HOWTO: Send and Receive Hotmail through Evolution

[Indras]

Okay everyone, after digging around in these forums and googling like I've never googled before, I figured out how to send and receive e-mail through hotmail using Evolution. I'm throwing together a rough HOWTO for others. If things need more clarification, let me know and I'll update it.

First, make sure your system is up to date. Open up a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get update

Now, install the inet daemon

sudo apt-get install inetutils-inetd

This takes care of all of our dependencies. Now on to the good stuff...

sudo apt-get install hotway hotsmtp

This will install hotway, which allows you to read hotmail e-mails by simulating a POP3 server, and hotsmtpd, which allows you to send e-mail through hotmail using SMTP. By default, however, only hotway gets installed properly to your inet daemon, so let's fix this.

sudo gedit /etc/inetd.conf

Look for a line like this:

pop3		stream	tcp	nowait	nobody	/usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/bin/hotwayd

By default, hotway leaves a copy of each message it downloads on the server. I prefer it this way, so I can read my e-mail at other locations, but if you don't feel like filling up your hotmail box, change the line to add "-r" to the end, like this:

pop3		stream	tcp	nowait	nobody	/usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/bin/hotwayd -r

And we also need to add a line to get hotsmtpd working, just paste this at the bottom:

2500		stream	tcp	nowait	nobody	/usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/bin/hotsmtpd

This will set the inet daemon to listen to incoming calls on port 2500, and forward the connection to the hotsmtp daemon. Now, save your file, exit gedit, and restart your inetd server:

sudo /etc/init.d/inetutils-inetd restart

If everything is working properly, you'll see this pop up on your screen:

* Restarting internet superserver inetd                            [ ok ]

Now, close out of your terminal and start up Evolution. It may pop up the first-time use wizard, you can use that if you like. Or, you may have to go to Edit->Preferences and hit the Mail Accounts button on the left. However you choose to do it, here's your information:

Email Address: xxx@hotmail.com (fill in your normal e-mail address that you use to login to hotmail)

Receive Server type: POP
Server: 127.0.0.1
Username: xxx@hotmail.com (same as above)
Security: No encryption
Authentication type: Password
(Remember password checkbox is up to you)

Send Server type: SMTP
Server: 127.0.0.1:2500
[X] Server requires authentication (check this box)
Use Secure Connection: No encryption
Authentication Type: PLAIN
Username: xxx@hotmail.com (same as above)
(Optional Remember password checkbox)

[avtolle]

Thanks. However, should be hotsmtp, not hotsmtpd as set out in the third code step in your original post.

[146lily]

Unable to connect to POP server 127.0.0.1. Error sending password: -ERR Hotmail said you must pay money to have WebDAV access Please enter the POP password for bigron.msn@hotmail.com on host 127.0.0.1

I get this error message after entering password and trying to download mail?

[Flojomojo]

Originally Posted by 146lily I get this error message after entering password and trying to download mail?

Doesn't M$ require you to pay a free for POP and IMAP access to Hotmail now?

That, along with the MSIE-centric focus of www.live.com, is one of the things that pushed me into moving to Linux.

[avtolle]

Yeah, I got the same message. Thus, away from Hotmail, onto Gmail.

[Thund3rstruck]

Great guide, thanks! Worked perfect and now I have my hotmail inside Linux!! Amazing

[Indras]

Originally Posted by avtolle Thanks. However, should be hotsmtp, not hotsmtpd as set out in the third code step in your original post.

Thanks, all corrected.

Originally Posted by 146lily I get this error message after entering password and trying to download mail?

I've heard of people getting this before, I'm going to look into it.

By the way, how old is your account? I find a lot of articles in google saying that Hotmail was ending WebDAV access to new accounts in order to crack down on spam, but all the articles are around September 27, 2004. I know for a fact that I've had my hotmail account for at least six years, and I've always had the capability to open it in Outlook Express (which uses WebDAV). I'm thinking if it's a really new account, it might need to be active for a certain number of months before they give you WebDAV. Otherwise, it might be that all new accounts are not getting WebDAV at all, in which case you're SOL.

My only other suggestion is to try logging directly in via www.hotmail.com to confirm that the e-mail address and password are 100% correct, and that the account is active.

EDIT: Here's a website that confirms my suspicions:
http://www.neilturner.me.uk/2006/Apr...ve_mail_i.html

You can experience with the WebDAV option, which may work with your account if you have been using Hotmail for a few years.

[unique]

Or better yet just use...

pop3hot.com

as your pop3 server and your set.

[shof2k]

Cool, worked for me without any problems.

Are there any security implications of using email this way. I noticed authentication is in the clear, but am I right in assuming this doesn't matter because the hotmail server is really localost?

Basically I want to know if any passwords or data is sent in the open.

Thanks for the howto

[Indras]

Originally Posted by shof2k Cool, worked for me without any problems. Are there any security implications of using email this way. I noticed authentication is in the clear, but am I right in assuming this doesn't matter because the hotmail server is really localost? Basically I want to know if any passwords or data is sent in the open. Thanks for the howto

You're welcome!

I did a bit of research, but it seems the project page for hotwayd is missing or corrupted (http://hotwayd.sourceforge.net). The only "real" information I can find is this: http://www.freshports.org/mail/hotwayd/

Originally Posted by http://www.freshports.org/mail/hotwayd/ Hotwayd uses HTTPMail (the same protocol that Outlook Express uses) to access servers such as Hotmail. The software acts as a proxy mail server, allowing you to access e-mail on Hotmail and similar servers using standard POP3 mail clients.

So, either Hotwayd and Outlook Express both send your username and password in plaintext to the server, or they both do not.

After a bit of digging, I found this site, which is currently missing (so I'm linking to the google cache page):

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=2

This gives an idea of the login process that Hotwayd uses to connect to the Hotmail server.

If you're feeling really frisky, feel free to read the specifications for the WebDAV protocol for very specific information: http://webdav.org.

Personally, I find it all a bit over my head