I've looked around a bit but can't seem to locate a mail server add-on for ReadyNAS. It looks like all the components are available, from MySQL for the back-end, to PHP to run a web-based front-end, but nothing to tie it all together.
Am I the only one interested in using my ReadyNAS as a mail server?
i agree. it would be nice to have a mail server built in. it really helps when trying to get a lost password back. otherwise you have to pray that the SMTP settings were setup right the first time through.
I'd kill for a little IMAP email server that I could run on the ReadyNAS which sucks emails down from my ISP's POP server, allowing me to connect to the ReadyNAS IMAP server from my phone, and of course from Thunderbird on XP when I'm at home.
I'd kill for a little IMAP email server that I could run on the ReadyNAS which sucks emails down from my ISP's POP server, allowing me to connect to the ReadyNAS IMAP server from my phone, and of course from Thunderbird on XP when I'm at home.
Yes, I too would love for the ReadyNAS to have an IMAP mail aggregation feature that could sync with my many mail accounts. Something simple at first that stores mail in separate master folders for each mail service the ReadyNAS downlods mail from. Then later on something more complex such as mapping external mail server folders to specific folders maintained for download/upload on the ReadyNAS.
Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about security vulnerabilities by exposing services to the Internet?
IMO, if you want great IMAP functionality get an IMAP email account. There's several ways to do this. Even Godaddy offers IMAP for domain owners and you can get 10 with unlimited size mailboxes for $30/year. Yep, per year, not month! Let Godaddy worry about the security vulnerabilities and spam/virus prevention, instead of it being your issue.
Synology and Qnap offers quite a few great services such as the email server, but the day an exploit lets in the bad guys you'll quickly change your mind. Its not if, its when!
Oh, and before you get overly excited by the Qnap mailserver, take a visit to their forum and read many of the threads of people fighting to make it work properly. Is this how you want to spend your time? Not me!
Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about security vulnerabilities by exposing services to the Internet?
That is a risk and a valid concern, of course, but I would trust ReadyNAS to ensure they limit that risk. After all, they already expose various services such as the photo sharing functionality, I don't see this as being very much different.
claykin wrote:
IMO, if you want great IMAP functionality get an IMAP email account. There's several ways to do this. Even Godaddy offers IMAP for domain owners and you can get 10 with unlimited size mailboxes for $30/year. Yep, per year, not month! Let Godaddy worry about the security vulnerabilities and spam/virus prevention, instead of it being your issue.
My ISP handles my email and unfortunately they don't support IMAP (and never will) and I don't particularly want to have to pay for it if at all possible - I really think ReadyNAS/Netgear might be missing a trick hear particularly as the competition offer it already. In addition I don't want my email routed by yet another third party to store on their servers - they're just as likely to be exploited as any other user of software. What about Apache being exploited the other week? Sh1t happens to everyone, at least I'd be in control when it happens to me and not beholden to a $30/year faceless entity with all my emails available on the internet - worst comes to the worst I'd just disable the IMAP server until the problem is fixed.
Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about security vulnerabilities by exposing services to the Internet?
Nobody said that just because you have a mail server up and running you also have to expose that service right to the internet. You could just use it to collect your mail from various external accounts and have it act as a local central hub and master storage for your clients all the while providing services to the users that the external providers don't offer. That's no more a security risk than using your email client and connect to any given mail provider to fetch your mail from there.
Or to put it more general: The availability of a technology in itself isn't risky. It's just the users of any technology who create the risks 😉
Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about security vulnerabilities by exposing services to the Internet?
Nobody said that just because you have a mail server up and running you also have to expose that service right to the internet. You could just use it to collect your mail from various external accounts and have it act as a local central hub and master storage for your clients all the while providing services to the users that the external providers don't offer. That's no more a security risk than using your email client and connect to any given mail provider to fetch your mail from there.
Or to put it more general: The availability of a technology in itself isn't risky. It's just the users of any technology who create the risks 😉
Regards, Stefan
An SMTP server port open to the Internet to "collect your mail" is more risky than an email client. One is behind a NAT or SPI firewall, the other is NOT. An SMTP server leaves a known and common port (25) open to the Internet, a mail client does NOT.
Yes, there are more secure and less secure ways to setup a local SMTP server, however 95% of users would be vulnerable the very first time an exploit is discovered with that server and the user does not know to patch the add-in or NAS firmware. Its a reality of life. Many of these 95% will also allow unauthenticated SMTP relay and it will only be a matter of time before spammers will be using their mailserver as an SMTP relay. Worse is that these users will end up on RBL lists and have trouble sending email to friends/colleagues, because their IP/HOST will listed as a spammer. I'd like to see some data for users with home grown SMTP servers to see how many of them can successfully send email to xxx@comcast.net users with the crazy spam filtering employed by Comcast. We have enough trouble keeping our corporate SMTP server in good graces with them. And that server only sends email from the LAN, no SMTP relay allowed. Even port 25 is closed to the WAN so no external connections permitted.
When you let a reliable third party operate your SMTP server you offload that responsibility to them. They have trained security people on their staff to keep an eye out for exploits and patches to keep their services safe from hackers. They also know how to keep up with the always moving target called spam filtering. Are most end users going to know how to setup their domain name DNS to make sure they have an SPF record and can pass reverse DNS?
Users just need to be made aware of the risks of operating exposed services on common ports.
When you let a reliable third party operate your SMTP server you offload that responsibility to them. They have trained security people on their staff to keep an eye out for exploits and patches to keep their services safe from hackers. They also know how to keep up with the always moving target called spam filtering. Are most end users going to know how to setup their domain name DNS to make sure they have an SPF record and can pass reverse DNS?
Users just need to be made aware of the risks of operating exposed services on common ports.
My ISP already handles spam filtering adequately enough, unfortunately they only offer POP3. What I want is a simple service running on the NAS that will download and upload email from the ISP POP3 server and in return offer an IMAP service that I can connect to both locally and remotely (usually my phone). Yes of course there is a security risk but I think it can be properly managed - I've been running Apache on port 80 on my network for the last 6+ years and I'm confident additional services can be added without the sky falling in. 🙂
My ISP already handles spam filtering adequately enough, unfortunately they only offer POP3. What I want is a simple service running on the NAS that will download and upload email from the ISP POP3 server and in return offer an IMAP service that I can connect to both locally and remotely (usually my phone). Yes of course there is a security risk but I think it can be properly managed - I've been running Apache on port 80 on my network for the last 6+ years and I'm confident additional services can be added without the sky falling in. 🙂
Understood. Not sure if these SMTP plugins offer SSL login options, but if they do make sure your IMAP uses SSL connections.
Are you aware that your headers will not be parsed properly when going POP -> POP server? The mail envelope is opened by the first SMTP server that receives the mail which in this case is your ISP. It can work, but isn't the best way to do it.
An SMTP server port open to the Internet to "collect your mail" is more risky than an email client. One is behind a NAT or SPI firewall, the other is NOT. An SMTP server leaves a known and common port (25) open to the Internet, a mail client does NOT.
Now, if you could explain to me why I would need an open SMTP port to the internet to collect my mail so it can be processed by my local mail server?
An SMTP server port open to the Internet to "collect your mail" is more risky than an email client. One is behind a NAT or SPI firewall, the other is NOT. An SMTP server leaves a known and common port (25) open to the Internet, a mail client does NOT.
Now, if you could explain to me why I would need an open SMTP port to the internet to collect my mail so it can be processed by my local mail server?
If you plan to do it the way Milhouse is, then you don't need to open port 25.
That's exactly what I was saying right from the beginning.
claykin wrote:
In that case you are not truly hosting your own mail, someone else is.
It may be due to my limited knowledge of the English language, but: As far as I could read in this thread, nobody wanted to host his own mail server with fully qualified MX record on the ReadyNAS in the first place. It was all about added value ... errr ... additional features to complement already existing accounts with external service providers. And in that kind of usage szenario, I don't think a mail server on the ReadyNAS would be more of a security threat than any normal email client.
Of course you're right that once you start connecting such a setup to the internet directly a lot of bad things may happen. But I believe the majority of ReadyNAS users don't even have an own domain to begin with.
If you plan to do it the way Milhouse is, then you don't need to open port 25.
That's exactly what I was saying right from the beginning.
claykin wrote:
In that case you are not truly hosting your own mail, someone else is.
It may be due to my limited knowledge of the English language, but: As far as I could read in this thread, nobody wanted to host his own mail server with fully qualified MX record on the ReadyNAS in the first place. It was all about added value ... errr ... additional features to complement already existing accounts with external service providers. And in that kind of usage szenario, I don't think a mail server on the ReadyNAS would be more of a security threat than any normal email client.
Of course you're right that once you start connecting such a setup to the internet directly a lot of bad things may happen. But I believe the majority of ReadyNAS users don't even have an own domain to begin with.
Regards, -Stefan
Sorry if I didn't understand your desired setup from the beginning.
I think some will want to do it the way you and Milhouse do, but others will want to host their own mail with a FQDN.
Sorry if I didn't understand your desired setup from the beginning.
No problem. I think I misunderstood you as well. I thought you were against providing a mail server on the ReadyNAS just because of the possibility that someone could connect it to the internet. That's why I said it's not the technology causing the risks but the users.
claykin wrote:
but others will want to host their own mail with a FQDN.
Sure. But I still believe that those who intend to do that either know what they are doing or will learn very promptly that although email may seem simple when used with a client it is quite a different beast once you try to tame it yourself 😉
What Config must I Change to make the exim Mail-Server be able to relay Mail ? I have some tools, which will send Mail-Notifications through a smtp relay Server.
What Config must I Change to make the exim Mail-Server be able to relay Mail ? I have some tools, which will send Mail-Notifications through a smtp relay Server.
Instead of having your tools send their mail through Exim on the ReadyNAS it would be much easier and more failsafe to provide those tools with the credentials you use to connect to you email provider and have them send their stuff that way.
I would be too interested in having a email server on the NV+ : I have 3 comps I run at home, and nothing bothers me more than having to turn the one that has the mails because I forgot some info. I would love to have the possibility to be able to retrieve & store my mails on the NAS and then thru push or whatever, just be able to read them from any of my computers (got Windows, Android and OSX...). Do you think there might exist a solution to have a daemon running on the NV+ that retrieves the mail and store them on a temp file, while having a client on a computer that would allow me to read them & organize them ?
I'd kill for a little IMAP email server that I could run on the ReadyNAS which sucks emails down from my ISP's POP server, allowing me to connect to the ReadyNAS IMAP server from my phone, and of course from Thunderbird on XP when I'm at home.
You are not alone - I'd love to have that feature, as well. Actually it's quite natural for a NAS to host not only files but also mails (via IMAP). Some guys still believe that this is about full SMTP support - no, not at all. My ISP is running the SMTP server. I'm currently pulling the mails via POP3 (because he'd like to charge my extra for IMAP support). So, if ReadyNAS would pull the mails via POP3 and make them available (in my intranet) via IMAP that would be perfect.
I'd be fine if ReadyNAS would check for new mails every 5 minutes or so. SPAM filtering is done by the ISV's SMTP server. So, CPU load should not be increased much.
