What is STARTTLS?

Answer

STARTTLS is the ESMTP keyword used to initiate a secure SMTP connection between two servers using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) (also known as TLS).

Once the connection has been succesfully established all further communication between the two servers is encrypted. This means that the source and destination email address and the entire message contents are all encrypted during transfer.

Encryption requires the prior installation of keys at both source and destination server. Once the keys are installed GMS gives the administrator several choices over how email will be sent to given destinations:

  • Require encryption. All messages between this server and the destination server MUST be encrypted during transmission. If the remote server is not available, GMS will hold the message until it becomes available again. This option is best used where security is an absolute
    requirement.

  • Try encryption. All messages between this server and the destination server will be delivered encrypted if the destination server is available. If the destination server is not available, the message may be delivered UNENCRYPTED to the backup mail server for the destination. This option is best used where speed is of essence.
  • Don’t encrypt. This is the default option and will be used where key has been installed.

In order to use TLS, you will need an activation key from Gordano Sales. Once this key is installed SSL key pairs may be generated using the program "keycert" provided with GMS and found in the Gordano bin directory.

The keycert program allowsd you to generate CSR’s for submission to a Certificate Authority and to apply those certificates once issued. It also allows you to gnerate self signed certificates but be aware that these will not be automatically recognsied by other sites and may require manual intervention on their behalf to accept them.

See Also:

Keywords:STARTTLS SSL Secure SMTP

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