E-mail - MSA / Alternate port SMTP service.

Many ISPs (access providers) are blocking access to SMTP servers outside their networks. As far as we know, the goal is to stop spammers from signing up for "throw away" accounts, and sending mail through open and/or anonymous relays. Unfortunately it also blocks access to our SMTP servers, and thus the ability for you (our client) to send mail.

The solution to this problem, is for us to run an SMTP server on a different port. (Our servers will only relay for known senders, so this not defeating the purpose of the block.)

Using the alternate port service (MSA).

This should be easy. Somewhere in your e-mail client there should be a setting for the SMTP server name, and a port. The normal/default port is 25. The alternate port service is port 587. (587 is the message submission agent [MSA].)

The MSA port uses two methods of deciding (POP-before-SMTP and SMTP-AUTH) if you are allowed to send outbound mail through the server.

POP-before-SMTP is simple to use, you just need to check your mail before sending mail... the mail server will remember your IP address for more than an hour and allow you to send outbound mail.

SMTP-AUTH (smtp authentication)

SMTP-AUTH is somewhat different. Your e-mail client will send a userid and password to the mail server. The mail server will allow you to send outbound e-mail if they are valid. There is no requirement to check your mail first. Unfortunately, TLS / SSL is not currently supported.

To use SMTP AUTH, you need to configure your mail program to authenticate using your full email address (userid@domain) instead of just your userid. The POP and IMAP servers also support that syntax, so it is probably simplest to reconfigure your e-mail client to use userid@domain instead of just userid. (For example: instead of logging into the baremetal.com POP server as support, we would login as support@baremetal.com [still specifying the POP server as baremetal.com]).

Instructions for specific E-mail clients.

For Microsoft Outlook:

Tools -> Email Accounts
Put a dot in 'View or Change existing e-mail accounts' and click Next.
Select the account having problems and click 'Change...'
Click on 'More Settings...'
Click on the 'Advanced' tab
Change 'Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)' from 25 to 587
Click Okay, Next, and then Finish

For Thunderbird:

Tools -> Account Settings...
In the left side, click on 'Outgoing Server (SMTP)'
On the right side, click on the Edit button for your Baremetal account.
Change port 25 to 587.
Click Okay, then Okay again.

For Eudora 7:

Tools -> Options...
In the left column click on 'Sending Mail'
Ensure the 'SMTP server' is your Baremetal hosted domain.
Check 'Use Submission port'
Click Okay.

For Eudora 6:

Changing the SMTP port in Eudora version 6..

For Outlook Express/Outlook 2000:

Change the SMTP port in Outlook Express/Outlook 2000.