sendmail quickstart guide?

[Rodolfo J. Paiz]

At 16:54 1/2/2004, you wrote:
>Rodolfo J. Paiz wrote:
>>
>>I doubt it's the best, but I wrote it and I like it and it's probably all 
>>you need as a starting place:
>>
>>http://www.simpaticus.com/linux/sendmail-smtp-auth-howto.php
>
>Interesting.
>
>How does SMTP AUTH help on an externaly public mail server?
>
>I was under the impression that SMTP AUTH was just for allowing "roaming" 
>access to an SMTP server for out going mail.

You are exactly correct. SMTP AUTH is so that your users can relay mail 
through your server when they are outside the network and not covered by 
the fixed IP addresses you allow to send via /etc/mail/access. Or, in my 
case, I allow _nothing_ via fixed IP address and force everyone to AUTH.

Users who travel, users with notebooks, etc. are all people who benefit 
from SMTP AUTH at the same time as you make sure that you are not an open 
relay to be abused by spammers. Again in my case, I have a webhosting 
server in Texas, and /ALL/ of my customers are "roaming" users. There are 
no local customers, by definition; so AUTH becomes priceless.


-- 
Rodolfo J. Paiz
rpaiz at simpaticus.com
http://www.simpaticus.com