Problem sending e-mail

BelBel
edited April 2014 in General VPN Support Posts: 5
On my ipad I can't send any mail as long as VPN is turned on. As soon as I turn it off, the mail is sent. Receiving mail is no problem. The errormessage says the server doesn't recognize the receiving address. Can you help me?

Comments

  • OmniNegroOmniNegro
    Posts: 4,013
    SMTP is blocked until you get a whitelist for your server. This is because too many people are spammers in this world.

    You will have to open a support ticket to get this done, or to get a better explanation of how and why they do this.
  • BelBel
    Posts: 5
    Thank you for answering, but I don't understand where the problem lies. Do I have to ask my mailprovider to accept the VPN server, or must I ask VPN to accept my mailprovider?
    How do other people do this, since everyone sends mail?
  • BCVBCV
    Posts: 1
    I have the  same problem and I also want to know how to fix this....
  • OmniNegroOmniNegro
    Posts: 4,013
    PIA blocks SMTP. You can get them to unblock it by asking. As I said, they do this because of spammers. Just open a support ticket and they can tell you more. I do not use SMTP, so I have never understood all the details nor have I opened a support ticket for this myself. But I have been here on the forums for years and remember this quite well. (Note that PIA is the one I know to block SMTP until whitelisted, but that does not mean your SMTP server does not block PIA as well. I guess you will find out soon.)

    Sorry I was not clear enough when I replied the first time.
  • BelBel
    Posts: 5
    Thank you very much, I will do that.
  • PRGPRG
    Posts: 34
    Right - been asking for about 2 weeks now. Eventually told I need to provide both the server IP and server name which, well, isn't secure.

    Understood the need to prevent spam. Really wish information on such limitations was available PRIOR to becoming a customer and burning hours trying to resolve...
  • VPNVPN
    Posts: 795
    How is it not secure? Did you misunderstand?

    You're right, this should be published where prospective users can find it before signing up. Like so many other things (still waiting for advanced crypto options for use without official client for over a year!).
  • BelBel
    Posts: 5
    After talking to the VPN helpdesk and the helpdesk of my mailprovider Ziggo, the outcome for me seems to be that I have to use webmail when connected to VPN. Smtp doesn't work when I don't directly connect to the smtp-server of Ziggo. So when travelling, or using VPN at home, smtp doesn't let me send my mails. Alas.
  • OliviaChenOliviaChen
    Posts: 13
    Are all commonly used SMTP ports blocked or just port 25? My backup software sends me daily status reports and I was debating whether to turn that feature off or jump through the necessary hoops to get it working. Also are there any commonly used e-mail providers (Yahoo, Gmail, etc) that are already white listed? And wouldn't spammers just use a white listed service, defeating the purpose?
  • BelBel
    Posts: 5
    My provider ziggo is whitelisted and i use port 587. The problem does not seem to be the blocking by VPN, but the not-receiving by my provider from an other ip-address. If I understand correctly.
  • VPNVPN
    Posts: 795
    @OliviaChen: As far as I know, all ports used for any mail protocol are blocked. That includes POP3 (110 and 993), IMAP (143 and 995), and SMTP in all its incarnations (25, 465, 587).
    The common providers could be whitelisted, but you might have to use certain IP addresses instead of the hostnames. Support should be able to tell you about specific providers (but lately their default answer seems to be "go to the forums, we don't know").

    An easy and usual blocking rule is to block port 25, because 25 is where SMTP is spoken between MTAs, and it's usually understood between sysadmins/postmasters that end user systems have no business talking to anyone but their ISP's/provider's mailservers. Regular users usually follow this rule, either by using their ISP mailservers from their ISP networks or using different ports for authenticated connections. Old school spammers just pretend to be another MTA and will try to connect via port 25.

    All other port blocks should be dropped, but obviously someone at PIA knows better so the blocks are here to stay.
  • PocketSamPocketSam
    Posts: 1
    When I've asked to add my servers to whitelist tech support answered me:
    I apologize, but your mail servers are configured such that whitelisting is not possible.

    When I asked them what should I reconfigure, they didn't say anything usefull again.
    You will need to contact your mail client to find out that information, as it is not something we are able to support with.
  • TinyTRexTinyTRex
    edited January 2016 Posts: 84
    Hi Everyone,

    I've been seeing more and more questions regarding SMTP, as well as users asking why this information was not provided before they signed up.

    This information is available before you subscribe, it is located in our FAQ which can be accessed here https://support.privateinternetaccess.com/Base/Search/Index

    Once there please use the search bar in the top right to search for "SMTP" which will bring you to a article that not only explains why we restrict SMTP (outgoing) mail, but also what you will need to do to have it whitelisted.

    I hope this helps to clear up any misunderstandings regarding SMTP and why we restrict outgoing mail. 

    Cheers,
    PIA!
    Post edited by TinyTRex on
  • PIA-user01PIA-user01
    edited October 2016 Posts: 10
    TinyTRex said:
    Hi Everyone,

    I've been seeing more and more questions regarding SMTP, as well as users asking why this information was not provided before they signed up.

    This information is available before you subscribe, it is located in our FAQ which can be accessed here https://support.privateinternetaccess.com/Base/Search/Index

    Once there please use the search bar in the top right to search for "SMTP" which will bring you to a article that not only explains why we restrict SMTP (outgoing) mail, but also what you will need to do to have it whitelisted.

    I hope this helps to clear up any misunderstandings regarding SMTP and why we restrict outgoing mail. 

    Cheers,
    PIA!
    That link is dead, see: https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/219457007-Why-can-t-I-send-email-when-on-the-VPN-

    Or use helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com and type in "SMTP". Then send a ticket to Support. I don't know exactly how to do that (there's no "send ticket to Support" link on the site). So I went to PIA's home page, clicked "Support --> Support center --> Technical (skip al the trivial useless info) --> Contact support". Filled in the form and prayed the Technical team thinks that Google's SMTP server is "properly protected" w/ passwords etc. against sending spam. Pfffff..... 


    [edit] Received an e-mail from Support w/ an alternative IP address for google's smtp server. Fiddled some w/ the security settings (okay: that's not wise) and problem is gone. 209.85.232.16
    Post edited by PIA-user01 on
  • steveMTBsteveMTB
    Posts: 1
    The Private Tunnel VPN service does not block SMTP, I've just switched to that.
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