POP and IMAP external access

[sapper1]

I have just enabled http over RPC on our exchange 03 server and my users that use Outlook are able to send and receive e-mail using outlook from any where. However, I have several users that use either a pop or an IMAP e-mail client and they would like to be able to do the same thing. I have been able to set it up so they can receive their e-mail with their client no matter where they are but they cannot send. Is there any way to set this up or are they just out of luck?

 

[etherbadger]

Is the ISP blocking port 25 from wherever they are? Telnet to your mailserver port 25 (c:\telnet mailserver.domain.tld 25) and see if you get a response.

or have them use OWA.

 

[sapper1]

I can connect just fine using that method.

I receive the error message "550 relaying Prohibited" when trying to send from Outlook express at home. It receives just fine just can't send.

 

[Zelandakh]

Close POP and IMAP to the Internet, step away from the server and say "Bad boy".

Move everyone to Outlook Anywhere - it is far more secure.

 

[sapper1]

I would love to do that but for some reason they don't want to use outlook at all. So far we only have two people using it myself included.

 

[Zelandakh]

They don't want to use Outlook? Why not? That's the client application for Exchange.

 

[sapper1]

For some reason they insist on everyone using thunderbird. I inherited this mess and no matter how many times I show them the benefits of using Outlook the so called "IT manager" just does not get it. I guess that's what happens when you have people in IT who REALLY don't know much about IT. I have given up on allowing them to get their e-mail externally except through OWA but since most users do not keep a copy of their e-mail on the server they are only able to see a few of their most recent e-mails. I will continue to enjoy the benefits of Outlook while they continue to stay in the dark. I could go on and on about this but the more I do the more aggravated I get so I'll stop now and say thanks for all the help.

 

[58sniper]

Well, I could say that Zelandakh, an Exchange MVP, recommended using Outlook. That should be ammo you could take back to management.

But here's my answer. eDiscovery. What is your process for answering an eDiscovery request as part of a civil or criminal complaint? That's going to be awfully painful when using any client that removes mail from the server and stores it locally on a workstation (in a potentially random location). The same reasons why pst files are bad applies to why storing email off-server is bad. See my colleague Martin's recent post at

http://www.archiving101.com/?p=19.

You also lose some features, like you mentioned. OWA goes away, Exchange ActiveSync can be troublesome. You completely lose Single Instance Storage, etc. Shared resources like calendaring are also gone. You've essentially taken your investment into Exchange and ground into a fine powder. ROI is way down. Let the bean counters suck on that.

Of course, you also lose the ability to track where potentially proprietary data is going. What's to keep a user from configuring their GMail account in the same client and then forwarding internal emails to the outside world? You have no way of tracking that.

POP and IMAP are very inefficient.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[Zelandakh]

Thanks for the comment Pat but I don't hold enough sway in my own firm let alone somewhere else!!