Post #95,095
4/8/03 5:32:45 PM
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Just how "bad" is Sendmail?
We're looking at adding a spam filter here at work, and I'm noticing that a lot of the products we're looking at sit on top of Perl+Sendmail. Now, I've heard (in passing) some things that seem to indicate that Sendmail sucks more than a presidential intern, but I'm wondering if that's just usual "sour grapes" or if there's actually something fundamentally wrong with Sendmail.
Thanks,
Thane
After 9/11, Bush made two statements:
1. "Terrorists hate America because America is a land of freedom and opportunity."
2. "We intend to attack the root causes of terrorism."
Sounds like everything is going according to plan.
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Post #95,109
4/8/03 6:12:25 PM
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fundamentally complex at low level
which is why a lot of people dont like it. If you like command line work as opposed to gui and dont mind arcane conf files sendmail is just fine. It is a port listening service which accepts packets if it knows how to route them and denies acceptance if it doesnt know how to route them. It also supports external login and limited file xfr. Get the O'reilly book and get stuck in.
thanx,
bill
will work for cash and other incentives [link|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/boxley/resume/Resume.html|skill set]
questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
Since corporations are the equivelent of human but they have no "concience" they are by definition sociopaths
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Post #95,112
4/8/03 6:20:00 PM
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Yabut...
Any mail transfer agent that needs a [link|http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/sendmail3/|1232 page manual] to describe it seems to me to have problems. :-/
I used sendmail on OS/2 years ago. The fact that the sendmail config file required TABS turned me off. That, and its syntax is really obtuse.
If you need what it does, and can understand how to configure it, and have time to keep up with the patches, sendmail can be a great tool. Otherwise, I'd investigate something a little more transparent myself. YMMV.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #95,113
4/8/03 6:28:09 PM
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It's the best possible MTA in the Universe...
...if you need an MTA that can address any conceivable, and most inconceivable, possible circumstances. \r\n\r\n Otherwise, what you're seeing: it's a fucking wild-ass complex behemoth described by a 1,000+ page manual (I've got a copy, if you need it, though several versions out of date), for which you need to learn the language an syntax of the macro code generator which understands the language and syntax of the configuration files to be able to tell it what to do. \r\n\r\n Exim, Postfix, or Courier are what today's technologically hip, but sensible, firm uses. Read all about it at [link|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/MailServers|TWIT]. --\r\n
Karsten M. Self [link|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n
[link|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n
What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n
[link|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n
\r\n
Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n
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Post #95,175
4/8/03 9:04:34 PM
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I can conceive of something it isn't good at...
Defining an effective exclusion policy when faced with a cracker armed with the latest list of known exploits.
As always, complexity lends itself to bugs. A certain fraction of bugs are exploitable. Given what sendmail does, most exploits tend to be remote. Given that it is in widespread use, this makes for fertile ground for finding security holes...
Cheers,
Ben
"good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not"
- [link|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html|Stefano Mazzocchi]
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Post #95,195
4/8/03 9:42:32 PM
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And of course...
... the litmus test of all things computer-related:
Can you write a polymorphic shapes example in sendmail config files??
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #95,201
4/8/03 9:56:16 PM
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I'm sure that you can :-)
"good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not"
- [link|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html|Stefano Mazzocchi]
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Post #95,952
4/11/03 12:49:14 AM
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emacs or vi
Sendmail vs postfix (or exim) is like debating emacs vs vi. Pick one you like, that does what you want the way you want it to, keep up on security bulletins and hope for the best.
I prefer sendmail and emacs. :-)
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Post #95,670
4/10/03 8:56:13 AM
4/10/03 8:56:27 AM
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Let me give you an abstuse reason.
There are quirks in how DNS works because of SendMail. Really!
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
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Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
| -- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. |
Edited by static
April 10, 2003, 08:56:27 AM EDT
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