User Guides Free smtp providers - send any providers mail free!

Free smtp seems to be the hotword on internet. Going by our search logs it seems to be a hot word on te too. So here is a quick guide on how to go about it. I will explain to you on how to quickly (without installing any software such as a smtp server) set up and get working a smtp account so that you can send mail using your fav email client using any email account for free.

Please note... the information provided is not exhaustive.. as you will soon see i would recommend the gmail approach as the best and you don't need anything else. Especially after the "from" problem has been sorted in gmail it is the way to go ... the only flip side can be the service might not remain free in distant future.

The guide lists lot of services that offer this feature but i have not tested them all and can't vouch for them I will explain only the ones i have tested for a appreciable period of time and am sure will work. This doesn't mean others don't and you are free to explore others. (and hey do tell me about them also by commenting to this guide. I will update the guide.)

And just incase you don't want to read about all the others.. move over to the last page of the guide and directly read about how to get gmail to work right with all the other providers..(hey it will save your time ;) )

[break=Russian providers]
1) Russia Rocks
Now this is little known maybe but it has been the most relaible over a long period of time. Thats why i put this at top of the list
Two Sites:
Mail15
Mail.ru (only russian version)
Both are backed by the topmost ISP providers in russia and are free.

The former supports IMAP4 or POP3 protocols and send mail through SMTP.
the key features are:

# Upon registration, the user receives an unlimited mailbox and 20Mb to create his/her web page. The initial storage space is 40Mb. When 10Mb is left free, the Increase link will appear to the right of the storage indicator on the page with the list of folders. By clicking on it you will increase the storage size by another 40Mb. You can do this an unlimited number of times. You can send and receive messages up to 15 MB each.
# The maximum size of an attached file is 10Mb. The number of attached files is limited by their total size (from 10Mb to 15Mb depending on the file type).
# The number of your contacts is unlimited.
# In addition to mailboxes, you can also register third-level domain names on the Pochta.ru server for free, thus placing a virtual web-server on the Internet.
# Pochta.ru uses SSL to ensure solid protection of data transfer through the HTTPS, SMTP, IMAP4 and POP3 protocols.
# Pochta.ru protects all mailboxes from spam and viruses by checking all incoming messages by Kaspersky Lab products.
# By setting filters you can protect yourself from junk e-mail. You will simplify your work with mail if you ask us to conduct preliminary mail sorting.
# You can readdress all incoming messages to any or several e-mail addresses.
# Pochta.ru users are offered a Russian-English and English-Russian dictionary/translator as well as a spell-check service in Russian and English.
# Your account will be deleted if you do not sign in for 6 months (through a web interface or through the IMAP4 or POP3 protocols).
# The Pochta.ru service is a highly reliable system. We are constantly developing and offering new services and improving the quality of existing ones.
i might add the web interface is superb and nice also. And yes its in english.

Server details
Incoming: mail.pochta.ru.
Outgoing: smtp.pochta.ru
[IMG=http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/3289/moz076gc.gif]
More details
the latter offers much the same features
They offer free pop3 email and free smtp service. Site is in Russian. They have multi- choice domains to choose your new identity. For their free smtp service, SMTP authentication is required. The service now has no limit for the user space, as soon as one gets close (within ~10Mb) to the initial 25Mb volume - there is an option to add the next 25Mb chunk and so on! Works with/without cookies. Security features include access from one IP only, prevental of password bruteforcing
Both of the above offer multiple domain options.. the domains you can choose are..
pochta.ru ,fromru.com , land.ru, mail15.com , pop3.ru , smtp.ru , mail.ru , inbox.ru and more... check the links and see dropdown to find more.

The biggest advantage is that you can send mail from any account using both the above services. that means if you have a hotmail account and send it through either of the above, with a from field and reply to set to hotmail, the service will alow the message to e sent. Its not there with lots of other providers.. and is a big plus.


Now i have been using mail15 for 2 years now and the relibility has been superb. However, like any other site, i cannot say how confidential your information is on this. You decide whether you want to trust this with your business mails(i won't)

[break=Yahoo]
The old Guard...

Yahoo ofcourse has its own smtp service. it had earlier been discontinued but is back now.
Well great if you use a yahoo account and thats the only account you have. You can get the smtp set up and enjoy. Information to set up find here


Incoming Mail (POP3) Server: pop.mail.yahoo.com
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: smtp.mail.yahoo.com (use authentication, optionally use port 587)
Account Name/Login Name: your Yahoo! Mail ID (your email address without the "@yahoo.com")
Email Address: your Yahoo! Mail address (e.g., user@yahoo.com)
Password: your Yahoo! Mail password


Now whats the flip side in this...well its this

Please make sure that you have entered your Yahoo! Mail Address as the "From" address in your email client. You will not be able to send mail if you have entered another address.
So if you are trying to send hotmail mail via yahoo.. tough luck.. you can't
[break=The Rest..]
And the rest...

here are some more worth mentioning

start off with this Indian email provider
e-tapaal

http://www.e-tapaal.com

5 mb storage but allows smtp. Flip side no other emial providers mail can be sent...

Basic account setup
# Account name : Your e-tapaal.com Login name ( Ex. user_name )
# Password : Your e-tapaal.com account password
# Email address: Your e-tapaal.com email address ( Ex. user_name@e-tapaal.com )
# Incoming mail server : POP3
# Incoming mail (POP3) : www.e-tapaal.com
# Outgoing mail (SMTP) : www.e-tapaal.com

Gawab
Nice layout, multiple domain options(country specific domains), claims to be fast(its not as per my experience) and has a hotmail account collector to read your hotmail mails at one place...
check out the features yourself here

incoming mail server (POP) is: pop.gawab.com
outgoing mail server (SMTP) is: smtp.gawab.com


The biggest advantage is that gawab(when i tested about 2 months back) did allow mails from other providers to be sent through its smtp. Someone confirm this please)

vfemail
http://www.vfemail.net/

Offers business class emails solutions. Has lots of paid packages but the copper one is free and does have smtp. the biggest "key word" for them is security... It scans each complete email, including attachments, for viruses (and spam too!) before it gets to your inbox. They provide built-in HTML, MS Word, and MS Excel document viewers.

15mb mail space provided.

mail.vfemail.net is your POP/SMTP/IMAP server name.
port 587


This does not support differnt providers 'from' mailing address
There are a whole lot of others you can check out here
Free mail guide
[break=And then there is gmail]
Gmail
www.gmail.com

So basically you don't need to read those 4 pages you just read. Cos as long as gmail is allowing what it is allowing at the moment, you don't need to use anything else.

The biggest disadvantage till few months back was that the smtp of gmail while allowing mails from other email providers to be sent through it(by that mean sending mail of hotmail via gmail) used to replace the "from" tag of the mail with the gmail accounts(from which you are sending the mail) from tag. While the reply to was still the one you kept, the from message to the recipient looked like coming from gmail.
This problem thankfully has been rectified. So now you can send your messages of any provider via gmail.

Now i don't need to mention the features... everyone knows of the excellent 2gig free service(oh its still invite only but there are plenty of invites and if you haven't got till now just ask in forums and someone will give you)

now the basic config details for those who want it

Incoming Mail (POP3) Server - requires SSL: pop.gmail.com
Use SSL: Yes
Port: 995

Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server - requires TLS: smtp.gmail.com (use authentication)
Use Authentication: Yes
Use STARTTLS: Yes (some clients call this SSL)
Port: 465 or 587

Account Name: your Gmail username (including '@gmail.com')
Email Address: your full Gmail email address (username@gmail.com)
Password: your Gmail password


ok now how to configure the from address.....
follow the steps

select settings from within the gmail account and go to the accounts tab.


click add another email address and a new window opens

fill in the email address of the provider you want to send mails through gmail
eg xyz@hotmail.com.. i want to send hotmail mails through gmail
fill in the display name(which is the name from which the mail is coming is shown to the person getting it) and the email id

select next. A verification screen is shown

click verify

the next screen comes up...
check the email you entered in previous step. there would be a email from your gmail account with a verification id. either enter it in this screen or just click the url in the email


and thats it.. your accounts tab will show the email you just added. you can edit info or make the new id as default.. upto you, but the point is that now you can send the mails of that id via gmail and no one won't ever come to know about it.



and the proof is here on my thunderbird ;)


And we finish this guide now. I hope someone benefits from all this ;)

Enjoy!!
 
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