Generic SMTP Server

[ken0042]

I was wondering if anybody has an SMTP server that could be used no matter what ISP you are using to send. For example, on my phone I am on Bell cellular, so I have a Bell SMTP server for when I'm on 3G/LTE. My home email is Telus, so is my home network. So if I'm on wifi at home, I need to use Telus' SMTP to send email.

I stumbled on a method using my Gmail account, but then I find it sends as the Gmail account, not my Telus account. https://www.siteground.com/kb/google_free_smtp_server/

Where this has come to a head is my uncle who is not tech tavvy will be taking his laptop to travel, and wants to use Outlook. There's no way I can get him to switch SMTP servers as he goes.

And yes, I know converting to Gmail solves the issue, but it adds an issue of changing email addresses- which won't work.

[Hack&Lube]

Don't the ISP mail servers need to have SMTP relay available for you to basically relay the message into their system from externally? I don't think they will allow that. It makes it super easy for spammers to spoof and take advantage of their system.

You could find the IMAP & POP3 settings for each email and add them into Outlook. IE for Shawmail: https://community.shaw.ca/docs/DOC-5375

[ken0042]

The idea being that I would be using their system to send the mail. For example my new house came with a year of Shaw internet, but I kept my Telus address. So I set my own Outlook to send from mail.shaw.ca and never had an issue.

The challenge here is that I have no idea who's network my uncle would be on. Could be Bell, Telus, Rogers, or something else.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by ken0042

The idea being that I would be using their system to send the mail. For example my new house came with a year of Shaw internet, but I kept my Telus address. So I set my own Outlook to send from mail.shaw.ca and never had an issue.

The challenge here is that I have no idea who's network my uncle would be on. Could be Bell, Telus, Rogers, or something else.

Yes, and you used the Shaw IMAP or POP settings to do this right? This is because you need to authenticate. There's no way any legitimate mail server in the world will allow open SMTP relay. To hook into their mail servers, you need to use the protocols and ports that they allow and this is very specifically usually IMAP & POP via the credentials you have with that ISP for the given email addresses. The other option is mail forwarding.

If you don't know what your uncle is using, just check the domain on the emails he is sending and check the MX record on it.

[ken0042]

Did it without authenticating. Am currently doing it on Bell without authenticating.

I don't mind authenticating (like in my Gmail example above)- I just need the "from" to be the Telus account, as when I tried to send it showed as coming from my Gmail account.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Did it without authenticating. Am currently doing it on Bell without authenticating.

I don't mind authenticating (like in my Gmail example above)- I just need the "from" to be the Telus account, as when I tried to send it showed as coming from my Gmail account.

How do you send through Bell? You are already "inside" their network so there is no need since you can send SMTP requests to their mail server.

http://support.bell.ca/Internet/Emai...o-Windows-Mail

Incoming e-mail server type: select POP3 from the drop-down list
Incoming mail (POP3 or IMAP) server: enter pophm.sympatico.ca
Outgoing e-mail server (SMTP): enter smtphm.sympatico.ca

Here your outgoing SMTP server is smtphm.sympatico.ca. Verified email addresses on the Bell email system will be able to use this for outbound mail.

[photon]

Often ISPs will allow an open relay from internal IP address since they can monitor things and make sure people aren't abusing them. But doing it that way can cause delivery problems as well for some email servers.. if a receiving server see the email address it's coming from as being @telus.net but the IP address is @shaw.ca then the email server will reject the email or flag it as spam or something. Maybe some of the ISPs do something behind the scenes to help with that kind of thing with each other to improve deliverability when people move over.

But in general H&L is correct, having an open SMTP relay (which is what you're describing, an SMTP server that will accept incoming emails from anywhere and send them) is a bad thing (tm). If they exist they usually are for use for spamming and are quickly blacklisted or shut down.

Anyway, whatever email address domain your uncle is using, there should be an externally accessible SMTP server that requires authentication that can be used to send emails through no matter where they are. It used to be that ISPs didn't provide external access to their SMTP servers, but that was a long time ago I think they all do now.

What's the domain name for his email address?

Incidentally this is why I'm a fan of having your own domain name for emails, that way the email address can be moved to different services or providers without issue.

[ken0042]

The domain is @telusplanet.net
(Yes, he is old school.)

I think I found the solution.
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: smtp.gmail.com
Use Authentication: Yes
Use Secure Connection: Yes (this can be TLS or SSL depending on your mail client)
Username: your GMail account, i.e. user@gmail.com
Password: your GMail password
Port: 465 or 587

That brings me back to sending as my @gmail.com address.

Then go into your Gmail and do the following:
1.On your computer, open Gmail.
2.In the top right, click Settings Settings and then Settings.(sic)
3.Click the Accounts and Import or Accounts tab.
4.In the "Send mail as" section, click Add another email address you own.
5.Enter your name and the address you want to send from.
6.Click Next Step.
7.Enter the SMTP server (for example, smtp.domain.com) and the username and password on that account.
8.Click Add account.

I just tested it and it seems to work as I wanted. Yes, I am fully aware of spoofing; which is why I didn't mind doing the authenticating. I just knew there had to be a way.

Sources:
https://www.siteground.com/kb/google_free_smtp_server/
https://support.google.com/a/answer/22370?hl=en

[ken0042]

And for Bell, my settings are simply:
Hostname mail.1xbell.ca
Username- blank
Password- blank
Use SSL- off
Server port 25

Once again I'm sure Bell can trace who is sending, so if I started spamming they could shut me down pretty quick.

[photon]

You should just be able to configure the outgoing SMTP server in Outlook to point at Telus for a @telusplanet.net email address.

http://business.telus.com/en/busines...n-any-computer

That should work from anywhere on the Internet.

I have a bunch of emails setup to forward to Gmail and for some I send out through Gmail as well (they allow it since when I set it up they do a confirmation email to confirm I control the email address I want to "send as"). Most I have setup as above to send out through the proper smtp server so my @shaw.ca comes through Shaw so it doesn't say "on behalf of Gmail".

https://gmail.googleblog.com/2009/07...s-without.html

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by photon

That should work from anywhere on the Internet.

We tried today and it wasn't. The only thing I see different was we hadn't specified port 1025. He was using his home Shaw wifi and we were getting a send failure in Outlook's test window. Switched to his home office's Telus wifi and it sent with no problems.

(And yes, him having both Shaw and Telus internet in the same house is silly. He wants to keep work and home separate. I've tried to convince him otherwise, same as I try to tell him that he can just go to "staples.ca" instead of going to google.ca, typing in staples, and then clicking on the link.) #familytechsupport

[photon]

Yeah not specifying the port won't work, that's the same as not spelling the address correctly; it won't find the SMTP server. Even the authentication method and the encryption method needs to be correct, not every provider supports the same authentication methods or encryption methods on the same ports.