Setting Your Own Computer as the Outgoing Mail Server

In some situations, such as the one described in the preceding section, you won’t have access to an outgoing mail server for a particular account. Most ISPs, large or small, prevent users from sending mail through their server unless the users are connected to the ISP’s network. Dialing in to the ISP provides this connection.

In situations when it isn’t practical for you to send outgoing mail through another e-mail server, you can often use your own computer to send the mail. Outlook 2007 isn’t capable of this, but the SMTP service included with Windows XP Professional is designed for just that purpose. (The SMTP service is not included with Windows XP Home Edition, nor is it included with Windows Vista.)

Note

Some mail servers do not accept mail from unrecognized servers, so in some instances, you might have problems using your own computer to send mail to certain domains. Even so, the SMTP service can be a very useful tool that handles the majority of your outgoing mail. However, if your computer is connected to a network, check with your network administrator before installing the SMTP service as explained in this section, because adding the service entails some risk.

First, check to see whether the SMTP service is already installed on your computer. The SMTP service requires Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), so you need to add IIS as well. In Windows XP:

  1. Open Control Panel, and launch Add Or Remove Programs.

  2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components, scroll down and select Internet Information Services, and then click Details.

  3. Select the SMTP service, and then click OK.

  4. Click Next, and then follow the prompts to complete the IIS/SMTP installation. After IIS is installed, open the Internet Information Services console from the Administrative Tools folder, expand the tree and right-click Default Web Site, and then choose Properties.

  5. Click the Directory Security tab, click Edit in the Anonymous Access And Authentication Control group, clear the Anonymous Access check box, and then click OK, click Yes, and click OK again to close the Default Web Site Properties dialog box for the Web site.

  6. Right-click Default SMTP Virtual Server, choose Properties, and then click the Access tab. Click Authentication, clear the Anonymous Access check box, select the Integrated Windows Authentication option, and then click OK.

  7. Click Relay, click Only The List Below, click Allow All Computers Which Successfully Authenticate To Relay, Regardless Of The List Above, and then click OK. Click OK to close the Default SMTP Virtual Server Properties dialog box for the SMTP server.

  8. In Outlook 2007, click Tools, Account Settings, and then click Change to open the Change E-Mail Account dialog box for the account for which you need to specify the outgoing mail server, and type localhost. (If you are using the SMTP service on a different computer on your network, enter that IP address instead.)

  9. Click More Settings to open the Internet E-Mail Settings dialog box, and then click the Outgoing Server tab. Select the My Outgoing Server (SMTP) Requires Authentication option, select the Log On Using option, enter valid credentials (such as your own local logon account) in the User Name and Password fields, and then click OK. Click Next, and then click Finish to complete the changes to the account settings.

Note

If other users on the network will be using the SMTP service on your computer to send outgoing mail or if you are sending through the SMTP service on another computer, select the Log On Using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) option on the Outgoing Server tab in the Outlook 2007 account settings.

In step 5, you disabled anonymous access to Default Web Site, which will help prevent infections by Web-borne viruses and worms. In steps 7 and 8, you restricted access to the SMTP service to only those clients that authenticate to the server, which should prevent spam relay through your computer.

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