Suddenly, I cannot send email! I am getting the following error code:

12:54:05.916: --- 15 Jan 2022, 12:54:05.916 ---
12:54:05.916: Connect to 'relay.plus.net', timeout 30 seconds.
12:54:06.992: >> 220 avasout-ptp-002 smtp relay.plus.net
12:54:06.993: << EHLO [192.168.1.66]
12:54:07.009: >> 250-avasout-ptp-002 hello [80.189.51.231], pleased to meet you
12:54:07.009: >> 250-HELP
12:54:07.009: >> 250-AUTH LOGIN PLAIN
12:54:07.009: >> 250-SIZE 104857600
12:54:07.009: >> 250-PIPELINING
12:54:07.009: >> 250-8BITMIME
12:54:07.009: >> 250-STARTTLS
12:54:07.009: >> 250 OK
12:54:07.016: << AUTH LOGIN
12:54:07.052: >> 334 VXNlcm5hbWU6
12:54:07.052: << YXAwNDI=
12:54:07.082: >> 334 UGFzc3dvcmQ6
12:54:07.082: << cGx1czEyMw==
12:54:07.132: >> 535 ...authentication rejected

I can receive emails ok.

My ISP is Plusnet in the UK and I have checked with them that my setting of "relay.plus.net" in the Server Host Name of the Settings for Sending Mail (SMTP) page, is correct.

Can anyone suggest what is going wrong, please?

Thanks for any help.

First and most importantly, you have posted your login credentials so change them at once. They are encrypted in the log file but only in base64 which is easily decrypted with readily available online decoding tools.

Once you change them, you can verify what is being transmitted by decrypting the lines following "AUTH LOGIN" that start with "<<". One such decrypting tool is at base64decode.org. Submit the content following "<< " for decryption.

Many thanks for your prompt help, Brian. I will do as you suggest.

According to my Mercury32-server, could 334 be caused by a greywall on the mail-server.

Thanks for your reply, Sellerie. I tried doing what Brian suggested, but couldn't solve the problem. In the end, I uninstalled Pegasus from my computer, after copying all the Admin files. I then re-installed Pegasus, used the set-up wizard to create my internet account, and then replaced the Admin files with the ones I copied from my original installation. That worked, despite the options in the Tools/Internet Options/Receiving (POP3) and the Sending (SMTP) fields being exactly the same as before! The new installation must have cleared what was causing the problem in the original installation. Glad to report a problem solved story, and my simple method may help others who have similar problems in the future.

When you restored the Admin files did you overwrite the new ones or just copy in the ones that didn't exist? I'm curious because overwriting the pmail.ini file would have undone the new internet account settings unless you went in afterwards and selected the newly created SMTP host. Typically, a reinstall won't solve a problem when all files from an existing mailbox directory are maintained because a configuration file that is likely the cause of the problem won't get replaced. Regardless, I'm glad you have it working.

Hello Brian. I changed the name of the PMAIL folder to 'PMAIL Old' and then re-installed Pegasus which created a new PMAIL folder. I used the Set-up Wizard to create my internet connections (POP3 and SMTP, etc) and checked they worked ok sending and receiving emails (strange sending because the SMTP settings were the same as my original installation that didn't work!). I then copied all my Admin files from 'PMAIL Old' to PMAIL, and everything worked as it did before. Although I cannot work out what went wrong before, I am just grateful it is all working again now.

As a matter of interest, I have been using Pegasus since 2003 as my only email program, and also use it as my filing system on my computer with extensive use of the Folders and Sub-Folders options. For instance, I have a copy of every email I have sent since 2003, and have often found it invaluable using Pegasus's search text option (Edit/Find text) to locate an email I sent years before. The search text option also enables me to find emails relating to a particular subject if I am not sure which folder I have filed it in. The result is that my MAIL folder contains several hundred folders and is 12.5 GB in size. I regularly back it up including synching it with Microsoft's OneDrive.