This note is directed mainly at users who are getting Internet access through a non-University Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Midco, Qwest, AOL, or one of the free providers.

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, and is the method most e-mail programs (such as Mozilla, Outlook, Eudora, ...) use to transfer mail from your personal computer to another computer (an SMTP Server) that will take care of the details of moving the message towards its final destination.

Because of spam (junk mail) problems, most SMTP servers now only accept mail either from or to the organization that owns the server. So for example, if you're connected via Qwest, and try to use a University SMTP server to send mail to an AOL user, the University server will refuse to relay the message - since both the source and destination are outside the University network. This isn't just a University restriction, pretty much all SMTP servers on the net today are configured the same way.

E-mail return addresses can easily be faked, so they're generally ignored. The network address of the machine sending the message is what's usually looked at when an SMTP server decides whether to relay or not. So simply using a medicine.nodak.edu return address doesn't carry any weight with the UNDSMHS SMTP server when it comes to deciding whether to relay your messages or not.

So what SMTP Server do I use?

If you're sending mail from an address ending with @medicine.nodak.edu, you should use smtp.undsmhs.net for the server name, turn on SSL/TLS encryption, and enable "authentication". With the authentication turned on, you'll be sending your password along with your message, so our server can check if you're really part of the med school - in which case it will be willing to relay your mail.

More information on configuring your e-mail client can be found at http://medicine.nodak.edu/configure

OK, I tried that, but I still can't send mail

• It could be that the ISP you're using is blocking normal SMTP traffic on port 25 , probably to prevent abuse by spammers. You might try using the alternate TCP port 587. In some programs you'd enter smtp.undsmhs.net:587 for your SMTP server. Other programs might have a small box right next to the server name where you can enter a port number - often already displaying 25 by default.
• Some antivirus programs, notably Norton, try and intercept your SMTP traffic to scan your outgoing mail. However they don't do the encryption/authentication our system requires. In that case you'd want to either somehow disable the antivirus email scanning (which is OK since our server scans your outgoing mails too), or uninstall the offending antivirus software and install one that doesn't interfere with your e-mail (like McAfee which the university system has purchased).

Eudora for Windows

In the case of some versions of Eudora for Windows, there's a bit more work involved. You'll need to exit Eudora, locate the eudora.ini file somewhere on your harddisk, open it with a plain text editor such as Windows notepad (NOT a full blown wordprocessor such as Word or WordPerfect, which might really screw up your e-mail. Seriously...stick to Windows notepad and save yourself a lot of grief). If you experience trouble with this, or are unsure how to proceed, please call Computer Services.

Once the file is open, do a search for the letters: "SMTP". There should already be a line that starts with: "SMTPServer=", change it to read:

SMTPServer=smtp.undsmhs.net

if you also find a line in the file that starts with "SMTPPort=", then change it to read:

SMTPPort=587

otherwise, add that as a new line of text after the "SMTPServer=" line.

PLEASE REMEMBER that you've made this change, and how you did it.

If later on down the road you use the normal Eudora options/settings dialog box to change your SMTP server to something other than smtp.undsmhs.net - you probably WILL NOT be able to send any mail until you go back into the eudora.ini file and remove the "SMTPPort=587" line, since other SMTP servers may not accept mail on that port.