SMTP Question

[Alphathree33]

I'm writing a little mail client for myself because my SMTP server doesn't support sending emails unless I'm on campus. I can use their web based client, but it's crap.

So I thought I'd write my own client that would still receive mail from my university account, but it would bypass the University SMTP and instead contact the server in question directly.

Unfortunately many SMTP servers won't talk to be (connection unauthorized) because they see my IP address, note that it's not from one of their "trusted sources" (I'm just on a cable connection here, my IP is dynamic) and spit out a "go away" message.

Is there any way to mask my IP or otherwise convince SMTP servers that my mail client isn't a spammer and just wants to drop off an e-mail?

 

[Alphathree33]

OR... are there any free SMTP servers that will route my outgoing mail where it needs to go?

 

[Mucman]

Use the web based client, and and make sure people know that you don't think it's adequate. Much more mature way than trying to cirvumvent their security policies.

 

[Mucman]

Originally posted by: Alphathree33
OR... are there any free SMTP servers that will route my outgoing mail where it needs to go?

Those would be called open-relays, and hopefully shut-down ASAP

 

[Alphathree33]

Originally posted by: Mucman
Use the web based client, and and make sure people know that you don't think it's adequate. Much more mature way than trying to cirvumvent their security policies.

I don't think spending five hours custom-coding a mail client is "immature" ... There are 50,000 people at this university. All of them know it's inadequate. I don't want to switch email addresses because I do like this one and it gets used by the university a lot, I just want to be able to send email without using the web client. There must be a way, no?

 

[Mucman]

Originally posted by: Alphathree33

Originally posted by: Mucman
Use the web based client, and and make sure people know that you don't think it's adequate. Much more mature way than trying to cirvumvent their security policies.

I don't think spending five hours custom-coding a mail client is "immature" ... There are 50,000 people at this university. All of them know it's inadequate. I don't want to switch email addresses because I do like this one and it gets used by the university a lot, I just want to be able to send email without using the web client. There must be a way, no?

They aren't going to work on their webmail if they are busy trying to catch people trying to compromise their system. Why not build you own mail server and use that? Register domain for $8/yr and never have to worry about anyone controlling how you access your email

 

[Alphathree33]

Originally posted by: Mucman

Originally posted by: Alphathree33

Originally posted by: Mucman Use the web based client, and and make sure people know that you don't think it's adequate. Much more mature way than trying to cirvumvent their security policies.

I don't think spending five hours custom-coding a mail client is "immature" ... There are 50,000 people at this university. All of them know it's inadequate. I don't want to switch email addresses because I do like this one and it gets used by the university a lot, I just want to be able to send email without using the web client. There must be a way, no?

They aren't going to work on their webmail if they are busy trying to catch people trying to compromise their system. Why not build you own mail server and use that? Register domain for $8/yr and never have to worry about anyone controlling how you access your email

You aren't thinking very straight -- I'm not interacting with the university mail server at all. If I want to send an email to yahoo, I'm simply SMTPing yahoo. What does that have to do with the university's SMTP? Nothing.

Get your facts straight.

None the less, yes, I could build my own mail server except that I'd need a static IP for it and I'd need a "static" place to put it, neither of which I have.

 

[Mucman]

Wait a second... you can't send an email to the University network from outside? ok, nevermind... I wasn't thinking straight . Sounded like you want to use the Universities email server to send some mail .

I don't understand why the school would have a publicly visible SMTP server, and not deliver LOCAL email from outside sources. Do you have access to a webserver on the network, so you can put up a simple php/perl script to send an email interaly.

 

[Alphathree33]

Originally posted by: Mucman
Wait a second... you can't send an email to the University network from outside? ok, nevermind... I wasn't thinking straight . Sounded like you want to use the Universities email server to send some mail . I don't understand why the school would have a publicly visible SMTP server, and not deliver LOCAL email from outside sources. Do you have access to a webserver on the network, so you can put up a simple php/perl script to send an email interaly.

Yeah I was thinking that -- if only I had an inside server -- but all I really have is a ~username http thing, it doesn't do server side scripting of any kind.

 

[Mucman]

Originally posted by: Alphathree33

Originally posted by: Mucman
Wait a second... you can't send an email to the University network from outside? ok, nevermind... I wasn't thinking straight . Sounded like you want to use the Universities email server to send some mail . I don't understand why the school would have a publicly visible SMTP server, and not deliver LOCAL email from outside sources. Do you have access to a webserver on the network, so you can put up a simple php/perl script to send an email interaly.

Yeah I was thinking that -- if only I had an inside server -- but all I really have is a ~username http thing, it doesn't do server side scripting of any kind.

Ugh.. without server side scripting, I think you will be out of luck.... If they have any decent firewall they will block spoofed IPs coming in from the outside. Sorry for being obtuse

 

[Nothinman]

Why waste time writing another SMTP relay server when there are tons of them out there already? Most of them will be much better tested than yours and come with the source code too.

 

[MrScott81]

doesn't your school have a proxy you can use so that it will accept your email.....and why not use your isp's smtp server? i've never heard of a broadband company that doesn't give you a smtp server to send mail from

 

[noxxic]

Are you running XP or 2000? Try IIS's SMTP server (Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> IIS).

 

[Nothinman]

It doesn't matter what software he uses until he can find a 'known good' SMTP server that will relay for him.

 

[noxxic]

I've only used it occasionally to push large Excel files, but IIS does relay email. I use my regular Eudora program w/ SMTP set to localhost, IIS takes the email, and sends it off directly. Works for me, but like I said, I've only used it occasionally.

 

[Nothinman]

No, the problem is most ISP SMTP server won't accept mail from a dynamic IP address. Like he said, if he tries to send mail to blah@yahoo.com his SMTP server connect to mail.yahoo.com and says "hello I have mail for blah" and mail.yahoo.com says "sorry you can't hand me mail, goodbye".

 

[Kappo]

Are you saying that you cannot send mail from yahoo.com to your school? If not, then I dunno. If you just need to send mail from, say, comcast, and you want to send it from off campus with your school email address, just put your outgoing mail server (in outlook) as smtp.comcast.net. Your reply-to address should be your email address from school.

Without looking at the actual headers on your email, no one would know the difference. And for the 3 people on earth that look at email headers for all of the mail they get that isnt spam, just use the web client.

 

[Nothinman]

You have that backwards Kappo. He's trying to yahoo.com by talking directly to yahoo's mail servers and to fight spam they don't accept mail from dynamic addresses any more.