Problem Solving If you are struggling to get Mailtraq working,
check the questions and answers below. These cover most of the installation support calls we receive,
so the chances are this will get you running quickly. | | Translate this page: |
Using Windows Vista or W2008 Server? Please read more here ...
Mailtraq will not receive mail from the Internet:
- Make sure that there is a path from your Router to the Mailtraq machine. This page explains how.
- Make sure your Domain Name is set correctly in the properties of Options | Server.
Your domain name is the part after the @ symbol in your organization's email address.
If you use more than one domain name, then enter the others in the box below as 'Domain Aliases' - one per line.
- If you are expecting to receive mail by SMTP be sure that the MX records for your domain point to the Mailtraq machine. This page explains how.
- If you need to collect mail from your ISP (Internet Service Provider) from your pop-box make sure that your Remote POP3 collection is set correctly and you are authenticating your connection as your ISP expects. This page describes how to configure Remote POP3 Mailboxes in the Console
- Make sure you are using appropriate anti-virus software. This page explains more.
- Make sure that the SMTP Service settings are correct. This page explains how.
- Are you using a Cisco PIX firewall with the Mailguard feature turned on?
Do you see 220 *************0*******200********* or similar log entries?
This Microsoft KB Article explains how to resolve problems.
- If you receive your mail by SMTP from an ISP or filtering service by relay, then you should add the IP address of the relay to Mailtraq's LAN definition in Options | Server | LAN
- If you have been running a trial or temporarily upgraded version of Mailtraq, has it Expired?
If it has Expired, you will need to buy a license and then update the Installation Id. In the Mailtraq console, click 'Help | About Mailtraq' and then click the [Enter new Registration Key] button. Enter the new Installation Id from your invoice.
- Make sure that your ISP does not block Port 25 traffic. They may require that you use their POP3 service
Mailtraq will not send mail out to the Internet. It just sits in 'Outgoing Mail'.
- How does Mailtraq think it is connected to the Internet?
Make sure it is set correctly at: Options | Server | Online
- If you have a cable/dsl, T1 type of connection then this should be set to [x] Direct/Permanant
If you are using a dial-up connection make sure you also set a dial-up schedule at Options | Dialup
- Does your ISP allow you to send mail on port 25?
See "How to check your SMTP connection" below.
If they prohibit it then you will need to change Options | Outgoing mail to use your ISP's Smarthost (their SMTP server).
This page shows how.
- Related issue: Mail to AOL and other ISPs gets rejected. Some ISPs will only accept mail from known sources. Set Outgoing Mail to use your ISPs smarthost. There are Advanced controls for these settings - see Help in Options | Outgoing Mail. See this article to solve this issue.
- Some mail servers will only accept mail from you if you have a rDNS record. Read more here.
- Make sure that your firewall and router are set to allow traffic on port 25, 110, 80 and any other services you are using from the Mailtraq machine. This page explains how. (The procedure is similar for Outbound and Inbound.)
- Make sure that you do not have any anti-virus or anti-spam software installed that intercepts or blocks access to port 25. This page explains more.
- All the mail in the Outbox has a 'red stamp - (read: 'Understanding the Outbox)' It is not unusual for a few messages to be waiting in the Outbox - it simply means that the remote mail server was not available: Mailtraq will try again. However, if this is happening to all your email then check that Mailtraq has access to a valid DNS server (see below).
- If you have been running a trial or temporarily upgraded version of Mailtraq, has it Expired?
If it has Expired, you will need to buy a license and then update the Installation Id. In the Mailtraq console, click 'Help | About Mailtraq' and then click the [Enter new Registration Key] button. Enter the new Installation Id from your invoice.
I cannot send mail from my email clients to Mailtraq.
- Check that your email client's SMTP entry is set to the Mailtraq machine, by IP address (preferred) or by machine name.
Working with Outlook - look here. Other common clients - look here
- Make sure that Windows has not enabled the default SMTP service. You may get a 5.7.1 Relay Access Denied message, or similar. This can happen after a Windows Update. This page explains how.
- If your email client is outside the LAN read about 'SMTP Service | Relaying Tab' settings here to see how to configure the necessary permissions correctly.
- Make sure that your firewall and router are set to allow traffic on port 25, 110, 80, 143 and any other services you are using to and from the LAN to the Mailtraq machine. This page explains how to test.
- Make sure your anti-virus software is not getting in the way. This page explains more.
Messages get refused or returned to me marked 'Blacklisted'
I cannot access webmail
There is a knowledgebase article here that explains how to access webmail
Vist the Forum for more helpful Knowledgebase Articles - here
Other common installation issues
1.) Make sure Mailtraq knows how you connect to the Internet at Options | Server
| Online
2.) The 'Active Connections' entry in the Console shows which ports Mailtraq has available.
Mailtraq should be offering by default connections for
- SMTP on Port 25,
- POP3 on Port 110,
- HTTP Webmail on Port 80, and
- Instant Messaging on Port 5222
The IMAP service does not install by default - you need to enable IMAP
Make sure that other programs are not already using ports that Mailtraq will need to handle your mail.
If Mailtraq finds these ports in use when it starts then those sevices will be closed in Mailtraq. It is essential that Mailtraq has access to these ports to be able to offer mail services.
3.) Using Server Editions of Windows and Managing IIS
Check that you do not have a default Microsoft (or other) service - such as IIS - running on port 25 (SMTP), port 110 (POP3), port 80 (webmail) or any other ports that you are wanting to use. This is particularly important if you are using a Server Edition of Windows - such as 2003. This page explains how.
4.) Using IPSec ? See the note below.
5.) Make sure you have allowed Port 25, Port 110, Port 80 etc on any local firewalls, such as the Windows Firewall or in your anti-virus software, otherwise you will not be able to send and receive mail. Some anti-virus and firewall software is 'application aware' so you will need to add Mailtraq to the list of allowed programs.
If you need to discover which ports are in use by which program then you can use the following at the Command Line.
netstat -aon -p tcp
which will list all listening and connected TCP ports and will list the PID (process) using the port. You can then discover which PID relates to which process/program by adding the PID column to the Task Manager.
Windows 7, Vista, W2008
You need to run the command prompt as administrator. You can do that by right-clicking on "command prompt" in the start menu and go "run as administrator" otherwise it is only run as a limited user.
General configuration advice and problem solving
IPSec can stop message transfer
Windows XP/2000/2003/2008 machines have a built-in IP security mechanism called IPSec (IP Security). IPSec is a protocol that's designed to protect individual TCP/IP packets traveling across your network by using public key encryption. Besides encryption, IPSec will also let you protect and configure your server/workstation with a firewall-like mechanism.
This means that if IPSec has been enabled you must ensure that your security policy allows traffic on the ports that you need for mail transfer (typically 25, 110, 143 and 80, or the port you are offering Webmail on). Visit MS information page.
How to check your SMTP connection
The 'Telnet' test - for SMTP
If you cannot 'manually' Telnet to and from the Mailtraq machine on Port 25 then neither can Mailtraq or your email clients - so you'll need to look to the way your network, firewall or routers are configured.
If you can connect, but don't get Mailtraq mentioned in the 'banner response' like the examples below, then some other program is using the port. You will either have to stop that program, change the port it is using, or change the port that Mailtraq wants to use. It normally essential for Mailtraq to have exclusive access to port 25 for successful mail transfer.
See if you can connect to your Mailtraq machine - which has, for example, a local IP address of 192.168.1.1 - from another machine on your LAN.
For example, at a Command prompt on your client machine entering: telnet 192.168.1.1 25
should give a response something like this:
220 mydomain.com Ready for action (Mailtraq 2.5.3.1661/SMTP)
See if you can connect to an external mail server on Port 25 - you can try our test server - from the Mailtraq machine.
For example, at a Command prompt on your Mailtraq machine entering: telnet uk.enstar.net 25
should give a response like this:
220 enstar.net Ready for action (Mailtraq 2.7.0.1822/SMTP)
ISP Blocking Port 25
If you don't seem to be able to Telnet on Port 25 at all, then ask your ISP if they block traffic on Port 25.
A number of ISPs (Comcast, ATT etc) block port 25 to cut down spam. They can unblock on request.
The 'Telnet' test - for POP3, IMAP & webmail
You can also Telnet to other ports to check their connectivity: Port 110/POP3, Port 80/webmail, Port 443/IMAP and so on.
The webmail test does not give a simple 'banner response' but delivers a webpage, line by line after a couple of uses of the keyboard Enter-key.
Using Telnet
To use Telnet, go to Windows | Start, Run and enter cmd in the box then [OK] - a black window will open with a flashing command prompt. Type the following example: telnet<space>IP address<space>port number, like this:
telnet 127.0.0.1 25
and you should get a response like: 220 example.com Ready for action (Mailtraq 2.7.1.1936/ESMTP)
If you are not familiar with Telnet then you can find information about using it here.
Windows 7, Vista and W2008 users:
These OS come with a Telnet client but it is not enabled by default. So:
1. Click Windows Start Orb
2. Click Control Panel
3. Select Programs and Features
4. Select Turn Windows Features on or off
5. May need to confirm the action
6. Wait... this can take a while while the list populates
7. Click the checkbox beside the telnet client
8. Click [OK] ... this can take a while
- now you can use Telnet as described above
How to check your DNS
If you are finding that mail is not being delivered you should check that the DNS service that Mailtraq uses is returning valid information. Mailtraq picks up its knowledge of your DNS servers from the NIC (Network Interface Card). If you cannot 'manually' resolve a domain name then neither can Mailtraq.
This test is done from the machine where Mailtraq is installed: Use 'enstar.net' as an example.
At a Command prompt, Enter:
nslookup
This should bring up the 'nslookup' prompt. Enter:
set type=mx
There will be no response but at the next prompt, Enter:
enstar.net
A good response will show the MX records for the domain, giving machine names, and resolving them to IP Addresses, showing that Mailtraq has access to a valid DNS service.
If you get a bad response you will need to investigate your DNS service.
Further Assistance
1.) If the above did not answer your question, see the Help menu in the program itself. This has been written from a user's perspective (not by programmers). Context help is avilabale throughout the Console.
2.) Visit the Mailtraq Community Forum and check out the FAQ section: http://forum.mailtraq.com
3.) There is detailed configuration advice available in the Knowledgebase.
4.) Other support options are outlined here.
