Email Access

[QHF]

Matt,

I was trying to setup email accounts for the business that just moved to GlowHost and I keep getting a password authorization failed message. I tried to access webmail by typing the URL followed with the /webmal but all I get is page can't be displayed. Again if I type the business URL and end it with /cpanel I get the same page can't be displayed message.

They are using Outlook Express so I setup Outlook Express on my work PC, configured one of the business email accounts that wouldn't work on my machine and can access the account with no problems.

The POP3 and SMTP settings are the same at GlowHost as they were at the former hosting company. I tried to use the IP Address in the POP and SMTP area but got the same result. I will be going back to the business site this afternoon to hopefully figure this out. Is it possible because the email settings are the same, there is a conflict between the old host company and GlowHost, I grasping at straws here.

[Matt]

Sounds to me like you are resolving the wrong host if you get page can't be displayed errors. You should ping the domain from the problem computer and make sure the result is the correct IP.

[QHF]

Matt,

I pinged the domain and got the correct IP address for Glowhost. I also pinged POP and SMTP and got the Glowhost IP again, so I don't think not resolving is it. The former hosting company is also providing the Internet access. Could this possible be the problem, they are blocking mail traffic?

[Matt]

Did you ping it from the computer with the problem or from your own computer that isn't having the problem?

[QHF]

I pinged from the problem computer.

[Matt]

I pinged from the problem computer.

Show us the results of your ping and the command that was issued.

Well, the first step would be to figure out why you cannot access /cpane; or /webmail so that you can test your logins for the email addresses and then move along to the mail programs.

If /webmail and /cpanel are not working then it sounds like a firewall problem. I'd ask their network admin to enable those ports for cpanel and webmail, check your email logins, then work on the mail program config.

[QHF]

Show us the results of your ping and the command that was issued.

I'll have to do this in the morning, as the business has closed for the day. I will be going there in the afternoon to test. There is a possibility that I can remote into one of the trouble computer from my work location sooner. I'll post the results of the ping and and any port errors when I try the /cpanel and /webmail.

Thanks for the help. To be continued!

[Matt]

While you are there you might as well get the results of these as well:

telnet domain.com 26

and

telnet domain.com 25

Where "domain.com" is the actual domain.

[QHF]

Matt,

I'm at the business site and tried pinging the domain and the result is as follows:
C:\>ping fnt-victory.net

Pinging fnt-victory.net [216.137.176.6] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 216.137.176.6: bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=62
Reply from 216.137.176.6: bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=62
Reply from 216.137.176.6: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=62
Reply from 216.137.176.6: bytes=32 time=45ms TTL=62

This IP range is from the old host

Telnet domain.com 25 returned: 220 europa.cybrzn.com ESMTP Sendmail 8.13.8/8.13.8; Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:37:19 -0
500

Telnet domain.com 26 returned nothing. Also attached is a screen print of what I see when I type the URL domain.com/webmail. The same with /cpanel.

[Matt]

Well then as suspected they are resolving the wrong IP address. You need to contact their ISP and ask them why they are ignoring the A records at the nameservers for this domain.

Usually this happens when someone's ISP was also that person's webhost.

To the Layman, the ISP is still hosting the DNS, and instead of telling that person's computer to go on the Internet to look up the address, it checks with the ISP's nameservers first. If the ISP has a zone it gives that person the local results instead of what the Internet has to say.

Ask the ISP to remove the zones for this domain if the scenario above applies to you.

If that is not the case, then you should try to clear the local DNS cache. This is best done by closing all programs, especially the email readers, and better yet, just power down all the machines on that network, and reboot the router, then power the machines back up.

You can also do much of the DNS cache clearing from the command line, but this is a quick way to get it done without getting into technical specifics.

If rebooting the router doesn't solve the problem you'll need to contact the ISP or network administrator to figure out why they are checking for the domain locally instead of on the Internet.