I already have a domain name, but how would I go about hosting the e-mail service through my computer? Is that even possible? I thought I saw a free program to do this, but I don't know what kind of config I'd need to do to get it running, nor what my MX record would have to be. If you've got any ideas to help me out, I'd be grateful! -Jon
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Because potatoes have never been something so valued to mankind.
It's possible, but there is no point and it is going to be horribly insecure. Plus your ISP will likely shut off your connection if it detects you running a mail server since it is against their terms on a home connection.
You are asking for a giant headache. Just use a normal email service like gmail.
You are asking for a giant headache. Just use a normal email service like gmail.
Considering OP wants to use his own domain name rather than @gmail.com it is slightly more complicated than that.
Google apps would have been viable but it now costs $5 per user per month.
OP, your best bet is to use a cheap monthly/yearly webhost to host your domain and use cpanel to manage email addreses, if you only want google apps (gmail, docs, etc you could go for the $5 month google apps, even then I believe you need the domain attached to hosting to prove ownership)
If for some insane reason you still want to do this there's always Dovecot + Postfix. However, I couldn't get them working properly (always almost, but not quite). I'm sure if I didn't care about security I could have gotten it working and then immediately blacklisted because insecure email systems are notorious for being used to relay and send spam and malware.
If you still want to host your own be prepared to do a lot of fiddling with the command line, testing, more fiddling, more testing, wiping everything and starting over, fiddling, giving up and then just paying the $5/mo for Google Apps.
If for some insane reason you still want to do this there's always Dovecot + Postfix. However, I couldn't get them working properly (always almost, but not quite). I'm sure if I didn't care about security I could have gotten it working and then immediately blacklisted because insecure email systems are notorious for being used to relay and send spam and malware.
If you still want to host your own be prepared to do a lot of fiddling with the command line, testing, more fiddling, more testing, wiping everything and starting over, fiddling, giving up and then just paying the $5/mo for Google Apps.
More of a pet project, really. I'm at college, and I'm in the IT department. I've got the tools available to do this myself, other than the software/config, but I'll go ahead and try this out. This is more of a project for me, just hacking at things. Call it a pet project, if you will. My school hasn't had a power outage in 25 years, which is notable for the East Coast. Because it's in my school, I've got a fixed IP at my disposal. Odds are I'll bite the cost for Google Apps, but I'll go down swinging, one way or another. I'll post the results here, in case anybody's interested.
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Because potatoes have never been something so valued to mankind.
I'll post the results here, in case anybody's interested.
Please do, I'd like to see how you get it working. I managed to get to the point where I could send emails via Telnet, but I couldn't receive them and I couldn't get it to work with Thunderbird. Granted, since my site is at least somewhat focused on hackery stuff I wanted to focus on security and I'm sure my newbieness in that aspect got in the way.
Sendmail is what you need. Rent a cheap VPS if you want to run your own email server. Don't do it from home.
Also, be prepared to tear your hair out. Sendmail is incredibly complex to configure properly. You also run a risk of misconfiguring it as an open relay — use a service such as http://www.mailradar.com/openrelay/ to make sure you have it closed up right. An open relay is a big fail and can result in providers suspending you or even fining you. I've heard of fines as large as $500 for getting provider IPs blacklisted.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.” — Albert Einstein
"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig." — Robert Heinlein
Well, I guess you could say this project ended.
A CR rep from Name.com wasn't happy that I wasn't happy about Google Apps no longer being free, so they talked with me for a while. They sat there with me as we fought a ton of rather lazy Microsoft reps, and now, as far as I can tell, I've got Hotmail working for my domain. it did take much too long in my opinion, though. Hopefully it'll be reliable.
Sorry to let anyone down, in case they were really interested in seeing this work. I still may try, if there's enough interest.
You are asking for a giant headache. Just use a normal email service like gmail.
Considering OP wants to use his own domain name rather than @gmail.com it is slightly more complicated than that.
Google apps would have been viable but it now costs $5 per user per month.
OP, your best bet is to use a cheap monthly/yearly webhost to host your domain and use cpanel to manage email addreses, if you only want google apps (gmail, docs, etc you could go for the $5 month google apps, even then I believe you need the domain attached to hosting to prove ownership)
I can reccomend the $10/year plan with Lithium Hosting http://www.lithiumho...om/shared#plans
Samsung Galaxy S3 (Jellybean Omega ROM) - 4x3tb QNAP NAS
When did they do this?
Couple months ago, http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/12/no-more-free-google-apps/
Samsung Galaxy S3 (Jellybean Omega ROM) - 4x3tb QNAP NAS
If you still want to host your own be prepared to do a lot of fiddling with the command line, testing, more fiddling, more testing, wiping everything and starting over, fiddling, giving up and then just paying the $5/mo for Google Apps.
More of a pet project, really. I'm at college, and I'm in the IT department. I've got the tools available to do this myself, other than the software/config, but I'll go ahead and try this out. This is more of a project for me, just hacking at things. Call it a pet project, if you will. My school hasn't had a power outage in 25 years, which is notable for the East Coast. Because it's in my school, I've got a fixed IP at my disposal. Odds are I'll bite the cost for Google Apps, but I'll go down swinging, one way or another. I'll post the results here, in case anybody's interested.
Please do, I'd like to see how you get it working. I managed to get to the point where I could send emails via Telnet, but I couldn't receive them and I couldn't get it to work with Thunderbird. Granted, since my site is at least somewhat focused on hackery stuff I wanted to focus on security and I'm sure my newbieness in that aspect got in the way.
Also, be prepared to tear your hair out. Sendmail is incredibly complex to configure properly. You also run a risk of misconfiguring it as an open relay — use a service such as http://www.mailradar.com/openrelay/ to make sure you have it closed up right. An open relay is a big fail and can result in providers suspending you or even fining you. I've heard of fines as large as $500 for getting provider IPs blacklisted.
"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig." — Robert Heinlein
A CR rep from Name.com wasn't happy that I wasn't happy about Google Apps no longer being free, so they talked with me for a while. They sat there with me as we fought a ton of rather lazy Microsoft reps, and now, as far as I can tell, I've got Hotmail working for my domain. it did take much too long in my opinion, though. Hopefully it'll be reliable.
Sorry to let anyone down, in case they were really interested in seeing this work. I still may try, if there's enough interest.