Localhost smtp server

[buggyboy]

So,

I've got my chuch setup on a namecheap.com domain registration....our url i simply forwarded to a free wordpress.com site (for now).

Along with the domain registration came email forwarding...that gives our people nice branded email addresses to use. However, we can only receive email, not send it.

so email sent to (e.g.) forwards to .

So joe can get his email, but he can't reply to it.

I'm looking for a way to allow users to SEND email from their church address
(i.e. from: )

Our domain registrar does NOT have an smtp server that i can find.

MY first thought was a localhost smtp server. I could setup all the users to send email from thunderbird to the localhost smtp.

My first shot at setting that up failed.

I'm open to any solution to this dilemma.

thanks

[cmchamp]

have you given GoogleApps a thought?
50 free email addresses for the free version.

[buggyboy]

Can I achieve my goal with google apps?

Goal:
email sent to Alias (joe@ehcbc.org) is forwarded to users personal email account
user can send email "from"

(email sent "from" alias should be indistinguishable from a normal email. not "sent on behalf of" etc)

if that's possible I'm in.

[cmchamp]

Google does have a sync app that works with Outlook Express. I use it at work with our education account.
I have an @tearsofrestoration.org for a ministry I work with. An apple user colleague forwards his email from @tearsofrestoration.org to his @me.com.

http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html

You might also look at WindowsLive.

[andrewc2]

As Cory said, it works exactly like a gmail account but they substitute your domain for @gmail.com. In my case I use Google Apps to send email through many domains, including @andrewc.info and when I get or send emails it shows up as @andrewc.info there are no "sent on behalf of" type things.

[blonborg]

Does your ISP offer a SMTP server?

Our webhosting/email provider (very large company) recently had their SMTP server blacklisted. This went on for about 2 weeks with no help from the company. I finally called the ISP, created a generic email account, then changed the SMTP server in Outook on each of the pc's.

Noone noticed any difference in the addressing - other than they stopped getting bounce back messages (and their email was delivered) when sending email to rr.com addresses.

Bill

[greg4god]

One thing to think about when setting up your own server, many mail servers (a main one is yahoo) will auto block e-mails that are from a mail server that is not properly set up so the server's name matches the IP address for a reverse lookup, or if the IP is from a known Dynamic IP address bank. (note, I'm talking about the name of the server, not your registered domain name). I had this issue when I ran my own web servers out of my own place. I was too cheap to pay Warner Cable and additional $40 a month for a static IP address, was bad enough paying $90 for the business class to run servers (doesn't matter if you have a dynamic one that stays the same like all 4 of mine did the year I had a contract with them).

I'm glad I came across this thread, going to look into using google apps for some of my own needs, thanks.

[buggyboy]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm setting up google apps now.

@Bill: All the reading I've done plus my experiment suggest that >95% of smtp servers require authentication as a valid user. which generally means that all email sent from that smtp server while logged in as that user will be sent "from:logged-in-user@smtp-server-company.com"

I went looking for "open" relays only to find that they have been pretty much blacklisted to death...quite as Greg mentions.

I've used localhost smtp before (i thought so anyway) when going straight from one computer to another...but, it's been ages.

It looks like google apps will do for now. It's a shame to see the web get that much more closed.

[Arlin]

Another vote for google apps.
It is gmail for your domain. Hosted by google.

[waynehoskins]

Open relays have been gone for a decade. Running, intentionally or not, an open relay is a good way to get yourself blacklisted by the entire internet except for the spambots.

The FROM header is generated by the mail client. It largely doesn't matter what server it goes out through. I've been sending work mail out through my server for a few months because the work server upgraded to support only Exchange SMTP logins, which my mail client can't do. So I get work mail there over IMAP and send back out through mine, still badged as work.

[blonborg]

@buggyboy - as waynehoskins said, it's not noticible. i only see the shared sending address, if i drill into the full message headers.

greg4god's message talks about what's required to run a legitimate mail server in hopes of evading the spam filters. besides forward and reverse dns entries, one needs a mx record. having the word "mail" or "smtp" in the server name adds to it's legitmacy.

bill

[buggyboy]

Originally Posted by waynehoskins

The FROM header is generated by the mail client. It largely doesn't matter what server it goes out through. I've been sending work mail out through my server for a few months because the work server upgraded to support only Exchange SMTP logins, which my mail client can't do. So I get work mail there over IMAP and send back out through mine, still badged as work.

It's basically a moot point now if I can get google apps setup, but I'm a curious sort.

So, in thunderbird, for example, I have several identities (accounts) work, personal, etc. most are webmail accounts at gmail, aim, yahoo, etc.

Could I send email via the gmail smtp server (using my personal gmail account details for authentication) with a "From:work@workaccount" header?

Did i miss something there? is there nothing in the email content to indicate the credentials used to access the smtp server? Obviously the isp, server, and others could see the originating ip addess, but is that all?

if that is correct, how would i do that?

Certainly there abusers everywhere, but there mut also be many others like me with this situation where my domain registrar will forward email, but not store or send it.

thanks,
David