logwatch failing on mail to user

[Todd Zullinger]

Claude Jones wrote:
> What's puzzling to me is that the configuration I'd been using no
> longer works. I tried editing the sendmail configuration file, but
> I'm not sure I did it correctly - those entries weren't so self
> evident. For example, the line that was suggested be edited by
> someone looks like this:
> 
> dnl # Uncomment and edit the following line if your outgoing mail needs to
> dnl # be sent out through an external mail server:
> dnl #
> dnl define(`SMART_HOST', `smtp.your.provider')dnl
> 
> First, I don't understand what those 'dnl' acronyms stand for

Don't feel bad about not understanding sendmail config related stuff.
The config for sendmail is horrid.  The file you're editing there is
only a front-end file that's used to generate the real sendmail
config.  Don't look at that if you can avoid it. :)

I'd argue that postfix would be a more sane choice of default MTA, as
it has been designed with security in mind from the beginning and it
also uses a very simple and straight-forward configuration file.

> Secondly, it seems to be saying to uncomment a line that's already
> uncommented

The dnl part is commenting the line.  The # hash marks in there are
superfluous AFAIK, perhaps they're designed to confuse you into
thinking they are the comments.  Pffff.  Just because they are the
comment marker in umpteen other kinds of files, why would they be
here?  :)

> Third, I did try putting my provider in place of the
> 'smtp.your.provider' but that didn't accomplish anything

What you'd need to do to truly set the SMART_HOST is remove the dnl
part at the beginning so that the line read just:

define(`SMART_HOST', `smtp.your.provider')dnl

(and change smtp.your.provider to your provider's SMTP server, of
course.)

After making a change to sendmail.mc you need to regenerate the
sendmail.cf, which I think the sendmail.mc file explains near the top
(it did the last time I read it on a Red Hat based system).  I can't
check as no box I have access to has sendmail installed.  :)

Sorry to reply without being more helpful.  I just wanted to let you
know that your confusion wasn't unwarranted.  It's just sendmail
that's difficult.

-- 
Todd        OpenPGP -> KeyID: 0xBEAF0CE3 | URL: www.pobox.com/~tmz/pgp
======================================================================
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by
stupidity.
    -- Hanlon's Razor

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