RE: Now well off-topic - was Re: [Exim] how to configure HEL…

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Author: Troy Settle
Date:  
To: aooi58, 'Exim Users Mailing List'
Subject: RE: Now well off-topic - was Re: [Exim] how to configure HELO/EHLO and DNS for multi-homed hosts
Simon,

Your computer sends 'THUNDER' in the HELO/EHLO. This isn't a FQDN, but your
ISP's mail server accepts it because your SMTP session was authenticated or
your IP is within their allowed hosts list.

Your ISP's mail server sends 'shockwave.systems.pipex.net,' which is the
FQDN of their mail server. Because your ISP's mail server is well behaved,
you have the ability to send email to any of a billion or more addresses out
on the 'net.

Same thing with my mail:

My computer sends 'dilbert' in the HELO/EHLO, which is the name I've given
my computer. My mail server accepts it because I would beat it into
submission if it didn't, and that would be a great waste of a $6000 machine.

My overpriced mail server sends HELO/EHLO of 'psknet.com' which is what I
defined as the parimary_hostname in the exim configuration. This is
innaccurate, however, as 'psknet.com' is currently on a machine that does
not listen for incoming SMTP traffic. No biggy though, it's a FQDN, it
resolves forward and backward, and has appropriate MX records in place.
Here's what it looks like:

Received: from kennedy.psknet.com ([63.171.251.9] helo=psknet.com)
Received: from dilbert.psknet.com ([63.171.251.35] helo=dilbert)

And for the curious, yes, my servers are named for dead presidents and my
workstations are named for a comic strip.


--
Troy Settle
Pulaski Networks
http://www.psknet.com
540.994.4254 ~ 866.477.5638
Pulaski Chamber 2002 Small Business Of The Year


>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: exim-users-admin@???
> [mailto:exim-users-admin@exim.org] On Behalf Of Simon Bell
> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 9:17 AM
> To: 'Exim Users Mailing List'
>
> hm, am i missing something? I am sending these emails through my isp's
> mail server, so i have no control over what they use as a HELO/EHLO
> value...
>
> Simon
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wakko Warner [mailto:wakko@animx.eu.org]
> Sent: 30 June 2003 14:10
> To: Giuliano Gavazzi
> Cc: aooi58@???; 'Exim Users Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: Now well off-topic - was Re: [Exim] how to configure
> HELO/EHLO and DNS for multi-homed hosts
>
>
> > choice 1) mail.mydomain.com: nicer, but Mr Woods unhappy.
>
> My personal choice.
>
> > choice 2) my.dsl.address.com: but only if this resolves to
> your IP. Mr
>
> > Woods happy.
> >
> > BUT what is this crap:
> >
> > Received: from THUNDER (usercf098.dsl.pipex.com [62.190.237.98])
> >                 ^^^^^^^
> > this would certainly get spam points on my system.

>
> This would be dropped at my server. I do some HELO checking. To me,
> this looks like spam.
>
> HELOs are accepted if they have atleast 1 dot and doesn't
> appear at the
> beginning or end of the string. x.x would be accepted. I
> don't do any
> dns lookups for this. If you HELO as some domains (ie hotmail.com), I
> do check to see if the hostname ends with hotmail.com.
>
> --
> Lab tests show that use of micro$oft causes cancer in lab animals
>
>
> --
>
> ## List details at
> http://www.exim.org/mailman/listinfo/exim-users Exim details
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>
>