What is an SMTP: Authentication error?

Question

Well, I am reading about it in Wikipedia but can anyone explain it to me in layman's terms, please?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I won't explain SMTP but just explain the SMTP error.



A SMTP: Authentication error means that your mail client (or what ever you were using that created the error) could not verify the credentials. The credentials are just the username and password and other information that allow you to connect to that email account.



The simplest thing may be that you just have the wrong username or password. However that is not automatically the problem, it could be some kind of connection error as well.



All its saying is that it could not authenticate the account you are trying to use.

Answer 2

Whenever you send an e mail to someone it goes from your pc to your Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server. From the SMTP server it is forwarded and ultimately ends up ad the destination site.



If the SMTP server did not insist on the sender validating that he was authorized to send e mail under the defined sender's name, other people would send out e mail under the defined sender's name because no one was stopping them from doing this. This is how much spam has been sent out under someone else's name.



An authentication process basically tells the SMTP server that the sender is who he says he is. The sender (e mail address) has an authentication password which is also provided and if the e mail address and authentication password match the SMTP server assumes the person sending is who he says he is.



You already have an e mail password to obtain mail sent to you. Often the receiving password is also the sending authentication password. E mail clients (e.g. Outlook, Thunderbird, Lotus Notes, etc) are configured with this in mind.



If you are having a problem sending mail and receive an SMTP authentication error, check your e mail client settings for sending mail as the error is probably in that part of the configuration.

Answer 3

SMTP is a protocol--a set of rules--used by email systems. Authentication is the process of proving who you are. When using email, this is usually a user id and password.



The email system you're attempting to use either doesn't recognize your user id or accept your password.

Answer 4

The mail server (SMTP server) requires a login (authentication) which you failed to provide correctly.



With SMTP Authentication, a user has to identify itself and after successful authentication, reception/transmission of his/her emails is granted.