Which options does a user have these days for sending e-mail (via MS
Outlook) while roaming around various countries?

It's not an option asking the user to reconfigure the SMTP settings to the
local provider at each location.

Access must be via MS Outlook (due to plug-ins to 3rd party apps) - Hotmail,
webmail are not options.

AOL Option
=========

I've spoken to AOL, as one potential option. After a thorougly draining
experience trying to communicate my problem and being given the answers to
different questions altogether, I have this information:

1. We can purchase "AOL's Bring Your Own Access" for £6.99/month - which
provides dialup access overseas.

2. To send e-mail from an overseas location requires that the sender's
address in Outlook is set up as whatever@aol.com rather than
whatever@mycompany.com. (If correct, this option is unacceptable.)

3. I'm unclear if access will be available via network connections at, say,
a hotel, conference center or client site.

Would the AOL account suit our needs?


Other options/thoughts:
================

--- 1 ---
I've looked into running a local SMTP server (supplied with XP), but I know
that some ISPs will block port 25 access to any location but their own SMTP
servers - so, that will probably not be the solution.

--- 2 ---
Dedicate an SMTP server at our UK office location but only accept incomming
connections on an otherwise unused port (not port 25 or other common blocked
ports) with strong passwords and no anonymous relaying, (with a
certificate?).

Is this viable, and what do I need to set it up (any easy-to-use free, or
free demo and purchase when happy, apps that can do this?) - perhaps XP can
do it by setting up some port forwarding on the router/firewall (I can't see
any options in the IIS settings to change the SMTP port)?

Are there any providers of such a service already (i.e. SMTP/port 25
disguises)?

--- 3 ---
Remote Desktop is unlikely to be an option, but we'd try it if it were the
only way.

Any thoughts or links?

Thanks.

In message <43d6720b$0$28431$fa0fcedb@news.zen.co.uk>, Joe Butler
<ffffh.no.spam@hotmail-spammers-paradise.com> writes
How about establishing a VPN back to the office. Then use the office
SMTP settings.

There is a VPN client built into W2k & XP. Set up a server at the
office. VPN network icon on the desktop. Once the user has Internet
access (by whatever means), click the icon to establish the VPN.

If you need more security, I am sure there are some token or smartcard
based VPN authentication solutions out there.

Might be fairly slow over a dial-up link, but should work OK from
Hotels, conference centres, WiFi hotspots etc.

Regards
--
Peter R Cook

"Joe Butler" ffffh.no.spam@hotmail-spammers-paradise.com wrote in
message news:43d6720b$0$28431$fa0fcedb@news.zen.co.uk
If all you want is SMTP, http://www.uk.clara.net/btbroadband/ is ten quid a
year. I've been a happy customer for a couple of years.

If you want connectivity as well, their iPass product was good value at ~£50
one-off plus call charges when I last looked:
http://www.uk.clara.net/claraaccess/ipass.php

I've also heard good things about www.maglobe.com

Joe Butler wrote:

There's dial-up available using many ISPs on local numbers, on the
iPass service. I've not used it, but you could do worse than look
around for pricing from a few UK ISPs. Check www.jetset-roam.net
(and then perhaps look for other pricing - I don't know how much a
different ISP might charge - some may require a monthly account to
be able to allow you iPass, so there might be hidden costs).

As for the e-mail, I know Claranet's mail + news (9.99/year) gives
you send a receive, and can allow use of port 2525 as well as 25,
so for outgoing mail, will normally bypass an ISPs trap on 25.

Other services such as mailsnare.net, fastmail.fm, runbox.com also
offer POP/IMAP/SMTP facilities with alternative ports available -
even port 80 is usable on one of them. HTH. Peter M.

VNC *might* be an option, but I wouldn`t want to leave it online
indefinitely - it could potentially leave your system at home
completely open to anyone able to guess the password...

Other than that, you use a small viewer program to make the connection
and its like you`re sat in front of the remote computer.

--
Please add the word "newsgroup" in the subject line of personal emails
**** My email address includes "ngspamtrap" and "@btinternet.com" ****

On Tue, 24 Jan 2006 18:28:58 -0000, "Joe Butler"
<ffffh.no.spam@hotmail-spammers-paradise.com> wrote:

as long as you authnticate. I have access to 2 such servers, one
supplied by my ISP (blueyonder) and another supplied by my domain
host.

On Tue, 24 Jan 2006 20:54:27 +0000, Grant wrote:

http://www.fastmail.fm has a member account at US$14.95 for life, which
give smtp access + imap + webmail.

Joe Butler wrote:
I do that all the time using two methods. The best is to set up a VPN
back to the office network then you can log onto the Exchange Server and
run Outlook as normal. A VPN is a good idea anyway as it gives you
confidence on security which using any available hotspot or hotel
network does not. The other is that Exchange Server has a Web Access
capability so you can log on and do most stuff through any browser. Not
quite as clean and easy as the VPN but allows you to work from Internet
Cafes etc.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

On Tue, 24 Jan 2006 18:28:58 -0000, "Joe Butler"
<ffffh.no.spam@hotmail-spammers-paradise.com> wrote:


Gmail should do everything you need and it has truckloads of storage
space and is free. I can send and receive to/from my Gmail account
from Outlook 2003 and it is completely ISP agnostic -just needs
setting up properly in Outlook. Instructions here....

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/a...y?answer=13278

It will also do mail forward while hanging on to the original for you.

HTH,
Tim.

--
To save on your shopping click here - http://www.rpoints.com/?ruid=44653
To sign up with PlusNet click here - http://tinyurl.com/b9wqs

"Joe Butler" <ffffh.no.spam@hotmail-spammers-paradise.com> wrote in message
news:43d6720b$0$28431$fa0fcedb@news.zen.co.uk...
You could always use your own SMTP server on the computer you're using. If
you have XP Pro or 2000 Pro, then you can use MS's one that comes with the
OS. It's dependant however on your connection allowing outgoing SMTP traffix
(port 25), not all do.

--
</Slugsie>

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tiny Tim <_tim_dodd@hotmail.com> wrote:

Can you get a gmail account in the UK? At first sight it appears to be
restricted to USA, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.
--
Cheers,
Tim
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

Tiscali Tim wrote:
Yes you can, I have one, now though it's called googlemail in the UK.
--
Adrian A

On Wed, 25 Jan 2006 13:33:39 -0000, "Tiscali Tim" <tele@privacy.net>
wrote:

I'm in the UK and have had a Gmail account for several months - the
mail I have on it date sback to June last year. When I signed up the
service was still in beta and you needed to get invited to join the
service. Existing trial users were able to invite other people to join
the trial. I'm not sure what the situation is now for UK users.

At the moment I am using 159 MB (6%) of my 2688 MB (and growing)
allowance for storing emails. It's a great way to keep the size of
your Outlook file trim - delete on the PC/laptop, knowing that you can
always access the originals from Gmail if you need to.

You do, of course, have the option to send and receive your mail from
the Gmail web interface as well as POP3 and SMTP access from Outlook.

--
To save on your shopping click here - http://www.rpoints.com/?ruid=44653
To sign up with PlusNet click here - http://tinyurl.com/b9wqs

"Tiny Tim" <_tim_dodd@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:kpeft1hecu0shfi79cu2os4omimjl3of0j@4ax.com

[snip]

Still the same. Log onto your web interface and you should see that you
have plenty of invites..!

Ivor

On Wed, 25 Jan 2006 20:28:16 -0000, "Ivor Jones"
<ivor@despammed.invalid> wrote:


And it seems membership is still by invitation only. How quaint!
Details here......

http://mail.google.com/mail/help/intl/en/about.html

--
To save on your shopping click here - http://www.rpoints.com/?ruid=44653
To sign up with PlusNet click here - http://tinyurl.com/b9wqs

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tiny Tim <_tim_dodd@hotmail.com> wrote:

But that link still has a "How do I sign up?" section - with a list of
counctires which doesn't include UK!

I'm not clear where to look for these "hundreds" of invitations?
--
Cheers,
Tim
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

Tiscali Tim wrote:

Below the list of 'folders' and 'labels' if you use them, on the
left, may appear a box for you to enter a mail address to invite
a friend. I indicate "may" because it is not there for everyone
all the time, but I do not know what criteria they use for it to
be displayed, so if you see no box, that's the way it is...

I notice that on some of my Gmail accounts I have a button shown
to allow me to do a quick 'delete' yet on other accounts, I need
to use the drop-down menu... another 'quirk' of Gmail, no doubt!

Peter M wrote:
It's a difference between US & UK English versions I think!

--
Paul

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:27:53 -0000, "Tiscali Tim" <tele@privacy.net>
wrote:

As far as I can tell that country restriction is only if you want to
sign up using SMS. It would be hard to crack that one given the
pre-coded country code.

But if someone were to send you a Gmail invitation to your existing
email address then you would be able to sign up in the conventional
way, online on the web.

If you already have a Gmail account, as I do, then once you've signed
in you will see how many invitation you have available to send to
friends. If you don't have an account already then you can't sign in
and you won't see any invitations because you haven't got any to send.

--
To save on your shopping click here - http://www.rpoints.com/?ruid=44653
To sign up with PlusNet click here - http://tinyurl.com/b9wqs

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Peter M <us-mail@rocketmail.com> wrote:

But you seem to be assuming that I've *got* an account and want to invite
someone else.

I haven't! A previous poster had given the impression (maybe I
misunderstood?) that non-account holders could somehow find unsolicited
invitations to join.

So I suppose my question becomes "How do I GET myself invited?"
--
Cheers,
Tim
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.