EST. 2026 — Notes from real server work SYSADMIN · SECURITY · AI · DIRECTADMIN Issue 01
THE SYSADMIN ALMANAC
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SMTP

#SMTP

3 articles
Mail
tinker Sends Mail but the Web Can't — proc_open Disabled in FPM
DirectAdmin

tinker Sends Mail but the Web Can't — proc_open Disabled in FPM

Sending mail from tinker works perfectly, but submitting the actual form sends nothing, and the mail log has no entries — because CLI and PHP-FPM are not the same PHP environment. Includes a working SMTP AUTH configuration for DirectAdmin hosting and the From rule you must get right.

#mail#smtp#laravel#php
9 min read·8 Oct
Mailbox Compromised or Just Password Guessing? Prove It First
Security

Mailbox Compromised or Just Password Guessing? Prove It First

Telling a customer their account has been compromised is an allegation that needs decisive evidence first. This article covers what counts as decisive evidence, two cases with opposite outcomes, and the case I nearly reported incorrectly.

#mail#mail-forensics#exim#forensics
11 min read·4 Oct
Reading exim mainlog for Stuck Clients — Mail Forensics Part 1
Security

Reading exim mainlog for Stuck Clients — Mail Forensics Part 1

How I read /var/log/exim/mainlog to distinguish an office machine using the wrong password from an attacker running a brute force attack, with the commands I use when customers need answers fast.

#mail-forensics#exim#mail#smtp
12 min read·23 May