[vox-tech] re: mail server config question

Sat Apr 8 13:07:18 PDT 2006

Rick and David:

Thanks for responding and for the tips. Looks like
I've got some reading to do. 

Before I go any further with my configuration, I want
to clarify something: When I said the word "firewall",
I was referring to the iptables daemon that runs on
the system, not a separate hardware device. You might
have already known that, but I wanted to make
absolutely sure. Iptables currently has ports 80 and
22 open, for http and ssh respectively. Does this
information have any bearing on the discussion?

Thanks, Matt

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> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. mail server config question (Cylar Z)
>    2. Re: mail server config question (Rick Moen)
>    3. Re: mail server config question (David
> Rosenstrauch)
> 
> 
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 22:12:24 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Cylar Z <cylarz at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [vox-tech] mail server config question
> To: vox-tech at lists.lugod.org
> Message-ID:
> <20060408051224.46796.qmail at web80728.mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> Hey Linux gurus...
> 
> I'm operating a system that runs Fedora Core 5. It
> uses Postfix as an MTA.
> 
> I'm able to send mail to, and receive mail from,
> other
> email addresses outside the system - configuring the
> MTA was a snap. (I didn't even have to open a port
> for
> it in my firewall.) Currently however, I am only
> able
> to send or receive mail by using the "mail" command
> at
> the prompt.  
> 
> I'm wondering - is there some sort of "yahoo-like"
> web
> interface I could install on my system? I'm not
> talking about a pop/smtp client like Outlook or
> Squirrelmail (which I am guessing is Outlook's Linux
> counterpart). If possible, I'd prefer to avoid
> setting
> up the POP3/SMTP functionality this would require,
> mostly because I've looked at the documentation for
> Postfix and can't see a way to do that without
> leaving
> an "open relay" that spammers could exploit.
> 
> So this is what I'm looking for: I want to be able
> to
> go to my server's webpage, log in securely, and
> view/send mail via a web interface. Ideally this
> could
> be reached from a public computer running Internet
> Explorer only, without special software or
> configuration. Basically, like I do right now with
> Yahoo mail. Any ideas on how to get started? Do I
> need
> SSL, for instance?
> 
> I realize I'm probably talking about something
> called
> an MUA (the other half of the email delivery
> equation)
> but I am in need of your suggestions and guidance.
> 
> Thanks, Matt
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 22:37:07 -0700
> From: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
> Subject: Re: [vox-tech] mail server config question
> To: vox-tech at lists.lugod.org
> Message-ID: <20060408053707.GK5596 at linuxmafia.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> 
> Quoting Cylar Z (cylarz at yahoo.com):
> 
> > I'm not talking about a pop/smtp client like
> Outlook or Squirrelmail
> > (which I am guessing is Outlook's Linux
> counterpart).
> 
> Actually, it's not.  SquirrelMail is a Web front-end
> to an IMAP daemon
> (which you must also furnish).  More about that
> below.
> 
> > I'm able to send mail to, and receive mail from,
> other email addresses
> > outside the system - configuring the MTA was a
> snap. (I didn't even
> > have to open a port for it in my firewall.)
> Currently however, I am
> > only able to send or receive mail by using the
> "mail" command at the
> > prompt.  
> 
> The primitive "mail" console program is the simplest
> example of an MUA,
> by the way.
> 
> My personal preference, which most people don't
> share:  By preference, my
> mail never leaves my MTA box.  Instead, I SSH to
> that box and read using
> my favourite console-type MUA, "mutt".  To ensure
> that "mutt" remains
> exactly the way I left it, I run it under GNU
> screen.
> 
> > I'm wondering - is there some sort of "yahoo-like"
> web interface I
> > could install on my system? [...] If possible, I'd
> prefer to avoid
> > setting up the POP3/SMTP functionality this would
> require, mostly
> > because I've looked at the documentation for
> Postfix and can't see a
> > way to do that without leaving an "open relay"
> that spammers could
> > exploit.
> 
> 1.  Yes, there's an entire category of Yahoo-like
> Web front-end programs
> to reach your mail.  SquirrelMail is one.  More at: 
> "Webmail" on
> http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Mail/ .
> 
> 2.  I think you're suffering a bit of category
> confusion.  While it's
> true that (to my knowledge) all existing webmail
> programs for Linux
> expect to speak to a POP3 or IMAP daemon rather than
> reading a raw local
> mail spool via the filesystem, that has nothing to
> do with Postfix.
> Postfix is an MTA -- an SMTP daemon.  You would need
> a separate piece of
> software -- a Mail Delivery Agent -- to offer up the
> IMAP or POP3
> services a webmail program expects to talk to, to
> pull down inbound
> mail.  Yes, outbound mail would have to be handed
> off from the webmail
> program to Postfix (your MTA), but that would be
> done locally, exactly
> the same way /usr/bin/mail does.
> 
> Your concern for security is commendable, anyway. 
> Let's talk about
> that:  You might, for example, pick an IMAP daemon
> like Dovecot, _but_
> configure it to be reachable from the loopback
> network interface only,
> _not_ from anywhere else.  You would then configure
> a webmail program
> such as SquirrelMail to poll its incoming mail from
> host "localhost",
> rather than from the public hostname.
> 
> 
> > I realize I'm probably talking about something
> called
> > an MUA (the other half of the email delivery
> equation)...
> 
> /usr/bin/mail is an example of an MUA.
> /usr/sbin/postfix is an example of an MTA.
> /usr/sbin/dovecot is an example of an MDA.
> 
> You'll find more about this in other documents on
> http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Mail/ .  I hope that helps.
> 
> -- 
> Cheers,
> Rick Moen                      "vi is my shepherd; I
> shall not font."
> 
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