From: Michael Geary (Mike_at_Geary.com)
Date: Mon Jan 08 2001 - 12:41:16 EST
> > You could try this... run your own SMTP server. I do this on my laptops
> > because it's so convenient....
> PLEASE don't do this without understanding the implications of open
> SMTP relays (especially if you have a broadband acct., as these are
> almost always being portscanned). If you allow relays from outside
> your own network, you could very well end up contributing to the
> widespread UCBE (spam!) problem...
That's an excellent point. Anyone who installs an SMTP server on their own
machine should make sure it does not allow connections from anywhere else.
Don't assume that the default installation options have the correct security
settings! Configure it to accept connections only from localhost, and *test*
it by trying to connect to it from elsewhere on the Internet.
Any decent server should allow you to configure it so no one else can access
it. VPOP3, which I use, can be configured this way. (I don't recall what its
default settings are.) I hope the PointCast Server which was just
recommended can also be configure securely--I'll be interested to find out.
(Although this topic isn't directly related to ThinkPads, I hope it may be
of interest to a fair number of ThinkPad users who face the problem of
sending email while connected to the Internet in different ways.)
-Mike
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Thu Jan 23 2003 - 09:56:43 EST