SMTP problem!

Printable View

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page

October 30th, 2005, 11:11 PM
Tedob1

SMTP problem!

An associate of mine, here for two weeks for training, cannot send email to anyone outside of the Adelphia network. He keeps getting the message “email cannot be relayed to...”.

He's using outlook03. He can receive his messages and smtp is set to use the same credentials as pop. I checked with adelphia to be sure and ALLl settings are as they should be and they are. He can send a message to himself and receive it fine but cannot send email to anyone else when he's not doing it from home (on their network). From his home there is no problem.

i tried setting up his email account on one of my computers to be sure it wasn't an issue with his laptop and got the same messages.

He had no problem until about three weeks ago.

Adelphia keeps telling him (and now me) that the problem lies outside their network and therefore they are not responsible. Something along the way is preventing the message from reaching it's destination they say.

I say bullshit! If something were preventing it from reaching it's destination the message would say in some way that the message was 'undeliverable'....right?
October 30th, 2005, 11:19 PM
MrLinus

Sounds like SMTP Blackhole issue. Might want to check to see if the destination SMTP server is on there (perhaps they are a reported open-relay)
October 30th, 2005, 11:33 PM
Tedob1

he cant send to anyone anywhere no matter what the domain is. the techs said they dont black hole anyone when i wondered if sending from my ip might be the cause. i thought black hole lists were to keep spammers from sending mail to you. do any use these lists to keep mail from being sent to spamming networks? i suppose it would keep spammers from knowing a live mail server exists.
October 30th, 2005, 11:43 PM
nihil

Hi Ted~

A wild guess, but sometimes "the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing?" maybe Adelphia have changed something and their support techs have not been informed?

I would certainly think that the "relayed to" implies that they did get it.

An example would be my adsl link. I have an account and pay monthly, but I can only access it from my home.................it is driven by my phone number.

Can he try to hook up from another location other than yours and his home?

just a thought? :)
October 30th, 2005, 11:45 PM
MrLinus

Quote:

i thought black hole lists were to keep spammers from sending mail to you.

No. Blackholes were to get lazy admins to fix their open relays. Do you have a copy of the full error message email?
October 30th, 2005, 11:55 PM
Egaladeist

Hi Tedob,

This might give you some idea...not exactly sure what you're looking for but I assume it's in here someplace...

http://www.webzcan.com/Vulns/pVuln21.htm
SMTP problems

Eg ;)
October 31st, 2005, 12:42 AM
morganlefay

I have found with some isps...no password is required for smtp...as long as you are authenticated already on their network...

Have you tried removing the smtp authentication...using the "not required" setting???

MLF
October 31st, 2005, 12:51 AM
Tedob1

EG all im looking for is... am i right or wrong in my assumption that "cannot relay" means cannot relay and has nothing to do with wether the message is deliverable or not. all referances to 'relay' from that link deal with 'open' relays...this guy has an account. but thanks for the link

i agree with you nihil but they flat out refuse to look any farther into the matter. this guy (the associate) wants to kick it up a level and make waves in Adelphia. the it director here asked me to help him out...not knowing what the problem was....and i would like to be sure my assumptions are correct before im proved wrong in public.

MsMittens a few years back the company i work for hired consultants to mis-configure our email server...made it an open relay. all the messages that came back said the massage was un-deliverable. i wish they had said unable to relay because it took me almost two months to get us off black hole lists...including AOL's (of all the nerve). nobody could receive email from us. i havn't checked yet if Adelphia is black holed but i think that a little unlikely although they wouldn't be the first isp declaired a spamhous.

morganlefay this guy has been using them for five years. the problem started about three weeks ago and only when hes NOT on their network.
October 31st, 2005, 01:43 AM
nihil

Hi Ted~

Quote:

From his home there is no problem.

To me that is consistent with his provider dropping e-mails from sources other than his account location?

Can he go to another office or to a friend's and try it from there. If it doesn't work then it has to be Adelphia's problem.

Can he read e-mail at your location?

Another thing would be to send an e-mail from his home to a known dud address. That will establish what message Adelphia use for a genuine undeliverable item?

:)
October 31st, 2005, 02:02 AM
Egaladeist

hi Tedob,

I've been looking around and the closest thing I can find based upon the information is this so far...

bear with me...you know this isn't my area...this is...I'm hoping a related issue...that it might be along these lines...obviously not the same problem but similiar?...

same problem...can receive but can't send...in this case it had to do with some ISP called bigpond that...

Quote:

The only smtp server that MOST Bigpond connections will allow you to use is a Bigpond SMTP server.. Bigpond call this "security".. and their support staff are often not aware of this until you ask to have your problem escalated to a higher staffer.

and...

Quote:

Bigpond have set up restrictions so that nothing outside their own network will have access to anything apart from their own mail server on port 25.

Quote:

Regardless of what you could or could not do via your Netspace acount, any decent ISP will not have it's SMTP servers open relay. They will generally reject any attempt to use port 25 by anyone who is not connected to their network. Some ISPs do support authenticated connections from other networks (ISPs). Some ISP's require authentication even if you are connected via their network.

Use the correct Bigpond SMTP server!

I send mail out from home through Bigpond (Cable) for multiple business account, but I use mail-hub.bigpond.net.au to do so, without authenication, because I'm already on the network.

Quote:

Exactly. And people wonder why SORBS and other spam databases constantly block ISP IP netblocks (constantly those IP's are those of SMTP servers).

The S in SMTP may be 'Simple' but due to the amount of network attacks that are spread via this protocol in the past few years, it could also be now known as 'Secure'. Security on SMTP servers has increased threefold in the last 2-3 years. This includes user/pass authentication over IP authentication, which the majority of ISP's now use (or at least have an 'and/or' option).

Unless there is an absolute reason why you need to use a foreign SMTP server (not many), use the networks own. That's what it's there for ;-)

Quote:

(From office) Ozemail ADSL as ISP to Ozemail email account -> Could send and receive emails

(From old house) Netspace ADSL as ISP to Ozemail email account -> Could send and receive emails

(From new house) Bigpond ADSL as ISP to Ozemail email account -> Can receive emails but CANNOT SEND emails

For each of the two home locations the email settings are exactly the same. I am also using outlook express:

Incoming: pop.ozemail.com.au

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...fm/414053.html
Cant send emails with bigpond as homeISP - OzEmail - iiNet / OzEmail

hope it helps but...like I said...not my area.

peace,

Eg ;)

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page