On SBC DSL? Read This!

[lwood]

Howdy, folks, this is of primary interest to people who have e-mail accounts through me (nerdalfheim.org et al), and are on SBC (aka Yahoo, aka who-the-hell-knows) Residential DSL. However, if you are an SBC DSL customer who has e-mail hosted somewhere besides them, and aren't using a webmail client, you care about this message. I've grandly charged in and fixed multiple people recently, and am now trying to save myself a little work. ;)

SBC has recently blocked all of their resident DSL customers from using any servers but their own to SEND mail. You may still receive e-mail from any account you like. You may still send mail from any account you like as long as you change the following setting:

If you have, within the past few days, found yourself unable to send mail from your account, but have no trouble receiving, then open your mail client. In the various menus (Tools? Options? Accounts? Preferences? something like this), find out where the Outbound or SMTP Mail Server is set. This is not the Incoming, POP, IMAP, LDAP, or anything other kind of server.

If you have the problem described above and are on SBC DSL, please change that setting from whatever it is to smtp.sbcglobal.net.

This was done as a "security" measure: many SBC DSL customers have had their computers turned into virus-spewing zombies that then try to send mail out in the name of their evil spamming masters, not to mention try to harvest more, you know, braaaaaaains. This change from SBC keeps these zombie machines from sending mail out directly, although if I could figure out a way to write a workaround for a theoretical new batch of zombie powder in ten seconds, I'm sure these e-bokors have thought of several.

Thanks for reading!

-- Lorrie

Comments

[witchchild]

I'm now glad I only used web email at home. (yes, I am on sbc, oddly I've never had much of an issue with it.)

[lwood.livejournal.com]

It might not be going on where you live yet, but now, if it ever does, at least you're prepared.

-- Lorrie

[lysana.livejournal.com]

I may be cursing myself by noting this, but I use SBC DSL and non-SBC mail servers and have yet to have this problem. And I use mail clients.

[lwood.livejournal.com]

Well, the East Bay is on a slightly different network from the South Bay, and the person I've fixed was in Oakland. Still, should it happen any time soon, now you know what the deal is.

-- Lorrie