[Techtalk] Mail Hosting

[Figaro]

Raquel wrote:

> 
> I don't know where you are, but perhaps a small, local ISP? 
> Sometimes they are willing to let you run your own servers where the
> big companies are not.  They may even handle your DNS and host your
> domain for you.
I'll look for a commercial hosting service. If you've any to suggest,
recommendations are always a better indication of customer satisfaction
than slick web advertisements.

> 
> As you may notice, I'm trying to lead you away from running your own
> mail server. 
Yep, duly noted.

 I've been running mail servers for several years.
> Setting up the software is really quite easy, but it can be
> difficult to setup so that you're not an open relay or compromised
> in some other way.


Exactly, so.
Postfix and send mail are notoriously versatile (read: complex to
config. properly) and well one remembers the multi-night travails of my
friends in the server pool after an assumed routine upgrade.

  There are all sorts of dangers of which you must
> be aware and against which you must protect yourself if you want to
> have a snowball's chance in hell of anyone accepting mail from your
> server.

Understood.
> 
> Before setting up your own server, I would suggest learning
> everything you can about how mail is handled and what you must do to
> protect yourself.  Once you've read and learned, then start looking
> at how to set up the software.  
> 

Well there are those who can and those who might and then us ins' who
really probably shouldn't. I really have a belly burning desire to
understand the arcana just to say "I can".

So, I'll seek a commercial hosting service.
I'm sorry to have consumed everyones' time
Thank you,
matthew

PS: The blocked ports are from my firewall. I forgot that I'd hacked a
router a year ago. mv