Email - Revision history

imported>Sjwhitak: /* Logging */

2022-04-07T17:57:52Z

Logging

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:57, 7 April 2022
Line 55:		Line 55:

	{{RootCmd\|postfix stop}}		{{RootCmd\|postfix stop}}
	{{RootCmd\|postconf maillog_file=/var/log/postfix.log}}		{{RootCmd\|postconf maillog_file=/var/log/postfix.log}}
	{{RootCmd\|postfix start}}		{{RootCmd\|postfix start}}

imported>Sjwhitak: /* Logging */

2022-04-07T17:56:42Z

Logging

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:56, 7 April 2022
Line 54:		Line 54:
	For postfix, you need to run these commands in your shell:		For postfix, you need to run these commands in your shell:

	postfix stop		{{RootCmd\|postfix stop}}
	postconf maillog_file=/var/log/postfix.log		{{RootCmd\|postconf maillog_file=/var/log/postfix.log}}
	postfix start		{{RootCmd\|postfix start}}

	=== Ports ===		=== Ports ===

imported>Sjwhitak: Wrong domain

2022-04-04T21:47:15Z

Wrong domain

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:47, 4 April 2022
Line 20:		Line 20:
	** Name: <code>example.com</code>, Value: <code>v=spf1 ip4:141.219.188.20 -all</code>		** Name: <code>example.com</code>, Value: <code>v=spf1 ip4:141.219.188.20 -all</code>
	** Name: <code>default._domainkey.example.com</code>, Value: <code>v=DKIM1; h=sha256; k=rsa; p=<your generated public key></code>		** Name: <code>default._domainkey.example.com</code>, Value: <code>v=DKIM1; h=sha256; k=rsa; p=<your generated public key></code>
	** Name: <code>_dmarc.~~horatio~~.us</code>, Value: <code>v=DMARC1;p=quarantine;</code>		** Name: <code>_dmarc.example.com</code>, Value: <code>v=DMARC1;p=quarantine;</code>

	These DNS records are required to prevent spammers from spoofing your email. It's quite simple to spoof your email, simply set the "From" header to whatever you want, and so you could just use <code>From: steven@example.com</code> to a bunch of people. The <code>spf1</code> DNS record says that if an email sent outside of the IP <code>141.219.188.20</code>, then they'll assume someone else was trying to spoof your email. With no <code>spf1</code> record, there's no way to know if this email is spoofed or not, so your domain will not be trustworthy. If someone actually <em>does</em> try to use your email, it'll be quarantined following your <code>DMARC1</code> value. Finally, if someone spoofs your IP somehow, they will also require your private key to compare with your <code>DKIM1</code> public key shown in the third <code>TXT</code> record.		These DNS records are required to prevent spammers from spoofing your email. It's quite simple to spoof your email, simply set the "From" header to whatever you want, and so you could just use <code>From: steven@example.com</code> to a bunch of people. The <code>spf1</code> DNS record says that if an email sent outside of the IP <code>141.219.188.20</code>, then they'll assume someone else was trying to spoof your email. With no <code>spf1</code> record, there's no way to know if this email is spoofed or not, so your domain will not be trustworthy. If someone actually <em>does</em> try to use your email, it'll be quarantined following your <code>DMARC1</code> value. Finally, if someone spoofs your IP somehow, they will also require your private key to compare with your <code>DKIM1</code> public key shown in the third <code>TXT</code> record.

imported>Sjwhitak at 12:59, 30 March 2022

2022-03-30T12:59:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:59, 30 March 2022
Line 22:		Line 22:
	** Name: <code>_dmarc.horatio.us</code>, Value: <code>v=DMARC1;p=quarantine;</code>		** Name: <code>_dmarc.horatio.us</code>, Value: <code>v=DMARC1;p=quarantine;</code>

	These DNS records are required to prevent spammers from spoofing your email. It's quite simple to spoof your email, simply set the "From" header to whatever you want, and so you could just use <code>From: steven@example.com</code> to a bunch of people. The <code>spf1</code> DNS record says that if an email sent outside of the IP <code>141.219.188.20</code>. If someone actually <em>does</em> try to use your email, it'll be quarantined following your <code>DMARC1</code> value. Finally, if someone spoofs your IP somehow, they will also require your private key to compare with your <code>DKIM1</code> public key shown in the third <code>TXT</code> record.		These DNS records are required to prevent spammers from spoofing your email. It's quite simple to spoof your email, simply set the "From" header to whatever you want, and so you could just use <code>From: steven@example.com</code> to a bunch of people. The <code>spf1</code> DNS record says that if an email sent outside of the IP <code>141.219.188.20</code>, then they'll assume someone else was trying to spoof your email. With no <code>spf1</code> record, there's no way to know if this email is spoofed or not, so your domain will not be trustworthy. If someone actually <em>does</em> try to use your email, it'll be quarantined following your <code>DMARC1</code> value. Finally, if someone spoofs your IP somehow, they will also require your private key to compare with your <code>DKIM1</code> public key shown in the third <code>TXT</code> record.

	Finally, you'll need to set your <code>rDNS</code> record on your server yourself. I don't know how to do this on a server you own, but if you're using a VPS, you set this rDNS value on your server, not the domain. <code>rDNS</code> is a lookup parameter so someone requesting your IP (<code>dig -x 141.219.188.20</code>), it'll respond with the mail server domain name.		Finally, you'll need to set your <code>rDNS</code> record on your server yourself. I don't know how to do this on a server you own, but if you're using a VPS, you set this rDNS value on your server, not the domain. <code>rDNS</code> is a lookup parameter so someone requesting your IP (<code>dig -x 141.219.188.20</code>), it'll respond with the mail server domain name.

imported>Sjwhitak at 12:57, 30 March 2022

2022-03-30T12:57:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:57, 30 March 2022
Line 1:		Line 1:
	This is honestly an academic exercise because almost everyone uses Google's IMAP servers or other big ones, and anyone who doesn't are probably spammers. So, you have to try really, really hard and put a lot of settings up to not act like a spammer. A spammer can do these exact same things, too, which means you'll need to try really hard gain reputation and manually remove yourself from blacklists until you've put in so much effort that people have to assume you <em>aren't</em> a spammer. <em>Then</em>, if you get compromised and a spammer gains access to your mail server, you have to go through all of this all over again!		This is honestly an academic exercise because almost everyone uses Google's IMAP servers or other big ones, and anyone who doesn't are probably spammers. So, you have to try really, really hard and put a lot of settings up to not act like a spammer. A spammer can do these exact same things, too, which means you'll need to try really hard to gain reputation and manually remove yourself from blacklists until you've put in so much effort that people have to assume you <em>aren't</em> a spammer. <em>Then</em>, if you get compromised and a spammer gains access to your mail server, you have to go through all of this all over again!

	== Own server ==		== Own server ==
Line 58:		Line 58:
	postfix start		postfix start

		⚫	=== Ports ===
			The IMAP server (dovecot) uses port <code>143</code> for <code>STARTTLS</code>.

			The IMAP server (dovecot) uses port <code>993</code> for <code>SSL/TLS</code>.
⚫	=== ~~Spam~~ ===

			This configuration uses "Normal password" for the authentication method since Dovecot uses PAM as the login.

			The SMTP server (postfix) uses port <code>587</code> for <code>STARTTLS</code>.

			The SMTP server (postfix) uses port <code>465</code> for <code>SSL/TLS</code>.

			I was only able to get <code>SSL/TLS</code> working for the IMAP server. The SMTP server needed to use <code>STARTTLS</code>.
			== Spam ==
	Spam is a big issue with email and it's "fixed" by blocking literally everything (Google's policy) if the IP isn't positively trustworthy. If it's slightly trustworthy, the email is simply sent directly to spam rather than being completely blocked.		Spam is a big issue with email and it's "fixed" by blocking literally everything (Google's policy) if the IP isn't positively trustworthy. If it's slightly trustworthy, the email is simply sent directly to spam rather than being completely blocked.

imported>Sjwhitak: Missed word

2022-03-28T21:16:29Z

Missed word

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:16, 28 March 2022
Line 62:		Line 62:
	Spam is a big issue with email and it's "fixed" by blocking literally everything (Google's policy) if the IP isn't positively trustworthy. If it's slightly trustworthy, the email is simply sent directly to spam rather than being completely blocked.		Spam is a big issue with email and it's "fixed" by blocking literally everything (Google's policy) if the IP isn't positively trustworthy. If it's slightly trustworthy, the email is simply sent directly to spam rather than being completely blocked.

	To get around this (and you know an easy way, let me know, sjwhitak is my email, please and thank you), go to https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx and search your IP. For every list that has you blacklisted, you'll need to go to each of their websites and manually request that you be removed. Some times it takes weeks, some times only a few days (one list immediately took me off their list, which is a bit surprising to me and makes me not want to trust their spam list). This still does not guarantee you'll get past Google's email death wall, but you'll eventually be able to get past it. Internet searches for <code>Gmail 550-5.7.1</code> will show a lot of angry people at Google and their "improved" AI-system is blocking a lot of people.		To get around this (and if you know an easy way, let me know, sjwhitak is my email, please and thank you), go to https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx and search your IP. For every list that has you blacklisted, you'll need to go to each of their websites and manually request that you be removed. Some times it takes weeks, some times only a few days (one list immediately took me off their list, which is a bit surprising to me and makes me not want to trust their spam list). This still does not guarantee you'll get past Google's email death wall, but you'll eventually be able to get past it. Internet searches for <code>Gmail 550-5.7.1</code> will show a lot of angry people at Google and their "improved" AI-system is blocking a lot of people.

	If someone is more knowledgeable in this field, add to this. I'm not. I'm barely getting my email afloat and I can at least email disroot with this setup, but gmail outright fails completely, having a spammer use my IP 3 years ago.		If someone is more knowledgeable in this field, add to this. I'm not. I'm barely getting my email afloat and I can at least email disroot with this setup, but gmail outright fails completely, having a spammer use my IP 3 years ago.

imported>Sjwhitak: Anecdote

2022-03-28T21:16:05Z

Anecdote

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:16, 28 March 2022
Line 62:		Line 62:
	Spam is a big issue with email and it's "fixed" by blocking literally everything (Google's policy) if the IP isn't positively trustworthy. If it's slightly trustworthy, the email is simply sent directly to spam rather than being completely blocked.		Spam is a big issue with email and it's "fixed" by blocking literally everything (Google's policy) if the IP isn't positively trustworthy. If it's slightly trustworthy, the email is simply sent directly to spam rather than being completely blocked.

	To get around this (and you know an easy way, let me know, sjwhitak is my email, please and thank you), go to https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx and search your IP. For every list that has you blacklisted, you'll need to go to each of their websites and manually request that you be removed. Some times it takes weeks, some times only a few days. This still does not guarantee you'll get past Google's email death wall, but you'll eventually be able to get past it. Internet searches for <code>Gmail 550-5.7.1</code> will show a lot of angry people at Google and their "improved" AI-system is blocking a lot of people.		To get around this (and you know an easy way, let me know, sjwhitak is my email, please and thank you), go to https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx and search your IP. For every list that has you blacklisted, you'll need to go to each of their websites and manually request that you be removed. Some times it takes weeks, some times only a few days (one list immediately took me off their list, which is a bit surprising to me and makes me not want to trust their spam list). This still does not guarantee you'll get past Google's email death wall, but you'll eventually be able to get past it. Internet searches for <code>Gmail 550-5.7.1</code> will show a lot of angry people at Google and their "improved" AI-system is blocking a lot of people.

	If someone is more knowledgeable in this field, add to this. I'm not. I'm barely getting my email afloat and I can at least email disroot with this setup, but gmail outright fails completely, having a spammer use my IP 3 years ago.		If someone is more knowledgeable in this field, add to this. I'm not. I'm barely getting my email afloat and I can at least email disroot with this setup, but gmail outright fails completely, having a spammer use my IP 3 years ago.

imported>Sjwhitak: Created page with "This is honestly an academic exercise because almost everyone uses Google's IMAP servers or other big ones, and anyone who doesn't are probably spammers. So, you have to try really, really hard and put a lot of settings up to not act like a spammer. A spammer can do these exact same things, too, which means you'll need to try really hard gain reputation and manually remove yourself from blacklists until you've put in so much effort that people have to assume you aren..."

2022-03-28T21:12:11Z

Created page with "This is honestly an academic exercise because almost everyone uses Google's IMAP servers or other big ones, and anyone who doesn't are probably spammers. So, you have to try really, really hard and put a lot of settings up to not act like a spammer. A spammer can do these exact same things, too, which means you'll need to try really hard gain reputation and manually remove yourself from blacklists until you've put in so much effort that people have to assume you aren..."

New page
This is honestly an academic exercise because almost everyone uses Google's IMAP servers or other big ones, and anyone who doesn't are probably spammers. So, you have to try really, really hard and put a lot of settings up to not act like a spammer. A spammer can do these exact same things, too, which means you'll need to try really hard gain reputation and manually remove yourself from blacklists until you've put in so much effort that people have to assume you aren't a spammer. Then, if you get compromised and a spammer gains access to your mail server, you have to go through all of this all over again!

== Own server ==

Follow this: https://gist.github.com/howyay/57982e6ba9eedd3a5662c518f1b985c7 to install [https://www.dovecot.org/ dovecot] and [http://www.postfix.org/ postfix]. It's straightforward, but the DNS records may be a little confusing.

You need:

#A domain name (purchased by [https://www.namecheap.com/ namecheap], [https://www.whois.com/ whois], [https://www.godaddy.com/ godaddy], etc)
#A server with Linux (Your own server, or purchase a VPS from [https://www.linode.com/ linode], [https://www.hostwinds.com/ hostwinds], [https://aws.amazon.com/ AWS], etc)

If your domain's <code>example.com</code> and your server's IP is <code>141.219.188.20</code>, then point that domain to your server using your DNS records. This [https://gist.github.com/howyay/57982e6ba9eedd3a5662c518f1b985c7 tutorial] is a bit confusing with the DNS records, so I'm just going to step through this in more fidelity.

* A records
** Name: <code>example.com</code>, IP: <code>141.219.188.20</code>
** Name: <code>mail.example.com</code>, IP: <code>141.219.188.20</code>
* MX records
** Name: <code>mail.example.com</code>, IP: <code>141.219.188.20</code>, Priority <code>0</code>
* TXT records
** Name: <code>example.com</code>, Value: <code>v=spf1 ip4:141.219.188.20 -all</code>
** Name: <code>default._domainkey.example.com</code>, Value: <code>v=DKIM1; h=sha256; k=rsa; p=<your generated public key></code>
** Name: <code>_dmarc.horatio.us</code>, Value: <code>v=DMARC1;p=quarantine;</code>

These DNS records are required to prevent spammers from spoofing your email. It's quite simple to spoof your email, simply set the "From" header to whatever you want, and so you could just use <code>From: steven@example.com</code> to a bunch of people. The <code>spf1</code> DNS record says that if an email sent outside of the IP <code>141.219.188.20</code>. If someone actually does try to use your email, it'll be quarantined following your <code>DMARC1</code> value. Finally, if someone spoofs your IP somehow, they will also require your private key to compare with your <code>DKIM1</code> public key shown in the third <code>TXT</code> record.

Finally, you'll need to set your <code>rDNS</code> record on your server yourself. I don't know how to do this on a server you own, but if you're using a VPS, you set this rDNS value on your server, not the domain. <code>rDNS</code> is a lookup parameter so someone requesting your IP (<code>dig -x 141.219.188.20</code>), it'll respond with the mail server domain name.

=== Differences ===
The only trouble I had was working with PAM, and I think the configuration is wrong in <code>0x06 Setup Dovecot IMAP server</code>, I could only get it to work with:

passdb {
args = failure_show_msg=yes
driver = pam
}

I don't really know why it worked. There might have been some issues where creating your user with PAM needed some reboots. In fact, I very much distrust this set up because I only modified this parameter so I could debug the issue, but it instead fixed it all. Who knows.

=== Logging ===
If you follow all [https://gist.github.com/howyay/57982e6ba9eedd3a5662c518f1b985c7 these settings], you'll miss out on logging for everything, which will suck if something's not working. In <code>/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf</code> add this line:

!include conf.d/10-logging.conf

Then add some verbosities into this <code>/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-logging.conf</code> file,

log_path = /var/log/dovecot.log
auth_verbose = yes
auth_debug = yes
auth_debug_passwords = yes
mail_debug = yes
verbose_ssl = yes

These 5 parameters are all the ones I found to get the most logging possible. Once you got it working, you can drop the logging lines to keep everything clean.

For postfix, you need to run these commands in your shell:

postfix stop
postconf maillog_file=/var/log/postfix.log
postfix start

=== Spam ===
Spam is a big issue with email and it's "fixed" by blocking literally everything (Google's policy) if the IP isn't positively trustworthy. If it's slightly trustworthy, the email is simply sent directly to spam rather than being completely blocked.

To get around this (and you know an easy way, let me know, sjwhitak is my email, please and thank you), go to https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx and search your IP. For every list that has you blacklisted, you'll need to go to each of their websites and manually request that you be removed. Some times it takes weeks, some times only a few days. This still does not guarantee you'll get past Google's email death wall, but you'll eventually be able to get past it. Internet searches for <code>Gmail 550-5.7.1</code> will show a lot of angry people at Google and their "improved" AI-system is blocking a lot of people.

If someone is more knowledgeable in this field, add to this. I'm not. I'm barely getting my email afloat and I can at least email disroot with this setup, but gmail outright fails completely, having a spammer use my IP 3 years ago.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:57, 7 April 2022
Line 55:		Line 55:

	{{RootCmd\|postfix stop}}		{{RootCmd\|postfix stop}}
	{{RootCmd\|postconf maillog_file=/var/log/postfix.log}}		{{RootCmd\|postconf maillog_file=/var/log/postfix.log}}
	{{RootCmd\|postfix start}}		{{RootCmd\|postfix start}}