Simple Python script as SMTP server for outgoing e-mails?

[Grant Edwards]

On 2013-07-22, Gilles <nospam at nospam.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 21 Jul 2013 21:01:09 +0000 (UTC), Grant Edwards
><invalid at invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>Unless you've got a static IP address, a domain name, and a valid MX
>>record that will match up when they do a reverse DNS lookup, it's
>>pretty unlikely that you're going to have much luck running an SMTP
>>server.  Most other SMTP servers are probably going to ignore or
>>reject your attempts to transfer mail from your own SMTP server.
>
> Incidently, how do ISP MTAs find whether the remote MTA is legit or
> running on some regular user's computer?
>
> 1. Query Reverse DNS for IP
> 2. Find domain
> 3. Query DNS for MX
> 4. ?

There are a variety of things they check.  They've got lists of IP
address blocks that they know are residential DSL/cable customers, and
sometimes they'll reject mail from those regardless of what you do.

Some will compare the reverse-DNS lookup with the headers to make sure
you're being honest about things like return-path, some will compare
the IP address with the MX record for the domain they got when they
did the reverse-lookup-DNS, and they've all probably got a variety of
other secret heuristics they use to generate a "SPAM" score.

For many years I ran my own SMTP server and had it configured to
deliver mail directly to recipients.  About 10 years, I had to give up
on that because so many SMTP servers were rejecting/ignoring mail I
sent.  And I did have a static IP with a valid domain and MX record.

But it was a residential DSL IP address, and I suspect that was enough
to get mail rejected by some servers.

-- 
Grant Edwards               grant.b.edwards        Yow! Well, O.K.
                                  at               I'll compromise with my
                              gmail.com            principles because of
                                                   EXISTENTIAL DESPAIR!