[tpop3d-discuss]Error in client (Outlook express)

James Gurney james at globalmegacorp.org
Thu, 29 Jul 2004 01:17:05 -0700


I have a user who reported the following error when trying to download mail:

Your server has unexpectedly terminated the connection. Possible causes 
for this include server problems, network problems, or a long period of 
inactivity. Account: 'removed', Server: 'devious.globalmegacorp.org', 
Protocol: POP3, Port: 995, Secure(SSL): Yes, Error Number: 0x800CCC0F

We're using Maildir, so I went and started moving mails out of his 
folder until the error went away. Identified the problem email.. Now, 
when testing over telnet, I can retr the mail no problem. It appears to 
return perfectly (the . terminator appears and everything). However, 
looking at the file with less, the last character of the file seems odd 
(shows up as ^@ ). Hexdump output of the last 3 lines follows:

1860  2d 2d 2d 2d 2d 3d 5f 4e  65 78 74 50 61 72 74 5f  -----=_N extPart_
1870  30 30 30 5f 30 30 30 30  5f 41 34 45 43 45 36 42  000_0000 _A4ECE6B
1880  37 2e 42 37 42 33 45 33  30 46 2d 2d 0a 00 0a     7.B7B3E3 0F--...

I suspect the null character on the last line is the one causing the 
problem, so here's the question..

Whose job is it to deal with this, if it is the problem? I can't see any 
reason for the smtpd or pop3d to arbitrarily remove characters, which 
leads me to the conclusion that the problem is in the client (shock, 
horror). Apart from telling users to not use Outlook express, what else 
can I do about this?

I have a copy of the original problem email for further analysis, if needed.

James