On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 6:06 PM, Neil <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm currently running a mail server, for my own use, on a VPS > (Postfix+Dovecot+Procmail on Gentoo). I've been toying with the idea of > moving back to a shared host though, mostly because I'm not sure what level > of skill is necessary to really run my own internet facing server, and if I > have that level of skill (I don't really care if my website gets hacked; but > I'd be rather disturbed if all my email suddenly became public information). > > I'm running on a VPS mostly because I wasn't happy with the email solutions > being provided by any other providers, except for a few who wanted a bulk > purchase at a price I couldn't justify. I am a fairly heavy mail user; but > a fairly light user in pretty much all other services. (I barely get any > hits on my websites....) > > What are my chances, as a relative newbie? (I've run servers before, but > usually behind a firewall and on a network administered by someone else.) > At the moment, I haven't even put a webserver on the VPS because I'm afraid > it will raise the risk profile to my server. =\ > > Any advice? What are your thoughts on this? > > Thanks, > Neil. > > (While I know list etiquette is generally to send your replies to everyone; > I have no objection to off-list replies if you prefer.) >
Hello Neil. I'm relativity new to mail servers too (running my own for almost a year now). Before going live i advice you check that your mail server is not an open relay. There are some spammers that search the net looking for misconfigured servers. I get almost 30 of those a day, mostly from hinet.net, a taiwanese carrier). You should also install some kind of spam detection software and antivirus (amavis, spamassasin and clamav are the ones i know and use). You should also advice the users of your mail server not to publish their e-mail address. Another choice is to have two e-mail address, one that you normally use and the other that's available for anyone. Obviously, you'll get spam but at least they won't be delivered to your everyday account. It's also a good idea to implement smtp restrictions. Hope that helps. Diego.
