166115 - MSN error occurred - but, gee, I don't use MSN.....

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(MailNews Core :: Networking: SMTP, defect)

Description

[Mark Rushton]

Set up some email accounts (@markrushton.com) which I have hosted through
Yahoo's domain service (mailsender.net is their web-based email client) on my
Mozilla email client.

Had no problem pulling email.

However, SENDING email is a problem.  When I attempt to send email, I get a
weird MSN-flavored notice.  See http://www.markrushton.com/mozillamail.jpg for
details.

Odd thing is, I don't have a MSN account....

Comment 1

[Mark Rushton]

Attachment: Here's the message I get

Comment 2

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

What's your SMTP server set to?

Comment 3

[D. John Anderson]

I have some new information on this bug -- and if I'm right it's a really big
deal. Microsoft MSN dial-up Internet access recently decided to block all
connections to external SMTP servers to combat spam. So if you use MSN Internet
access and have an outgoing SMTP server other than smtp.email.msn.com, sending
e-mail fails with the resulting message people here see. Many smaller ISPs are
being gobbled up by MSN, so that even though you think you don't use MSN you
actually might (this actually happened to my son).

Now the plot thickens. If you use Mozilla, probably 1.0 and later, and specify
an outgoing SMTP server of smtp.email.msn.com, and include a username the
connection is still refused -- even before a password is requested. I believe
this because Outlook Express uses a different style of encryption for passwords
than is available in Mozilla (SSL doesn't work either). It turns out that if you
use Outlook Express and specify a password and use authentication it works. The
bottom line: MSN blocks e-mail from Mozilla.

This problem was verified by my 14-year-old son, and although he's very smart,
careful and doublecheck and, there's always a chance he made a mistake. I wasn't
able to check him because I live in San Francisco and he lives in Portland OR.
But this should be pretty easy to verify.

If true, this would make a great news story.

Comment 4

[Mikael Parknert]

Reporter: Can you reproduce this bug with a recent build of Mozilla (for
example, 1.4rc2)? 

If so, then please comment again with details. 
If not, then please resolve this bug as WORKSFORME. Thanks.

Comment 5

[Mikael Parknert]

no response from reporter, closing bug
-
Reporter, if you see this problem in a recent build of Mozilla, feel free
to return and reopen the bug.

RESOLVING INVALID

Comment 6

[Daniel Posey]

I would like to reopen this issue, but I believe it is an enhancement.

I use smtp.email.msn.com and pop3.email.msn.com.  I can reproduce this with TB 
0.3.

Here is the problem.  MSN requires their own flavor or authentication.  e.g. 
SMTP reports only "250-AUTH MSN".  Google tells me that MSN authentication is 
the same as NTLM authentication, so if true that might help with implemetation.

Comment 7

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

Daniel, you would be better off filing a new clean bug on the new issue...