An open mail relay is an SMTP server configured in such a way that it allows anyone on the Internet to send e-mail through it, not just mail destined to or originating from known users. This used to be the default configuration in many mail servers; indeed, it was the way the Internet was initially set up, but open mail relays have become unpopular due to their exploitation by spammers and worms. Many relays were closed, or were placed on blacklists by other servers.
Read more about Open Mail Relay: History and Technology, Abuse By Spammers, Anti-spam Efforts, Modern-day Proponents, Closing Relays
Famous quotes containing the words open and/or mail:
“I have passed down the river before sunrise on a summer morning, between fields of lilies still shut in sleep; and when, at length, the flakes of sunlight from over the bank fell on the surface of the water, whole fields of white blossoms seemed to flash open before me, as I floated along, like the unfolding of a banner, so sensible is this flower to the influence of the sun’s rays.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“We grew up founding our dreams on the infinite promise of American advertising. I still believe that one can learn to play the piano by mail and that mud will give you a perfect complexion.”
—Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–1948)