SMTP, Earthlink, and Eudora

[Jonathan Sachs]

I got up this morning to discover that I could no longer send mail.
EarthLink, my ISP, has implemented some new SMTP security feature, and
it no longer allows Eudora to send anything.

I visited EarthLink's customer support center and found instructions
for reconfiguring Eudora, which did not solve the problem. I had two
chat sessions with support agents, in which they suggested several
things to try, none of which helped. The last suggestion was changing
Eudora's SMTP port from 25 to 587, which changed the error message I
was getting but didn't fix the problem.

At this point, whenever I try to send e-mail I get:

587: Error reading from network. Cause: Connection closed by foreign
host. (0)

Their final offer was that I pitch Eudora and use Outlook or their
proprietary e-mail client. Both are unappealing because I have a
considerable investment of time in a custom application that sends
e-mail by using Eudora as an ActiveX object. (This is for follow-up
on eBay auction sales.) If I changed mail readers, I'd have to
reprogram the interface. Also, of course, Outlook is a virus magnet.

Is anyone else having a problem with Eudora on EarthLink? Any
solutions found?

I'm currently using Eudora Pro 5.0. I'd be willing to update to the
current version if that would fix the problem, but EarthLink support
assures me it would not.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

[Steve Urbach]

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 18:20:26 GMT, Jonathan Sachs

Post by Jonathan Sachs
I got up this morning to discover that I could no longer send mail.
EarthLink, my ISP, has implemented some new SMTP security feature, and
it no longer allows Eudora to send anything.
I visited EarthLink's customer support center and found instructions
for reconfiguring Eudora, which did not solve the problem. I had two
chat sessions with support agents, in which they suggested several
things to try, none of which helped. The last suggestion was changing
Eudora's SMTP port from 25 to 587, which changed the error message I
was getting but didn't fix the problem.
587: Error reading from network. Cause: Connection closed by foreign
host. (0)
Their final offer was that I pitch Eudora and use Outlook or their
proprietary e-mail client. Both are unappealing because I have a
considerable investment of time in a custom application that sends
e-mail by using Eudora as an ActiveX object. (This is for follow-up
on eBay auction sales.) If I changed mail readers, I'd have to
reprogram the interface. Also, of course, Outlook is a virus magnet.
Is anyone else having a problem with Eudora on EarthLink? Any
solutions found?
I'm currently using Eudora Pro 5.0. I'd be willing to update to the
current version if that would fix the problem, but EarthLink support
assures me it would not.
My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

Currently using Eudora 7 with *no* special settings (standard ports).

username@<any earthlink domain here>
smtp.eartlink.net
Allow authorization <ticked>

using smtpauth.earthlink.net has problems

Eudora 5.x and 6.x have worked fine for years

Check your firewall, Enable eudora.exe as outgoing rather than use
port numbers.

Steve U

[Jonathan Sachs]

Post by Steve Urbach
Eudora 5.x and 6.x have worked fine for years
Check your firewall, Enable eudora.exe as outgoing rather than use
port numbers.

I'm encouraged to hear that it can be made to work, but your
instructions are a little too concise for my level of understanding.

What am I to check the firewall for, and what does it mean to "Enable
eudora.exe as outgoing rather than use port numbers"?

To me the latter part suggests adding eudora.exe to a list of programs
that the firewall considers privileged, but I looked at the settings
for the firewall (Windows XP standard), and I didn't find such a list.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

[Steve Urbach]

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 04:54:12 GMT, Jonathan Sachs

Post by Jonathan Sachs

Post by Steve Urbach
Eudora 5.x and 6.x have worked fine for years
Check your firewall, Enable eudora.exe as outgoing rather than use
port numbers.

I'm encouraged to hear that it can be made to work, but your
instructions are a little too concise for my level of understanding.
What am I to check the firewall for, and what does it mean to "Enable
eudora.exe as outgoing rather than use port numbers"?
To me the latter part suggests adding eudora.exe to a list of programs
that the firewall considers privileged, but I looked at the settings
for the firewall (Windows XP standard), and I didn't find such a list.

It is on the EXCEPTIONS TAB if you allow exceptions...
FWIW I do NOT have an exception for Eudora.

I currently have Eudora 5.2 (6.1, 7.0) running on XPpro systems, that
ALL, send/receive EL mail.

As others have mentioned, 5.0 may be just to old.
Depending on your purchase date (paid mode), you might be able to
update to 5.2 for free (if 5.2 was released within a time period after
your purchase).
You can always try Free or Sponsored mode on the later version

Post by Jonathan Sachs
My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

Good luck

[Jonathan Sachs]

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 05:46:14 GMT, Steve Urbach

Post by Steve Urbach
It is on the EXCEPTIONS TAB if you allow exceptions...
FWIW I do NOT have an exception for Eudora.

I suspect I'm looking at the wrong thing. My firewall property form
(or what I take to be firewall property form) has no EXCEPTIONS tab.

Here's what I do, and when I see:

1. Click Properties for the network connection. I get a form with
three tabs, General, Authentication, and Advanced.

2. Click Advanced. I get a tab which allows me to enable/disable the
firewall and Internet connection sharing. (Both are enabled.) There's
also a Settings button which opens a Advanced Settings form with three
tabs: Services, Security Logging, and ICMP.

3. Services has a list of checkboxes to enable/disable a number of
services. Security Logging lets me choose a log file name and size
limit and what events will be logged. ICMP allows me to choose which
ICMP requests and messages are allowed.

Should I be looking at something else?

Post by Steve Urbach
As others have mentioned, 5.0 may be just to old.
Depending on your purchase date (paid mode), you might be able to
update to 5.2 for free (if 5.2 was released within a time period after
your purchase).
You can always try Free or Sponsored mode on the later version

I investigated an update last month in another context and found that
the way QUALCOMM's upgrade policy is written, I cannot upgrade my paid
version at all. I will try the current free or sponsored version and
see if that helps. In case it doesn't, though, I'd still like to
clarify the thing with the firewall.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

[jeffk]

If you can receive mail but not send it, it's most likely not a
firewall issue.
My impression is that for Earthlink dialup, SMTP authentication is not
needed, and the server is still smtp.earthlink.net.
For high speed access, authentication is needed, and the server name is
smtpauth.earthlink.net.
If that doesn't work for you, then try the sponsored version of Eudora
6 or Eudora 7.

[Jonathan Sachs]

I installed Eudora 7 in sponsored mode, and was able to make it work
with just a little manual configuration.

I will describe the configuration in case others come here looking for
an answer to the same problem. I can't guarantee that these settings
are optimal, but they work.

Tools / Options / Checking Mail:
Mail Server: pop.earthlink.net
User Name: (full name of dominant account)
Save Password: checked
Tools / Options / Sending Mail:
SMTP Server: smtpauth.earthlink.net
SMTP Relay Personality: none
Allow Authentication: checked
Use submission port (257): checked
Tools /Options/ Ports:
SMTP port: 25 (default)
IMAP port: 143 (default)
In the personality property sheet I set each personality's properties
as follows:
E-mail Address: the persona's full address.
User Name: the persona's full address.
SMTP Server: smtpauth.earthlink.net
Authentication allowed: checked
Use relay personality, if defined: checked
Use submission port (587): checked
Default domain: (none)


My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

[Steve Urbach]

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 22:01:36 GMT, Jonathan Sachs

Post by Jonathan Sachs
SMTP Server: smtpauth.earthlink.net
SMTP Relay Personality: none
Allow Authentication: checked
Use submission port (257): checked

use smtp.earthlink.net
smtpauth has failed for me more times than it has worked :/

[Jonathan Sachs]

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:59:07 GMT, Steve Urbach

Post by Steve Urbach
use smtp.earthlink.net
smtpauth has failed for me more times than it has worked :/

I tried that first, it couldn't get it to work! Perhaps additional
fiddling will produce results.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

[DC1999]

I have had the same problem and more. Earthlink support is just awful.
I once had to write snail mail to the General Counsel in Atlanta to
get any results -- and finally their Cust Support Manager sent a new
modem. That worked for a while.

A week or so ago I spent 1.5 hours on the phone with Earthlink support
to try to configure Eudora, and it still would not work. Finally I
gave up and bought 7.0 so I could get Eudora tech support again (my
paid was expired). She was helpful, and it finally worked.

Earthlink DSL totally failed about a month ago, SBC was here twice,
Covad (Earthlink's technical provider) was here once, and I can't begin
to tell you how many hours I spent on the phone. It just failed again
a few days ago, but now seems to be working.

Earthlink has never said anything about a different port or new SMTP
except they id'd the setting as SMTPAUTH.earthlink.net (my emphasis)
instead of smtp.earthlink.net.

On my desktop here at home, I can send OK sometimes. Other times it
wants to wait an hour and then will send. I still can't get this
laptop coordinated between home (Earthlink is the connection) and my
office (another ISP -- Earthlink won't provide the service).

My wireless connection at home is also intermittent -- it's OK on one
machine, then fails on the laptop, then resumes if I restart (I don't
think this is an Earthlink problem).

Given all the problems of the past month or so I've seriously thought
about a small claims suit naming all these people... even Belkin the
wireless guys.

Dave Clark

[Bradley]

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 18:20:26 GMT, Jonathan Sachs

Post by Jonathan Sachs
I got up this morning to discover that I could no longer send mail.
EarthLink, my ISP, has implemented some new SMTP security feature, and
it no longer allows Eudora to send anything.
...
I'm currently using Eudora Pro 5.0. I'd be willing to update to the
current version if that would fix the problem, but EarthLink support
assures me it would not.

When we were Earthlink customers, we found their technical support,
and I would guess their assurances, to be just about worthless.

Could the problem be an issue with SMPT authentication?

Eudora's capability for SMPT authentication was significantly enhanced
beginning with version 6 (I'm sure others here know the details better
than I).

Why not install a version 6 or 7 copy of Eudora, and try it in
sponsored mode?

Here is the Eudora tech support item for setting up SMTP
authentication. Earthlink is one of the keywords for this entry:

http://www.eudora.com/techsupport/kb/2107hq.html


On mozilla's site, they note that for Earthlink, the correct address
for the smtp server is:

smtpauth.earthlink.net

does that ring any bells?

Also, if you google "earthlink eudora smpt authentication", you will
find an old earthlink tech support entry on how to set up Eudora for
SMPT authentication, now a dead end link, but it can be accessed
through the google cache.

Good luck,

Bradley