sending email via smtp-server: SSL?

sending email via smtp-server: SSL?

[Martin Steffen]

Hi,

I have the following question: I want to send email via gnus. That works
very well since years for me. However, at the place here, there is the
following complication:

I want to use my laptop from home, and the way they set it up, I started to
use IMAP for reading, and the want that email is sent via  some server
   
       smpt.myorganization.xx



(BTW: When directly ``inside'' the net of my university, everything works
fine, it's only from home that I have trouble).  Now, the gnus-manual
recommends (if I am not mistaken) in that case the setting:

   (setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
   (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
   (setq smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.myorganization.xx")


However, emails don't get sent. I noticed, that when trying to send emails
via evolution, emails don't get sent (presumably for the same reason)
_unless_ I configure evolution for sending emails a 


         security option

namely stating that it uses a

         "use secure connection:   SSL-encryption"


How can I activate the same thing for gnus? Or maybe in general.

Thanks, Martin Steffen

Re: sending email via smtp-server: SSL?

[Andrzej Adam Filip]

Martin Steffen <msteffen@ifi.uio.no> wrote:
> I have the following question: I want to send email via gnus. That works
> very well since years for me. However, at the place here, there is the
> following complication:
>
> I want to use my laptop from home, and the way they set it up, I started to
> use IMAP for reading, and the want that email is sent via  some server
>    
>        smpt.myorganization.xx
>
>
> (BTW: When directly ``inside'' the net of my university, everything works
> fine, it's only from home that I have trouble).  Now, the gnus-manual
> recommends (if I am not mistaken) in that case the setting:
>
>    (setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
>    (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
>    (setq smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.myorganization.xx")
>
>
> However, emails don't get sent. I noticed, that when trying to send emails
> via evolution, emails don't get sent (presumably for the same reason)
> _unless_ I configure evolution for sending emails a 
>
>
>          security option
>
> namely stating that it uses a
>
>          "use secure connection:   SSL-encryption"
>
>
> How can I activate the same thing for gnus? Or maybe in general.
>
> Thanks, Martin Steffen

Looking for alternative solutions:
a) Does the SMTP server require SMMTP authentication?
b) Do you have ssh access to OS account at the university?

-- 
[pl>en Andrew] Andrzej Adam Filip : anfi@priv.onet.pl : anfi@xl.wp.pl
I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World
War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
  -- Albert Einstein

Re: sending email via smtp-server: SSL?

[Martin Steffen]

>>>>> "Andrzej" == Andrzej Adam Filip <anfi@onet.eu> writes:

    Andrzej> Looking for alternative solutions: a) Does the SMTP server
    Andrzej> require SMMTP authentication?  

I will ask the gurus about that, I don't know. 

They have a web-page where they describe how to use email (but they
describe only evolution, and from outside/home, webmail-access seems
recommended, which is a pain...). That "SMMTP"-thing is not mentioned.

BTW: I also succeeded to use the mentioned SMTP-server to forward emails
sent from my cell phone by setting the security option to "SSL/TLS"
(without it it does not work). Maybe that is related to the thing.

    Andrzej> b) Do you have ssh access to OS
    Andrzej> account at the university?

I do have ssh-access to my login at the university. Or what do you mean by
"ssh access to OS acount"? That's indeed how I use gnus: login via ssh, and
then use emacs/gnus. 

It would be nicer to do it direct, however: first of all, emacs would not
run inside an xterm, and, more important, I could write offline-emails, if
I had solved that.

But thanks

Martin


    Andrzej> -- [pl>en Andrew] Andrzej Adam Filip : anfi@priv.onet.pl :
    Andrzej> anfi@xl.wp.pl I know not with what weapons World War III will
    Andrzej> be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and
    Andrzej> stones.  -- Albert Einstein

Re: sending email via smtp-server: SSL?

[Andrzej Adam Filip]

Martin Steffen <msteffen@ifi.uio.no> wrote:

> I have the following question: I want to send email via gnus. That works
> very well since years for me. However, at the place here, there is the
> following complication:
>
> I want to use my laptop from home, and the way they set it up, I started to
> use IMAP for reading, and the want that email is sent via  some server
>    
>        smpt.myorganization.xx
>
>
>
> (BTW: When directly ``inside'' the net of my university, everything works
> fine, it's only from home that I have trouble).  Now, the gnus-manual
> recommends (if I am not mistaken) in that case the setting:
>
>    (setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
>    (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
>    (setq smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.myorganization.xx")
>
>
> However, emails don't get sent. I noticed, that when trying to send emails
> via evolution, emails don't get sent (presumably for the same reason)
> _unless_ I configure evolution for sending emails a 
>
>
>          security option
>
> namely stating that it uses a
>
>          "use secure connection:   SSL-encryption"
>
>
> How can I activate the same thing for gnus? Or maybe in general.
>
> Thanks, Martin Steffen

The page below describes how to make gnus use both STARTTLS and SSL:
  http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/GnusGmail

-- 
[pl>en Andrew] Andrzej Adam Filip : anfi@priv.onet.pl : anfi@xl.wp.pl
Dawn, n.:
The time when men of reason go to bed.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

Re: sending email via smtp-server: SSL?/TLS?

[Martin Steffen]

>>>>> "Andrzej" == Andrzej Adam Filip <anfi@onet.eu> writes:

    Andrzej> The page below describes how to make gnus use both STARTTLS
    Andrzej> and SSL: http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/GnusGmail

Thanks. Indeed for gmail it works. For the local setting, I am unable to
get that running, even if I think I understood, what the gurus told me
(except that they don't know about emacs). The symptoms are strange:

I have been told, that I can use 

    tls at port 25, or
   
    smpts ssl at port 465

So, I mainly tried 25 (I also tried 465, but mainly I thought 25 is more
standard), and for that, I used 

(setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
      send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
      smtpmail-starttls-credentials '(("smtp.myorg.com" 25 nil nil))
      smtpmail-auth-credentials '(("smtp.myorg.com" 25 "myname@myorg.com nil)) 
      smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.myorg.com"
      smtpmail-smtp-server "smtp.myorg.com"
      smtpmail-smtp-service 25
      smtpmail-debug-info t
      smtpmail-debug-verb t )

Seem pretty much the same with the config which works for gmail (exept the
server is different). 

Now, when sending an email (either via message-send-mail-function or
send-mail-function), what _should_ happen is that it prompts me for my
password. What actually happens is

>>Cannot connect to smtp.myorg.com:25: Connection timed out
>>Resolving 'smtp.uio.no'...
>>Connecting to 'zzz.xxx.yyy.zz:25'.

Looking at some error traces and the smpt-emacs-trace-buffer, what seems
to happen is that emacs starts the following a process:

gnutls-cli -s smtp.myorg.com -p 25   (***)

Indeed, when I invoke that directly in the shell, the same happens as given
above: basically nothing, until it time-outs.  I guess, that's the reason
of the problem. This belief is supported by the observation, that when I
type (***) when logged on at the university, it opens a TLS-dialogue to the
SMTP-server.

Anyway, that's as far as I got, but now I am stuck (as I think I followed
the instructions of the local administators ("use port 25, use TLS"). What
should I ask them, apart from telling them those observations? Can there be
more authentication hurdles? On some web-pages, there had been mention of
~/.authinfo, is this something, I need to study further?

Thanks, Martin


   




    Andrzej> -- [pl>en Andrew] Andrzej Adam Filip : anfi@priv.onet.pl :
    Andrzej> anfi@xl.wp.pl Dawn, n.: The time when men of reason go to bed.
    Andrzej> -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"