Due to a required change in the security method on our mail servers
some customers who host their Internet domains and corresponding
mail servers on geeksnet servers need to make changes on their local
machines in order to be able to send e-mail. This change will
happen on Thursday, June 21st at 6:00 PM. The customers who
are affected by this change are those who do not receive their Internet
access from geeksnet via dial-up (56K and ISDN) or high speed frame
access. This change only affects the outgoing mail service.
Current Setup
Our mail servers were originally setup to authenticate outgoing
mail by validating the senders e-mail address. If the listed "from"
e-mail address is a valid address from any Internet domain that
we host then the mail is processed and forwarded to the appropriate
recipient. Otherwise the mail was returned to the sender with an
error message. The advantages of this type of e-mail authentication
are that it does not require the input of a password to send an
e-mail (ease of use to our end users), nor does it require any additional
setup in the user's mail client program (again ease of use for our
customers) while it allows all of our Internet domain customers,
regardless of who they receive their dial-up access from, to send
mail through their domain servers. The disadvantage of this system,
and the reason why we are making this change in security, is that
it is easy for non-geeksnet customers to use our outgoing mail server
for their own purposes, allowing them to send large amounts of e-mail
out to the world. This uses the resources of geeksnet which lowers
the quality of service we provide to our paying customers. Please
keep in mind that while this is a security issue it does not affect
any other facet of our mail service and at no time was the privacy
of our customers' e-mail ever in danger of being compromised due
to this issue.
New Setup
The new setup will use the sender's i.p. address to authenticate
all outgoing mail. Each computer logged onto the Internet is assigned
a unique address by their Internet Service Provider (ISP). Only
i.p. addresses assigned by geeksnet will be allowed to send mail
through our outgoing mail server. The advantages to this type of
e-mail authentication are that it does not require the input of
a password, or any settings at all on the user side. If a user connects
via geeksnet he will be able to send mail, and if not he will not
be able to. The disadvantage is that geeksnet actually has hosting
customers that receive their Internet access from other ISPs, and
they will not have i.p. addresses that will allow them to send mail
through our servers. There are several simple fixes to this problem
depending on the customers access solution. Any access method provided
by an ISP includes outgoing mail service. Therefore, our Internet
domain customers who get their access from another ISP already have
this service, they just don't use it. To use this service a few
simple changes in the mail client program and the mail process will
be as easy as it has been in the past.
Solution #1 - Static i.p. access (Least common)
If you receive your access through a T-1 or frame relay then you
are using a static i.p. that has been assigned to your domain server
or router. Some dial-up users are assigned the same i.p. address
by their ISP every time they log onto to the Internet (generally
this service is by request only and usually has an additional monthly
cost associated with it, so you should know if you have it). In
either case these users can simply notify support@geeksnet.com
of this address and it can be added to the authorized list. If you
have any questions regarding this contact your ISP. In this case
no setting changes need to be made on the computer mail client program.
Solution #2 - Non static i.p. access (Most common)
Most users of the Internet are randomly assigned an i.p. address
each time that they sign onto the Internet. These users are not
going to be able to use the outgoing mail authentication on their
hosted domain servers. Instead they will have to use their ISP's
outgoing mail server. There are 3 ways that the security can be
setup on your ISP's mail server and the solution depends on which
one they are using. Contact your ISP and ask the following questions:
1. What type of relay security do you use on your outgoing mail
server? (I.P addresses, local hosts, local users)
2. What is the outgoing mail server? (ex. mail.geeksnet.com)
3. What is my assigned e-mail address? (ex. username@geeksnet.com)
4. What is my e-mail password?
Case #1: ISP uses i.p. addresses for security
This is the easiest case scenario. Only one setting needs to
be changed on the e-mail client program. In the default mail account
settings change the outgoing mail server to the one supplied by
your ISP (answer to question #2). No other settings changes should
be required.
Case #2: ISP uses local hosts, or local users for security
For this scenario three settings need to be changed on the e-mail
client. The e-mail address listed on the account needs to be changed
to the address assigned by the ISP (answer to question #3). Then
the reply address needs to be changed to the original e-mail address
(ex. email@yourdomain.com) and then the outgoing mail server need
to be changed to the ISP's (answer to question #2).
After the settings changes are made it is a good idea to send a
mail to yourself to verify you can send and receive mail. Please
remember that any mail in the outbox that was created before the
settings change must be deleted, because it was stamped with the
invalid (old) info. These are the standard possible scenario, but
your specific situation may require a different solution. Please
contact the geeksnet office if you have any questions concerning
this change.
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