mxroute.com - A new inexpensive email hosting
 

http://mxroute.com/
It seems being run by a host provider catalysthost.com.
With 1 domain, 1 account, 10GB storage for free.

their text says
So is it a free webmail or does one need
to have a domain for it to be free? Just curious

Yes I know that they may tell that somewhere
but I expected you to give a bit more info on such.

Maybe I am too naive.

Signed up for this new service. Immediately had problems:
First, mx record is invalid according to my domain host (123-Reg): mxroute.com MX IS NOT VALID. So had to change Nameservers to cloudns to get this MX record to work. To be fair this is an issue with 123-Reg, but still, it's a pain.
Next, there are zero configuration options. Aliases? Forwarding? Webmail? Spam controls?
Next, came authentication errors while attempting to set up account in email client, whether using SSL or not.
Think I'll pass on this one.

The dearth of information alone on the site's page, with no links that I can find to any further information, makes it look somewhat dodgy.

It's free webmail as well as IMAP or POP3 and SMTP mail.

You cannot sign up without a domain (but, I believe, its mother company will sell you one).

--
Jacinto

Hello walesrob.

I had no problems with MX RR.

I was able to (a) sign up, (b) login to the "general" administration panel, (c) login to the separate "E-Mail" administration panel (you have to wait for a separate message with your user name, password and URL), (d) set up the one allowed E-Mail account (could have added aliases and forwarders, but didn't), (e) login to and configure Roundcube, and (f) access the E-Mail account with IMAP.

If one doesn't need to be spoon fed and has a little technical knowledge, it's a little challenging at first, but less challenging than euMX's OWM offering.

Ran into a little issue and received immediate, knowledgeable and courteous Tech. Support.

All in all, 10GB of Domain mail for free it's not bad. It'd be nice if we could set up more than one E-Mail account, but, free is free.

However, as with any new provider, we'll have to wait and see how it performs over the next month or two.

--
Jacinto

Thank you for your reply.

It seems the email with the URL for the email admin panel has not yet arrived, however I was able to set up a single email address and choose a password, but that's all. I also received info about MX records and IMAP ports.

The general lack of information is what frustrates me. I am merely reporting my findings to the forum.

Your comment about EuMX OWN set up a bit unwarranted, there is numerous help articles on this very forum and the EuMX forum.

As for spoonfeeding, in the past, I have used the likes of Tuffmail, Runbox, Polarismail, Google Applications, and Fastmail to set up and configure email hosting for myself and others, so I like to think I do have a bit of 'technical knowledge'.

You're welcome, walesrob,

I was referring to a normal user who just wants it to work without having to be an expert in the ins and outs of E-Mail, or webmail in particular. I don't believe that MXRoute and euMX are suitable for non-technical users.

I intentionally chose my words and said "If 'one doesn't' need to be spoon fed . . . ," instead of "If 'you don't' need to be spoon fed" to make sure that it was a general comment and not directed at you. Obviously, I failed.

I'm sure you have technical knowledge and I apologize if I offended you in any way. As I said, I was trying to do just the opposite.

--
Jacinto

Jacinto, no worries, you haven't offended me in any way. :)

Hey guys! I was just googling the name of my email service and came across this. I had never heard of this site before, looked like a cool place to sign up.

Anyway, thanks for sharing my service, it's not much but I'm proud of it. I wanted to answer a couple posts here. To be clear, I'm not here to advertise anything, just to chat and my apologies I'm a bit late to the conversation. I started catalysthost with my best friend Ryan, who still runs it today, but I had to drop out for a noncompete when I accepted a job at a large hosting company. I now control mxroute in partnership with catalysthost.

@walesrob That's quite interesting about 123-reg. I wonder what they consider to be a valid mx record? As for better documentation, I have some now, all included in the welcome email though.

@xmailer It was kind of intentional. Being a solely "bring your own domain" mail host I wanted to kind of turn away the novice, and I actually didn't expect anyone to find the site that I didn't talk to about it elsewhere. I plan on doing some work in that direction but me and the wife just had our first baby. The catalysthost team handles monitoring, support, and billing, but I handle the rest.

Anyway cool site here, look forward to contributing!

Welcome from LET, I am also a LET user.:)
You should PM to Edwin for a Representative of your service. Thanks.

Clicked on the ORDER button for MXfree, and got this:

Oops, there's a problem...

Out of Stock
We are currently out of stock on this item so orders for it have been suspended until more stock is available. For further information, please contact us.

I just got brave and threw 50 stock in there :)

Many thanks, jarland! :cool:

I've now signed up to a MXfree account, and set up a domain - all working OK.

Awesome! Little secret, you can make 5 mail accounts ;)

Under promise and over deliver is my motto.

Although it's been long enough since I've set one up, so it took awhile to remember all the details (on what had since become a "widowed" domain, which I was using until the first email service I'd associated it with stopped working some time ago), I too have now managed to get this domain set up and apparently working with your email. Thank you, jarland!

@jarland - do you offer domain parking?

Hola! I do not but I recommend http://dns.he.net for free dns handling.

To be fair to your email service, I did try again last night, and maybe my earlier comments were a bit caustic, and I've had to eat large amounts of humble pie. ;)

I've got everything working, domain setup, email address functioning, and IMAP & SMTP setup in Sylpheed & android, and its all working like a dream. IMAP is very fast, and I like the push notifications. Good work. I have sent you an email regarding an issue I'm having with catch-all, but so far, so good.

Since my post of 9/12, my domain has been moved to another host, and there have been no issues entering mx records. 123-reg is a bit hit and miss with their systems, they have some weird quirks.

Just signed up for the free to test it :). Looks interesting though.

signed up today and all works like a charm.

Wow that was quick!
 

Ryan, you win the award for the fastest ever response to a support ticket, I made it less than 2 minutes from my ticket submission to your reply. :)

If only other email services were as good as this.

Ryan is a beast ;)

Nice looking main page. Sparse but attractive.
What is MXRoute's privacy policy? What does "secure email" mean? Where are the servers? Is this a resale of some larger email provider?

Hola! Great questions.

The policies are all that of catalysthost.com, the parent of mxroute. Secure refers to server security more than anything. It won't be the next lavabit or anything. The central server is in corexchange in Dallas and the backup relay is in 51 Marietta in Atlanta.

What kind if spam and malware protection does MXRoute have?

That has actually been part of the project that has been at the front of my mind throughout most of it. Lately there has been a surge of spam that passes both DKIM and SPF checks, and it has led to a silent revolution in the industry that I don't think most people have fully realized is even happening. Some people have been sheltered from it a bit purely because their address or domain exists in less of the spammers lists, but sooner or later we are all going to see the impact of this and it is changing the way that we must act.

To prevent spam on mxroute, right now the focus is on letting users train their own filter. Every night your spam folder is scanned and the learned data goes to your own filter. I have chosen to add in SpamCop as the first RBL, as I have not witnessed them listing an IP address that didn't deserve it in the last 2 years. The key is that the client has to be able to call the shots to a significant degree, but I also need to keep a solid baseline. Fighting spam while maintaining a usable and fast service is something I am passionate about. In the future, look out for client level RBL selection :)

The most important thing to remember about filtering on mxroute is that I built this with the perfect mail server in mind. I use it, I'm actually the most active client. I'm at the top of eximstats every day. So you can be sure that I am aware of the realities that my neighbors may be facing as well. This isn't about making money, it's about taking my skills and using them to better the email experience for myself and for others. Sorry if that sounds like an advertisement, honestly I'm just really passionate about the industry.

Edit: Almost forgot, clamav for virus protection. It's hit or miss. I am exploring other options.

But what do you use, SpamAssassin, Dspam ?

SpamAssassin :)

I would not mind trying it out, but I don't like updating nameservers just to try out a service I might not even like. It seems like a lot of work and hassle to go through.

Just create a subdomain and redirect those MX records. Setting everything up through your domain provider should take no more five minutes including the time it takes you to log into their website. DNS replication can be just as fast with low TTL entries.

Just to let you know, your question got me thinking about the importance of making policies clear on the front page. I've been running this a bit like a small town corner store, and I always intend to run it that way, but policies are quite important and for that reason MXroute's policies have been posted on the front page. There is no difference in policy, just a more clear and accessible statement of said policy. Appreciate your concerns about it.

Good. I think those things are necessary.

Hi, I'm just trying to move my new domain hosting for a .uk domain to you, just a simple question, do you offer activesync style access for accounts, so people can use their account like an exchange server or not?

I'm just wondering as that's the best way I find to get emails through to my phone but also to use webmail etc.

Also what's the server details can't find them.

Hola! At the moment there is no activesync compatible setup. I've been exploring zpush a bit but I won't pretend anything like that is on a short term list to be added. For your phone you would focus on POP3 or IMAP checks at a set interval. I'm not going to limit the interval, you're not going to overwhelm the server, infrastructure is one thing I've got a wealth of.

That's fine, I've set it up as IMAP on an hourly check when my phone is connected to the internet and that's sufficent for me at the moment.

MXroute Service Announcement
 

In my Inbox today, FYI:

First, thank you for being a part of MXroute! I have an announcement to make about the future of MXroute. Since it's launch, MXroute has been a product of Catalyst Host. This will now be changing. There is no change in administration, however MXroute is going to become it's own entity and will no longer be a part of Catalyst Host. This change has little actual meaning for you, however those of you who have worked with us for some time know that we put honesty and transparency near the top of our priorities. Below is a list of what will actually be changing.

- Billing system. You will receive a new e-mail containing the new login instructions.
- Support. This will move to the new billing system.
- Policies. These are identical, they simply have the name MXroute instead of Catalyst Host. These are already on mxroute.com for your review. There has been no change to the terms, only the name of the party who enforces them.

Just in case my words lacked any clarity, I will restate one thing. I, Jarland Donnell, started MXroute and used Catalyst Host as a foundation for it's billing and policies. I, Jarland Donnell, will be taking MXroute away from Catalyst Host and continuing to run the service just as I have been.

If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail [address removed by FredOnline] and I will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have.

Thank you,
Jarland Donnell
MXroute.com

I must say the service has been very speedy, I hope it keeps up in the new form.

Yeah, there was recently some clarification about policies at my primary job that were somewhat incompatible with the structure. Additionally, Ryan has been talking about a hosted Zimbra solution as a product of Catalyst Host. It was a good combination to push ahead what has already been planned but had no date set, as any professional association with Catalyst Host must be removed. That, however, doesn't mean that Ryan won't be involved in MXroute. The infrastructure also remains with Catalyst, just as a client.

I know it sounds kind of vague, but to clarify I work for a web hosting company here in Houston and I have to make sure that I do not position myself in any way that creates a conflict of interest. So this shift is to clarify my distance from such.

And just like that, the free accounts are gone ;) .