From: terry(_at_)ashtonwoodshomes(_dot_)com
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 7:36 AM
<...>
Is there a good reason why average users cannot use SMTP AUTH
over port 587?
None, except that many providers are still lagging behind in turning on this
service. This solves the key distribution problems for _any_ of the
crypto-based protocols. If you run your own MTA, SMTP AUTH is obviously the
way to go, if for no other reason than to allow mobile users to send company
mail from the company MTA. Very few shared hosting providers currently
offer this service, probably because users have not yet demanded it. A
small number of forward-looking email providers do, such as PoBox, but that
seems to the exception here in the U.S. With the advent of authentication,
there will be more pressure to support this.
--
Seth Goodman