[Dovecot] Sending email using IMAP

William Astle astle at lexi.net
Fri Nov 3 18:47:39 UTC 2006


Marc Perkel wrote:
> IMAP requires a password. SMTP it's optional. I think that consumer SMTP
> should be replaced with not only something that requires a password, but
> that the user has to log into the account that they are sending email
> from. SMTP doesn't have to be tied to IMAP accounts. If you have an SMTP
> account you can spoof anyone. My idea with IMAP sending is to deny the
> ability of the sender to use a different email address that the one that
> they are logged into. This is to prevent spam and spoofing.
> 

I don't know what SMTP software you're using, but on my servers port 587
*requires* authentication and port 25 requires authentication in order
to relay mail. Of course, once authenticated, you can put anything you
want for sender address but that, too, can be prevented with a
reasonable MTA and correct configuration.

Basically, my point is that you can configure your SMTP server to
enforce whatever restrictions you want on the envelope or even the
headers. Just because you can configure it to be an open relay doesn't
mean you have to have it configured that way.

-- 
William Astle
Lexicom Ltd.
Phone: +1-403-262-6610
Long Distance: 1-877-426-6277
Email: astle at lexi.net


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