SMTP problems suddenly appeared

[fleetwood]

Colin. Not exactly sure what you mean.
(MX) says 'you are using the 1&1 mail system'
Dosen't this just mean that you are using 1&1 mail servers, rathar than the premium priced MIcrosoft Exchange?
Is there something somewhere that states there is now an extra charge for this, as I have not seen it?
Apart from the problems we have just been discussing, my mail seems to be operating just as it was before.
Any forwards that I have set up to other accounts are still there, and appear to be working correctly.
What has happened to your mail thats different?

[animal dreams]

After my long call to support, I asked them to confirm their proposed workaround. Here is the email:

As what we have understood, you were using Actinic Desktop Ecommerce Software as a client to send out an email. Actinic uses outgoing mailserver and due to security reasons sending email through our smtp server via a script has been restricted.

Also you cannot use SMTP server only, it has to be setup with the incoming mailserver.Please either use php mail, as documented below, or send email through our mail relay mrvnet.kundenserver.de.

We understand you already tried using the mrvnet.kundenserver.de however still its not working [I didn't say that] and the alternative for this is you publish your website in the webspace and create a script that would allow you send emails.

Please refer to this link http://faq.1and1.com/scripting_langu...ed/php/11.html on creating the script that would allow you to send emails.

I have no idea whether they are correct in their statement about Actinic using a script, but the bottom line is it doesn't work as it did earlier this week.

The mrvnet.kunderserver.de is working for me after a refresh, but I would be interested in any comments on their proposed solution, especially from Actinic.

Note: I also checked the "MX" tag and it just means using 1&1 mail - not premium MailExchange.

[malbro]

Stopped working for at the moment. (EDIT: Ignore that, it's just a customer who used commas in their email address. Still working for me)




Mail forwarding is not what Actinic does. Actinic sends emails from the server using STMP (much as outlook etc do). There might be some confusion here.

Mike

I have been setting up a number of new email accounts using 1and1 and one thing that has changed is that SMTP now requires TLS setting, interestingly some older accounts still work even though they do not use the TLS settings, however that may be related to the different accounts I have. It is clear that 1and1 are tightening up email accounts, and that for Thunderbird and other email clients you have to use auth.smtp.1and1.co.uk not oneandone which does not work with name and password. So is auth.smtp.oneandone.co.uk an old email server that has now been shutdown by 1and1.

[Mike Hughes]

So is auth.smtp.oneandone.co.uk an old email server that has now been shutdown by 1and1.

I'm not sure it's been shut down as the message I remember seeing is connection refused. I suspect it might be used for other purposes and has now been closed to use by the hosting side.

I don't think it was ever an official solution. It was just something that worked so we all used it. mrvnet.kundenserver.de is the official recommended solution and does seem to work with Actinic.

Mike

Ps. I had to look up TLS and still don't understand it. Something to do with hash based encryption at the transport layer using a bidirectional secret key.

[justcarkits]

Same problem from about 5th June
Have spoken to 1and1 who refer back to Actinic....

[Mike Hughes]

Can I suggest Actinic write up the solution for the knowledge base. It'll save us having to keep repeating it.

Perhaps updating this one would be a good idea: http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?t=45186

Mike

[Yanni]

I agree with Mike, can Actinic write the solution please...it will save many people having to repeat same questions/answers

[ianbigg]

Hi,
We are looking into this and will post back shortly with any updates.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Ian
Actinic Desktop Technical Support

[malbro]

Ps. I had to look up TLS and still don't understand it. Something to do with hash based encryption at the transport layer using a bidirectional secret key.

I use Thunderbird as my mail client with a number of 1and1 mail accounts. 1and1 used to allow logging on to the SMTP server to send mail without any form of connection security just send username and password (the one set up for the imap or pop account). Recently this changed and now you have to select STARTTLS as connection security rather than none. This alters the default port used for the mail transfer (using SMTP) from 25 to 587,

In answer to previous query Actinic does use a Mailing Script, which is written in PERL, this script uses port 25 by default and that may well be the reason that the script no longer workS with 1and1. The script also logs errors to the error file so anyone with problems may find more information in the error log in the Actinic folder (acatalog) on the site 'error.err'.

[Chardeyre]

We have a similar problem in that our 4 sites stopped sending e-mail order confirmations suddenly on Tuesday morning, and have not returned.

I spoke to 1and1 in France this morning (tried 3 times yesterday no success) and the support chappie stated that it was my problem not theirs, nothing they had done or changed, and he actually put the phone down on me! So whatever is causing the problems is not just 1and1 UK, but all over.

Any ideas on things we can try to return to normal, it is making me very nervous, the customers as well. Thanks

[NormanRouxel]

Sue,

1&1support are ignorant of the changes that their server admin people have made. The problem is definitely of their making.

[malbro]

I spoke to 1and1 in France this morning (tried 3 times yesterday no success) and the support chappie stated that it was my problem not theirs, nothing they had done or changed, and he actually put the phone down on me! So whatever is causing the problems is not just 1and1 UK, but all over.

As far as I am aware 1and1 host all domains at their server centre in Germany, all my UK sites come up as hosted in Germany.

[fleetwood]

Don't know if this is related or not, but I am have problems with the FTP server too - can't reach my site at all via browser at the moment and test now passes email but fails FTP

Unable to contact the specified FTP proxy server. Check the proxy server and FTP port. Contact your system administrator or ISP for information on your proxy server.

A connection with the server could not be established

no setting changes made at my end

UPDATE After finally reaching support (took 5 attempts of being left to hang), they state that the FTP problems I am experiencing are something to do with firewall blocks on IP for too many bad or failed connections (no, I didn't understand it either). Such blocks normally remove automatically after 4 hours, but he will action that for me now. "Why can't I also reach my website via normal browser (surely that nothing to do with FTP)?" I asked. "Sometimes, these blocks can affect that too" he replied.
I don't really get it, or if its just more flannel, but I told him to just get on and do whatever it is he needs to do.

Anyone have any clue what this might be about?

[KarenM]

Yep, we too have this problem. No help from 1and1 whatsoever, they insist it is the fault of Actinic - I have of course not changed a thing in settings. We can't send email from within Actinic, and no order confirmations are sent from site. It's been like that for two days now - looks like we all started having the problem at the same time.

Oh, one of their email around lunchtime stated that they were working on a fix and I should try after about half an hour. The problem remained of course.

[fleetwood]

Thats classic!

"it is the fault of Actinic", but "we are working on a fix for the problem that dosen't exist anyway"