I periodically test questionable email servers using telnet. It is increasingly common for e-mail servers to ignore pop-before-smtp in favor of SMTP authentication. I found a cool tool (gen-auth) at http://www.jetmore.org (Thanks to members of this list). This script runs on LINUX and generates various login strings for authenticating the user for telnet testing.
Here's an example: $ telnet goofywerks.com 25 Trying 64.246.40.39... Connected to surfserv.goofywerks.com (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX). Escape character is '^]'. 220 surfserv.goofywerks.com ESMTP auth plain AGp1Z3NAZ29vZnl3ZXJrcy5jb20AQm9pbmdCMDFuZw== 235 go ahead mail from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 250 ok rcpt to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 250 ok data 354 go ahead From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: LotsaServers tech MEB test1 This is a test. Don't read me. . 250 ok 1139502549 qp 18726 quit Notice that the string produced by gen-auth is different from the string produced by normal base64 encoders: AGp1Z3NAZ29vZnl3ZXJrcy5jb20AQm9pbmdCMDFuZw== anVnc0Bnb29meXdlcmtzLmNvbSBCb2luZ0IwMW5n I've tried a couple of them and get similar results. Both stings seem to decode to the same output, yet the one generated by gen-auth works and the other one is mal-formed. Interestingly enough, the string I get back from mimencode works also: printf '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' |./mimencode dXNlcgBqdWdzQGdvb2Z5d2Vya3MuY29tAEJvaW5nQjAxbmc= Only the first string(gen-auth) works with cPanel and exim, but the mimencode string works with sendmail and qmail also. Are there a couple of characters I'm missing from the beginning? Is there a trick to generating the Authentication code in other encoders hat will work with exim? I ask, because I won't always have the same LINUX system to try from, nor will it always be a *nix OS, and I may have to generate the auth codes from different utilities. My goal is to be able to enter the correct input string for the username and password and be able to generate either auth plain or auth login strings. Thank you for your help, Mike Burke -- ## List details at http://www.exim.org/mailman/listinfo/exim-users ## Exim details at http://www.exim.org/ ## Please use the Wiki with this list - http://www.exim.org/eximwiki/
