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Re: sendmail v/s smail



On Thu, Aug 07, 1997 at 11:48:37PM -0400, Gonzalo A. Diethelm wrote:
: >From the discussions on this list (I still haven't got my Debian CD),
: I gather smail is by default installed as the mail system for Debian;
: even if this is not the case, I have the following question: I'm now
: using (Slakware and) sendmail, and it works OK, though I'll be damned
: if I ever understand the sendmail.cf file. Is smail any better? What
: are the strengths and weaknesses of each package? Why would I switch
: from sendmail to smail?

Sendmail:

1) Easy to configure.  No need to try to understand what the S3 ruleset
does.  You just make your set of m4 macros, which is very straightforward.
Once you do that, you're one command (m4 ../m4/cf.m4 myfile.mc > sendmail.cf)
from a working sendmail.cf.

2) Difficult to configure.  Uh, didn't I just say it was easy?  Yeah, I did.
However, toss in anti-relay protection, and spam refusal rules (via check_*)
and it gets a lot more complex.  You still only have to add the stuff to
your set of m4 macros and build once.

3) Security problem.  Sendmail runs as root.  Many exploits have been
uncovered over time.  However, 90% of those problems are fixed by not
using /bin/sh as the "program mailer".  Use /usr/sbin/smrsh.  smrsh won't
run a program unless it's been declared as a delivery agent, or you
have made a link to it in the "magic" smrsh directory (/usr/lib/sm.bin).

Smail:

1) Very easy to configure.  You can practically teach monkeys to do it.

2) Very inflexible with respect to SMTP relaying.  You can run "Blackmail"
in front of smail, but it seems kinda kludgy to me.  Allegedly a yet to 
come version of smail fixes this.  I'm not holding my breath.

Qmail:

1) Very easy to configure.  I've seen monkeys who can configure it.

2) Very flexible.  With most anything, really.

I'd say that Qmail is the best choice for first-timers.  Unless you want
to be raped as a spam relay, or want to tackle the sendmail config, which
isn't really all that bad, go for Qmail.

-- 
Jason Costomiris                 | Finger for PGP 2.6.2 Public Key
jcostom@sjis.com                 | "There is a fine line between idiocy
My employers like me, but not	 | and genius.  We aim to erase that line"
enough to let me speak for them. |			--Unknown

	        	http://www.jasons.org/~jcostom


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