Is Internal Email Available for Small Office?

We have a small office (4 computers) running on windows xp pro and using outlook, outlook express, and a Linksys wireless router (using WEP). We don't have a server or Exchange, etc. Is there a way to send internal email directly to each other without going over the Internet -- and incurring the security risk of sending confidential intraoffice communications over the Internet. True, we could send encrypted email. But better solution would be just not to have our internal email leave our wireless network. I called Cisco, and their routers cannot do this for us

Someone suggested installing Linux and using Sendmail, but that is not an attractive option either

Jose

On 26 May 2004 09:11, "Jose" wrote:
>We have a small office (4 computers) running on windows xp pro and
>using outlook, outlook express, and a Linksys wireless router (using
>WEP). We don't have a server or Exchange, etc. Is there a way to send
>internal email directly to each other without going over the Internet
>-- and incurring the security risk of sending confidential intraoffice
>communications over the Internet. True, we could send encrypted email.
>But better solution would be just not to have our internal email leave
>our wireless network. I called Cisco, and their routers cannot do this for us.
>
>Someone suggested installing Linux and using Sendmail, but that is not
>an attractive option either.

Not having a server complicates matters significantly; where would you
locate the mailboxes without a server? You can send primitive pop-up messages
to each other without going out onto the Internet I suppose.
I think encrypted mail is going to be your best solution, under the circumstances.
You *MIGHT* be able to set up a Workgroup PostOffice but that's not an
undertaking I'd enter into lightly. Here's more info: http://www.slipstick.com/addins/services/wgpo.htm

By the way -- WEP can be fairly easily cracked so if you're serious about
security on your wireless LAN you should look into some of the more advanced
solutions like WPA.
--
-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, MVP-OneNote
OneNote FAQ: http://home.hawaii.rr.com/schorr/Co.../OneNoteFAQ.htm
SchorrTech Blog: http://www.thespoke.net/MyBlog/bschorr/MyBlog.aspx

I know this might be a bit politically incorrect to say in an MS newsgroup,
but what about a third-party solution? For only 4 computers, you could run
the server software on one of your workstations with negligble impact on
performance, if it's a decent machine.

I just switched to Exchange a few weeks ago, but for 5 years before that I
used a product called Lansuite for proxy and email service. It works great,
and for up to 5 clients it is completely free. I would suggest you check it
out;

http://www.software602.com/products/ls/

If you have any questions about it, you're welcome to email me.

Jason

"Jose" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7308682E-1ACC-4256-BDEE-02476BD70A20@microsoft.com...
> We have a small office (4 computers) running on windows xp pro and using
outlook, outlook express, and a Linksys wireless router (using WEP). We
don't have a server or Exchange, etc. Is there a way to send internal email
directly to each other without going over the Internet -- and incurring the
security risk of sending confidential intraoffice communications over the
Internet. True, we could send encrypted email. But better solution would
be just not to have our internal email leave our wireless network. I called
Cisco, and their routers cannot do this for us.
>
> Someone suggested installing Linux and using Sendmail, but that is not an
attractive option either.
>
> Jose

PS

Email is not the kind of thing you're going to get out of a piece of
hardware, like a router. It is an application, it has to live somewhere..

"Jose" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7308682E-1ACC-4256-BDEE-02476BD70A20@microsoft.com...
> We have a small office (4 computers) running on windows xp pro and using
outlook, outlook express, and a Linksys wireless router (using WEP). We
don't have a server or Exchange, etc. Is there a way to send internal email
directly to each other without going over the Internet -- and incurring the
security risk of sending confidential intraoffice communications over the
Internet. True, we could send encrypted email. But better solution would
be just not to have our internal email leave our wireless network. I called
Cisco, and their routers cannot do this for us.
>
> Someone suggested installing Linux and using Sendmail, but that is not an
attractive option either.
>
> Jose