Educause Security Discussion mailing list archives
Re: Outbound SMTP
From: Valdis Kletnieks <Valdis.Kletnieks () VT EDU>
Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 13:24:11 -0400
On Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:14:13 EDT, "Scholz, Greg" said:
I don't think I want a researcher (or whomever) that doesn't understand that they need port 25 open to have the ability to create an accessible application and run it on our network - sounds like they would need to do more research first :-)
Quick - which port(s) do you need for Exchange? ;) It's true that a *protocol researcher* should know what ports they need. However, the days when even 1% of the users were protocol researchers are long behind us. The vast majority are just trying to use the network as a *TOOL*. They don't understand IP addresses or ports or TCP 3-way handshakes or Path MTU Discovery, they just know that some collection of bits/data lives on *THIS* machine and they want to use it on *THAT* machine, and some tool called *whatever* was recommended as the way to do it. Sometimes it's a researcher in something other than protocols - for instance, a genetics professor that just wants to do video conferencing with a collaborator in Germany, and knows "if the Germany guy and I both have WonderVideo 2.3 and a USB webcam, it's supposed to work". And sometimes it's somebody trying to access files on a home machine from work, or a work machine from home, for legitimate business reasons. And sometimes it's just some ethically challenged person who wants a copy of something contrary to its copyright/licensing. But I think if you're expecting any of the people in the previous paragraph to learn what ports are used, you're in for a big surprise. Most people don't know what ports do what, any more than the owner of any car made since 1996 is likely to know what the pin-out of the ODB2 plug under the dashboard is. And I posit that if they *have* to know more about protocols to use the computer than they need to know ODB2 to drive a car, their user interface is vastly misdesigned.
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Current thread:
- Re: Outbound SMTP, (continued)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Basgen, Brian (Apr 25)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Jason S. Cash (Apr 25)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Michael Sinatra (Apr 25)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Michael Sinatra (Apr 25)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Joe St Sauver (Apr 25)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Scholz, Greg (Apr 25)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Halliday,Paul (Apr 25)
- Re: Outbound SMTP John Kristoff (Apr 28)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Tim Cantin (Apr 28)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Mike Porter (Apr 28)
- Re: Outbound SMTP Valdis Kletnieks (May 05)