a really techie e-mail/smtp question

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my current work isp blocks port 25, which means that my usual method of having a separate client running in the background for home emails will only work for incoming email but won't allow me to send anything out. my home email address has a webmail interface but i despise it and would prefer to continue using some sort of client during work hours. is there any way to get around the fact that port 25 is blocked and still be able to send emails via a client from behind this firewall?

i have broadband at home so theoretically i'd be able to set up some sort of floating smtp software client there (if such a thing exists), but will my client from work still need access via port 25 to deliver it in the first place?

alternately, is there any way i can figure out how to hop on to my network's outgoing mail servers without ruffling any feathers? we're set up on an exchange system here and i don't really know much about how that works.

― mark p (Mark P), Monday, 22 March 2004 21:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Sounds like you're in the same boat I am, only they don't block outbound port25 here.

I would think, even if you run a remote smtp from home, you'd need to send out via port 25 from the work client anyway. So that idea might not work - unless you telnet onto a remote mailserver and then send mail from that machine direct in some way. But that may only work if telnet's allowed on the firewall also.

As for how to use the work server to send out mail I cant be sure - look up whats in the smtp settings in Outlook or whatever the work mail uses and try it on yr other mail client? That may or may not work.

I'm no real Exchange head so thats about all I can think of.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 00:07 (twenty-two years ago)

well exchange doesn't use smtp servers so that's my problem right there. bah.

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 12:11 (twenty-two years ago)

You could set up an smtp server on your home machine and have it listen on another port. (taking care to use authentication, you don't want an open relay situation)

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 12:14 (twenty-two years ago)

any idea how i would start doing that, ed? could it be done with a software client?

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 12:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Normally your ISP will reject emails sent using a SMTP client while not connected them directly.

http://www.filetransit.com/category.php?id=234

http://fileforum.betanews.com/search.php3?search=smtp&what=all

Setup will depend on your home connection.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 12:49 (twenty-two years ago)

thanks for the help, uh, j, but i'm still a bit fuzzy on whether i'll be able to route to my home smtp server from behind a work firewall that blocks port 25?

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 16:55 (twenty-two years ago)

i mean, is that a function that software smtp clients allow for? to 'listen' for incoming mail on different ports and then send it out via 25?

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

(and clearly i don't really understand how any of this works, so please, go easy)

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

You run a "relay" on your home PC with broadband because your ISP demand you use port 25 to contact the mailserver and your work blocks port 25. You find a port your work allows out maybe 80 (usually used for web pages (http)) and set your broadband connections IP as the mail server address in your mail client (outlook express etc) and the port to 80 with your custom username/password that you setup on the relay.

it works like this

work pc 80 80 Home PC running SMTP relay 25 25 ISP mail server

Your home PC logs into the ISPs mail server and downloads your email at regular intervals and then you login to the relay from work and download the email to your PC.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 15:30 (twenty-two years ago)

you could always install one of the latest virus, most of these include an SMTP relay on a wierd port ;-)

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 15:44 (twenty-two years ago)

There was meant to be handy arrows between the port numbers on my post.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 24 March 2004 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

oooh that looks crazy enough to work

any specific recommendations for software smtp clients?

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 25 March 2004 16:18 (twenty-two years ago)

(the ones i've downloaded don't seem to allow me to set the port on which to listen for mail)

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 25 March 2004 16:23 (twenty-two years ago)

ok i've SORT of got this working. except i fear that my broadband connection uses a dynamic ip, which means i have no way of connecting externally since the ip is always changing, right? is there anything i can tweak w/ my router settings to help in this regard?

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Check out dyndns.org.

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 03:27 (twenty-two years ago)

bump.

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 16:32 (twenty-two years ago)

bromp.

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 1 April 2004 13:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Check out dyndns.org.

is the answer.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 1 April 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

paying tho?

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 1 April 2004 15:16 (twenty-one years ago)

nevermind. i didn't realize it was only $20 a year. filling out the app now. thanks guys.

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 1 April 2004 15:18 (twenty-one years ago)

SUCCESS.

thanks all, this rules.

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 1 April 2004 15:28 (twenty-one years ago)

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