Re: exim4 mainlog & msglog permissions?

[Michael Wagner <michaeldebian@web.de>]

Hello Thomas,

* Thomas H. George <lists@tomgeorge.info> 08.10.2008
> After finally understanding the exim4 authentication setup - as root I  
> am able to send email to my other mail box - I tried to send mail as tom  
> and from mutt.  No go.
>
> First, there were messages that exim4 could not write to the files  
> /var/log/exim4/mainlog and paniclog - permission denied.
>
> I added tom to the Debian-exim group and the mail group.  This had no  
> effect.   I then changed the file permissions from 640 to 666.  That  
> resolved the mainlog and paniclog problem.

This is normally not necessary. Here is the output from my files.

$ls -l /var/log/exim4
-rw-r----- 1 Debian-exim adm 12803  8. Okt 19:28 mainlog

> Next there was a message the exim4 could not write to the directory  
> /var/spool/exim4/msglog - permission denied.  Again I changed the  
> directory permissions  to 666.

$ls -l /var/spool/exim4/
drwxr-x--- 2 Debian-exim Debian-exim 4096  8. Okt 18:10 msglog

> I don't understand this at all.  It seems to me that the standard  
> installation should such that normal users can send and receive mail and  
> root is prevented from doing so.  What I have encountered is the other  
> way around and I have yet find all the changes - or the best practice  
> changes - which allow a normal user to send mail.

What messages do you get in the logfiles when you want to send mail?

First of all make as root 

$dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config

and answer the questions according to your needs which you will be asked
for. Here on my Debian Sid and on my Etch it was working out of the box.
The only thing I had to do was the "dpkg-reconfigure" command. 

Hth Michael

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