Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, or SMTP, is the network used to send email over the Internet. SMTP is the email's first stop when you send it out. As a business owner, you need to know about SMTP email services when setting up email software on business computers.

There are many different aspects of Simple Mail Transfer Protocol you'll need to know when working with email SMTP providers. Therefore, you'll want some basic Email SMTP education and training to get started. Consider these options:

1. Find out how to configure your email to support SMTP and POP email (Post Office Protocol).

2. Find out who the email SMTP providers are.

3. Find out where to find SMTP email solutions.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn how to configure email to support SMTP and POP email

If you change or update the email server you use, you need to reconfigure the email settings on your computer to support SMTP and POP email. Depending on the type of Internet connection you use, you may need to know the name of your email server, or you might need to contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for the server name.

I recommend: On-line.com shows you how to configure different email programs for SMTP and POP email. The University of Washington website tells you when you need to know the name of your Internet provider, and when you'll need to contact your ISP for the server name.

Learn about different email SMTP providers

There are many different email SMTP providers, and you'll want to find out who they are so you can pick the one you want to use. You can find out which email providers use SMTP by looking them up on the Internet. Rather than looking up each individual provider to see if they support SMTP, you can look for a list of providers on the Internet.

I recommend: Use the Free Email Providers Guide and educate yourself about providers that support SMTP and POP email. CWDCommunity.com provides a list of outgoing email servers that use SMTP that you can refer to for educational information.

Learn how to find SMTP email solutions

Once you use a SMTP email provider, you'll want to know how to fix problems that can come up. Like any Internet or email provider, SMTP can experience problems that you'll need to troubleshoot, identify and fix.

I recommend: The San Francisco State University website provides a help desk for configuring your computer's server on specific Internet providers. Livinginternet.com provides a list of commands that can exchange between two email servers during a SMTP session, and it provides sources for starting your own email server.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You may also want to learn where to find SMTP email hosting information if you plan to start your own email server.

An email server exchanges emails with other servers using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). Each server has its own domain which decides whether or not to let email through based on the user name attached to the email. SMTP lets it through if the email adheres to specific rules, including whether or not the emails come from a valid IP address (a series of numbers that serve as an identifier for each personal computer).

With SMTP, business owners ensure their emails go through, even when a worker is on the road using a host of random servers. To ensure uninterrupted communication:

1. Work with a reliable SMTP email service to configure an account that meets your business needs.

2. Set up an email account already configured to provide SMTP email solutions for transfer problems.

3. Back up emails with other SMTP email service accounts.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Set up an account with one or two email SMTP providers

Setting up simple mail transfer protocol accounts is a critical first step for using SMTP in any other application such as Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Outlook. It is wise to set up more than one account for important business emails so if one site goes down, you have a backup.

I recommend: Google's Gmail is an excellent service in terms of ease-of-use and the ability to use your Gmail account for many purposes, such as online collaborations for calendars and documents. Yahoo! Mail Plus, which processes email on a more frequent basis than Gmail, also offers SMTP services for a small annual fee.

Configure your SMTP email hosting mailbox preferences and troubleshoot problems

Once you have signed up for your business SMTP account, configure it so it uses both post office protocol (POP) and SMTP emails. POP accounts allow you to download your emails into another program, while SMTP settings allow you to send and receive emails while on the road, regardless of different Internet Protocol settings. If you run into trouble, check your ports.

I recommend: The Princeton tutorial offers general information on the SMTP setup, and also offers tips using telnet to change settings if your port is blocked. Code-Crafters Software Ltd. shows ports settings for SMTP.

Back up your SMTP email services with companies who provide alternate Port SMTP

Getting around ISP limitations and giving yourself a backup for emails is as simple as running your own SMTP server.

I recommend: ChangeIP.com provides businesses with unique IP addresses and SMTP servers. With this service you can run your own SMTP server even if your Port 25 is blocked. You could also consider ManagedMail: Alternate-Port SMTP provided by No-IP.com. With this program you won't have to change SMTP settings when you are traveling and it also enables your emails to go through other servers without a spam block.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many programs offer you a choice to keep copies of your messages on the server when you set up SMTP protocol. This is a very good idea since it backs up important emails in a secure place online. If your computer crashes or you leave it somewhere, you can still access your information.

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, and is the type of Internet protocol used to send mail from a Web site with email capabilities. If you receive mail through a mail-management software program, the program must be configured to retrieve mail using the SMTP address of the mail server site and the POP or IMAP address of your email client. Knowing SMTP terms is essential for setting up your external mail software and forwarding mail from one server to another.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is the process by which email messages are transferred over the Internet and stored on your mail server. Every Web site that sends or receives email has an SMTP address to identify where email messages come from. While SMTP initially dealt only with text messages, encoding now allows additional types of messages to be sent.

I recommend: Microsoft provides a brief explanation of Simple Mail Transfer Protocol on its support page.

Internet Service Provider

An Internet service provider, or ISP, is a company that provides access to the Internet. Most Internet service providers also offer email services and have their own SMTP addresses. If your email is run through your ISP, you will need to get the SMTP address from your Internet company.

I recommend: Find a concise definition of Internet Service Provider from NetLingo.

SMTP server

The SMTP server is the central location that routes email messages to individual recipients. If you retrieve your email through a Web-based email service, rather than downloading your messages to a mail client on your computer, then you receive your email directly from the SMTP server.

I recommend: Learn more about how an SMTP server functions from Indiana University.

Configuration

Configuration is the process you must go through in order to set up your external mail client to send and receive messages from an SMTP server. Configuration of your email involves finding the SMTP address and entering it into the settings for your mail client software program. From time to time, you may need to re-configure your mail when SMTP addresses change.

I recommend: Get a short walk-through of the configuration process for the Thunderbird mail client from Tech-Evangelist.com.

Authentication

Authentication, or SMTP-AUTH, is an additional communication process that takes place in sending and receiving email in which the mail client is required to log in to the SMTP server. Authentication requires the use of the mail user's password in order to log in and send or receive mail with the server.

I recommend: Fehcom provides a tutorial on SMTP authentication.

Encryption

Mail sent from an SMTP server to a mail client is already encrypted and decrypted as it is sent over the Internet, but encryption can also describe an additional security measure to ensure that secure information cannot be accessed by non-authorized users. Encryption programs can be used to provide additional security without adding any steps to the actual email sending and receiving process for the user.

I recommend: Read a concise definition of the encryption process from BusinessDictionary.com.