a couple of domains and a few users. Incorrectly configured email servers result in a lot of my administration work. Due to improper configuration, far too many servers look like Spam servers. A little effort in setting up your server can make my life easier, and increase your chance of successfully delivering email everywhere. This article describes steps you should take. (more…)