smtp authentication password & user

[dickierock]

Hi all,
When you are setting up scan to email through an external isp mail server and you require authentication password and user,what are these referring to exactly?Where would you generally find this info? I'm self-taught at networking mfp's and am getting there eventually,think this is the one of the last issues I need learn up on to be reasonably capable at scanning/networking etc.
Also has anyone used any free smtp servers that are safe and "truly free" to get them out of a corner?
Thanks all,your input is a real help.

[rthonpm]

Re: smtp authentication password & user

The ISP SMTP user name and password is going to generally be the email address and password for the user you're configuring. An ISP has their mail server configured to only allow their users access to it.

As for a free SMTP server out on the web, I'm personally not sure; but I'd be hesitant to use such a beast as you never really know who's behind the site.

[Mr Spock]

Re: smtp authentication password & user

user name = the account that the machine will use to send email
password = the password to the above account so the server will recognize the mfp

Also you will need to see if they (the isp) are using standard ports or special ports as well as if they use ssl or tls.

As to free smtp, I have had reasonable good luck with gmail.

[blackcat4866]

Re: smtp authentication password & user

The customer's IT need to provide this information. It's not you're responsibility to hack the customers email server to get usernames & passwords. If they want it set up, they'll provide you with:

Email Server hostname or IP address
Port number
Authentication: Yes or No
If Yes: Valid username and password (preferably not one that will need to be changed periodically).

It's not up to you to find this data, just to input it in the correct place on the web interface.
This situation comes up very often, where smaller customers just assume that we will do free IT work for them, just because we take care of the MFP. =^..^=

[perrychilds]

Re: smtp authentication password & user

I have a lot customers who do not have an IT department or anything like that. So, assuming the machine supports SSL I use gmail to host my mail. If it is an older machine and it doesnt support SSL, I use lavabit.com to host it.
This is a forum posting I created when I had some issues with lavabit, if you read the whole thing you should be able to use lavabit.com

http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/sharp/61914-smtp-port-25-e-mail-alert.html

[perrychilds]

Re: smtp authentication password & user

here is an article on setting up gmail
GMAIL scan to email settings on Sharp MFPs

[dickierock]

Re: smtp authentication password & user

Our customers range from large public service organisations to small domestic customers with no IT dept and with only a router serving as their network, so its not always feasible to expect specific info from the customer.For instances such as these is the reason for my post.Also I think its as well to be able to do as much as you can yourself as I find dealing with some IT companies/departments is sometimes more hassle than its worth! Thanks for all the input.
One more question,it doesn't it matter which e-mail address and password you use to authenticate as long as it is used and works within the local network?Is this correct?

[rthonpm]

Re: smtp authentication password & user

That can depend entirely on the configuration of the server. As a general rule of thumb I try to find who will be receiving the scans. If it's used internally I try to have an email address created for the device. If it's going to external customers or contacts, I generally have the users configure their own email accounts into the machine. Of course, that also brings up the issue or server configuration. For a larger organisation I try to have individual accounts because all the server will need is one valid account for everyone to access it. For smaller workplaces, it's web interface and have them enter their details in.

Really there's no one-size-fits all approach to a network configuration. What's right for one customer isn't right for another. It all comes down to understand what they're trying to do with the device.