The strangest thing happened this week and I can't seem to figure it out.

I got a call from a client Monday night. She can't send email out of her webhosting account. She uses Netscape Mail. Her account in on my virtual server at AIT. I look into it - she's timing out when trying to connect to the SMTP server. All the settings are fine. She can receive mail, just can't send it. Strange.

I set up a copy of Netscape Mail that emulates her settings. I get the same problem. I setup my Outlook 2000 to use an account on the same server. It can't send out.

OK. I think there is something wrong with the SMTP software and email customer support.

Meanwhile, all of a sudden I can't send out of my own webhosting accounts using Outlook 2000 - to both my AIT server or to my own main account on an Alabanza server. These always worked without any problem.

If I use Web Mail Check on my Alabanza-server, I can send email. But not from home with my Outlook 2000. I have a web-based email system installed on my AIT server. I can send email from that, too. But not from home with my Outlook 2000.

Neither I nor my client can all of a sudden SEND email from our accounts. We use two different software packages - Netscape Mail and Outlook 2000. We use different PCs and are separated by 15 miles. And we use different servers in different data centers.

On Outlook I have my settings set for Authentication. My outgoing mail gets stuck on my Outbox. The send fails. I move the email to Drafts. Recheck my mail and re-authenticate. Go to Drafts, open the item and Re-Send. Still fails.

I see Outlook2000 in Accounts/Advanced Settings has options for POP and SMTP port settings. Never noticed them before. Can't figure that they've been wrong all this time.

Maybe my Outlook got corrupt and I need to re-install it. But that doesn't explain the problem my client is having with Netscape Mail.

Can't figure this one out at all. I don't know what to make of the problem. I don't know what to make of the coincidences.

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Sean

Is it possible that your isp has decided to block port 25 (smtp) for servers other than their own smtp servers? I've heard of this happening before.

I don't believe this is an issue with your mail clients but more likely a network issue with your isp.

t. has brought up the likely possibilites. There could be a problem with the configuration of sendmail, particularly the access file and pop auth before relay. Also, some hosts do block port 25, even without admitting it. I had that happen to a client last year.

That's true, some hosts do block it, but I doubt that is your problem considering that it just happened recently and it is happening with 2 different hosting companies.

First: Does this happen to all of your clients? Can any of them send mail from either of those servers? If so, then it is your ISP. If not, it could be the server.

Second: Send mail through your own ISP. THis is the preferred method as it does not tie up the hosts resources. Although the SMTP server is there to use, why do you need it? Unless you send SPAM and/or want to try to mask where you are sending your mail from.

Thanks for the tip.

Yes, it was an ISP problem. Both my client and I are using dial-up accounts I resell. I get them through a business, OSNET, in Buffalo, NY. I resell only a couple to a handful of clients.

Well, seems that UUNet put through some changes on their network that block port 25 for ISPs using their network (or something like that).

I gave OSNET the IP Addresses for my servers and they're adding them to the UUNet database. This should allow my clients and myself to send mail from our accounts. I should be okay shortly. In addition, OSNET gave me their SMTP server name and I can give that to my clients to use, if I want.

We'll see if everything clears up shortly.

Thanks to everyone for putting my scent on the right track. Much appreciated.

Sean