Info and questions about Brother[tm] multifunction machine

[Da Rock]

On 02/23/12 06:23, Warren Block wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Feb 2012, Ronald F. Guilmette wrote:
>
>>
>> In message <4F44E576.5000006 at ifdnrg.com>,
>> Paul Macdonald <paul at ifdnrg.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 21/02/2012 22:33, Ronald F. Guilmette wrote:
>>>> Port 25 is apparently implementing _something_ that sort-of vaguely 
>>>> acts
>>>> like an SMTP server.  However it appears to me that it only accepts 
>>>> e-mail
>>>> for one very specific email address,<... at example.com>, where the '...'
>>>> part is actually a long (unique?) string of letter and numbers that 
>>>> I found
>>>> on one of the config printout pages that I generated when I was 
>>>> installing
>>>> this thing.  I have no idea what this is all about.  I successfully 
>>>> sent
>>>> a short test e-mail to that address, manually typing in all of the 
>>>> necessary
>>>> SMTP commands (via telnet to port 25) and nothing whatsoever 
>>>> happened.  I ha
>>> d
>>>> kind-of been expecting that what I sent (via SMTP) would be 
>>>> printed, but it
>>>> just didn't happen.  Maybe I need to sent it a MIME-encoded message 
>>>> instead
>>> (?)
>>> ...
>>> I doubt you can email it print jobs...
>>
>> Well, I can't think of any other reason why the printer would be running
>> an SMTP _server_.  I mean it isn't as if it is going to be handling
>> outgoing e-mail for anybody.
>
> Scan to email would use it.  Possibly also it could email supplies 
> status messages also, even to an arbitrary non-local address.  "Dear 
> owner, hope your vacation is going well.  Just wanted to remind you 
> I'm low on yellow toner.  Also, I think I heard a noise downstairs.  
> It's probably nothing."
Scanning to email and status updates don't require a server as such, and 
in the interests of security they generally don't.

What I have noted before (despite my brainfart on 9100, excuse me; I was 
sure I had known it by another name) is that IF the machine is 
multifunction and can fax, then it would need a smtp server to email to 
fax. To do this it needs to _receive_ email, not just send. There is 
usually a driver utility that knows how to speak to it though, but it 
should be easy to hack.

As evidence I checked my printer and it can send email status messages 
and has no smtp server. Telnet is normal (it is usually secured and used 
by a qualified technician), and is used to configure other options and 
nvram settings that may not be available on the menu.