Open Source E-mail Security

Three separate e-mail server packages are discussed: sendmail, qmail, and Postfix. Each security topic provides hands-on examples using each of the three e-mail packages. The book primarily focuses on providing instructions for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and small corporate network administrators for configuring Open Source e-mail packages to provide secure e-mail services to customers. Additional information educates the reader on basic e-mail principles and protocols. Some key topics that are discussed include:

In this book you'll learn the technology underlying secure e-mail systems, from the protocols involved to the open source software packages used to implement e-mail security. This book explains the secure MIME (S/MIME) protocol and how it is used to protect data transmitted across the Internet. It also explains the concepts crucial to stopping spam messages using the three most popular open source mail packages—sendmail, qmail, and postfix. It presents detailed configurations showing how to avoid accepting messages from known open relays and how to filter known spam messages. Advanced security topics are also covered, such as how to install and implement virus scanning software on the mail server, how to use SMTP authentication software, and how to use the SSL protocol to secure POP, IMAP, and WebMail servers.

Rich Blum has worked for the past 13 years as a network and systems administrator for the U.S. Department of Defense at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. There he has been using Unix operating systems as an FTP server, TFTP server, e-mail server, mail list server, and network monitoring device in a large networking environment. Rich currently serves on the board of directors for Traders Point Christian Schools and is active on the computer support team at the school, helping to support a Microsoft network in the classrooms and computer lab of a small K-8 school. Rich has a bachelors of science degree in electrical engineering, and a masters of science degree in management, specializing in Management Information Systems, both from Purdue University. When Rich is not being a computer nerd, he is either playing electric bass for the church worship band or spending time with his wife, Barbara, and two daughters, Katie Jane and Jessica.