{"id":2191,"date":"2011-05-18T11:23:17","date_gmt":"2011-05-18T11:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/web-hosting\/?p=2191"},"modified":"2026-02-26T14:04:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:04:35","slug":"how-to-force-smtp-authentication-in-cpanel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/how-to-force-smtp-authentication-in-cpanel\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Force SMTP Authentication In cPanel"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>In earlier versions of cPanel\/WHM, email sending relied on POP-before-SMTP authentication. This meant a user had to log in through POP3 before being allowed to send emails via SMTP\u2014and the access lasted for about 30 minutes.<\/p>\r\n<p>However, this method is not very secure and can cause email delivery issues. The recommended approach is to force SMTP authentication for all outgoing emails. This ensures only authorized users can send emails, helping prevent spamming and abuse.<\/p>\r\n<h2 data-start=\"876\" data-end=\"914\">Why Enforce SMTP Authentication?<\/h2>\r\n<ul data-start=\"915\" data-end=\"1224\">\r\n<li data-start=\"915\" data-end=\"973\">\r\n<p data-start=\"917\" data-end=\"973\">Better Security: Prevents unauthorized mail relay.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li data-start=\"974\" data-end=\"1053\">\r\n<p data-start=\"976\" data-end=\"1053\">Reduced Spam Risk: Stops spammers from using your server without login.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li data-start=\"1054\" data-end=\"1144\">\r\n<p data-start=\"1056\" data-end=\"1144\">Compliance: Aligns with modern email security standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li data-start=\"1145\" data-end=\"1224\">\r\n<p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1224\">Improved Deliverability: ISPs trust emails sent via authenticated SMTP.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Steps to Force SMTP Authentication in cPanel<\/h2>\r\n<h3><br \/>1. Log in to the Server via SSH<\/h3>\r\n<p>Connect to your cPanel\/WHM server as the root user:<\/p>\r\n<p><em>ssh root@your-server-ip<\/em><\/p>\r\n<h3>2. Disable POP-before-SMTP<\/h3>\r\n<p>Run the following command:<\/p>\r\n<p><em>\/usr\/local\/cpanel\/bin\/tailwatchd &#8211;disable=Cpanel::TailWatch::Antirelayd<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>This disables the old Antirelayd service, which allowed POP-before-SMTP authentication.<\/p>\r\n<h3>3. Enable SMTP Authentication<\/h3>\r\n<p>Once Antirelayd is disabled, SMTP authentication becomes the default. All users will now need to authenticate with their email credentials before sending mail.<\/p>\r\n<h3>4. Restart Mail Services<\/h3>\r\n<p>Restart Exim (the mail server used in cPanel) to apply changes:<\/p>\r\n<p><em>\/scripts\/restartsrv_exim<\/em><\/p>\r\n<h3 data-start=\"2021\" data-end=\"2053\">Verify SMTP Authentication<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"2054\" data-end=\"2093\">To confirm authentication is working:<\/p>\r\n<ol data-start=\"2094\" data-end=\"2343\">\r\n<li data-start=\"2094\" data-end=\"2191\">\r\n<p data-start=\"2097\" data-end=\"2191\">Configure your email client (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) with your cPanel email credentials.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li data-start=\"2192\" data-end=\"2276\">\r\n<p data-start=\"2195\" data-end=\"2276\">Ensure \u201cMy outgoing server requires authentication\u201d is enabled in settings.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li data-start=\"2277\" data-end=\"2343\">\r\n<p data-start=\"2280\" data-end=\"2343\">Send a test email. If successful, authentication is enforced.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Forcing SMTP authentication in cPanel enhances your server\u2019s security and ensures only authorized users send mail. By disabling Antirelayd and enabling default SMTP authentication, you can reduce spam risk and improve your email deliverability.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In earlier versions of cPanel\/WHM, email sending relied on POP-before-SMTP authentication. This meant a user had to log in through POP3 before being allowed to send emails via SMTP\u2014and the&hellip;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/how-to-force-smtp-authentication-in-cpanel\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[297],"tags":[193,1463],"class_list":["post-2191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faq","tag-cpanel","tag-force-smtp-authentication"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Force SMTP Authentication in cPanel | Secure Email Setup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to force SMTP authentication in cPanel by disabling POP-before-SMTP. 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