Getting around ISP SMTP firewall settings (Re: Submitting a new port if send-pr is broken)

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
> [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Bob Richards
> Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 3:45 AM
> To: freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
> Subject: Re: Getting around ISP SMTP firewall settings (Re: Submitting a
> new port if send-pr is broken)
> 
> 
> On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:15:59 +0200
> Giorgos Keramidas <keramida at ceid.upatras.gr> wrote:
> 
> > 
> > I don't think there's an easy way to set up the local Sendmail
> > installation to *receive* email from the world without some sort of
> > `static address' though. 
> 
> Actually there is an easy way, I do it here at my work station which is
> on a boat, and uses many different modes of connectivity. All of which
> are floating IPs.
> 
> Get a domain name at dyndns. ANYTHING.servebbs.com/net/org. (it's free) 
> 
> You can also DNS any domain you own for about $29.00/Year, and simply
> MX your mail to your dynamic domain machine on a variety of alternative
> ports.
> 

To be perfectly clear this isn't really receiving mail.  Your configuring
a system at dydns.org or some other mail forwarder to receive your
mail for you then forward it on to your system using the alternative
port.

You can just as easily set up a mailbox on the dydns server (or
whoever will sell you a mailbox - tons of ISPs will do it) and
fetchmail your mail via POP3 from it.

> Install ddclient on your machine; it will keep your IP updated at
> dyndns.
> 
> Install an mta, like sendmail, and smart-host it to your ISP; or
> smart-host it to dyndns if your ISP can't/won't do it.
> 
> I have been doing this for about 2 years now, and have had no problems
> at all.
> 

I'm sure you don't because in effect your doing exactly the same thing
that any typical e-mail client does - your offloading the heavy lifting
of receiving mail - the spam and antivirus filtering - to a real mailserver
somewhere on the Internet.

Frankly, unless you processing mail for a lot of people, there is no
benefit to running your own mailserver, and you really ought to be
using a client-server model for getting mail, as you are doing.  The
OP just hasn't realized this yet.

Ted