Express won't send when VPN is connected

[tbrox]

I have a customer who is using Outlook Express. Recieving mail is OK all the
time but when she is connected to the office VPN she gets a send error
message. If she disconnects from the VPN the mail sends just fine.

Is there any way to prevent this so she can send email with or without being
connected to the VPN?

 

[Brian Tillman]

I have a customer who is using Outlook Express. Recieving mail is OK
all the time but when she is connected to the office VPN she gets a
send error message. If she disconnects from the VPN the mail sends
just fine.

Is there any way to prevent this so she can send email with or
without being connected to the VPN?

Your customer doesn't understand the purpose of a VPN. It is a VPN's
purpose to isolate a PC from the Internet in gereral while connected so that
only trusted objects can be accessed. Some arbitrary SMTP or POP server not
on your company's network is certainly not among them. Think about it.
Supposed your customer is connected to his work's network and then downloads
a virus-infected message from his home ISP and activates the virus. His
work's network is now in jeopardy. In fact, some companies don't allow
access to their networks even by VPN unless the PC doing the accessing is a
company-owned asset whose application suite can be controlled so that a
company-approved AV program can be guaranteed to have been installed and
operating.

 

[tbrox]

Thanks for the deffenition. Does this mean that while connected to the VPN
if my customer goes out to the internet she is using the Internet through the
company server via the VPN connection?

I always thought the purpose of a VPN was to allow access to server or PC
files from the VPN server. I have another customer using a VPN who works
this way and is able to send and receive email through her normal POP and
IMAP email accounts. This VPN is not setup through a server rather it is
hosted by a router connected to an XP Pro computer acting as a central file
storage place similar to a server. The remote computers are using a client
software.

If anyone has some more thoughts surronding the conditions I described I
would very interested since I value education.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Thanks for the deffenition. Does this mean that while connected to
the VPN if my customer goes out to the internet she is using the
Internet through the company server via the VPN connection?
Yes.

I always thought the purpose of a VPN was to allow access to server
or PC files from the VPN server. I have another customer using a VPN
who works this way and is able to send and receive email through her
normal POP and IMAP email accounts.

Depends on what the nework to which the VPN connects you allows.

 

[tbrox]

Brian,

Thanks for the clairification.

Have a nice day.