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If you would like your system to also handle external e-mail, you will need to reconfigure the exim4
package4:
# dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config
After entering that command (as root), you will be asked if you want split the configuration into small files. If you are unsure, select the default option.
Next you will be presented with several common mail scenarios. Choose the one that most closely resembles your needs.
internet site
Your system is connected to a network and your mail is sent and received directly using SMTP. On the following screens you will be asked a few basic questions, like your machine’s mail name, or a list of domains for which you accept or relay mail.
mail sent by smarthost
In this scenario your outgoing mail is forwarded to another machine, called a “smarthost”, which takes care of sending the message on to its destination. The smarthost also usually stores incom- ing mail addressed to your computer, so you don’t need to be permanently online. That also means you have to download your mail from the smarthost via programs like fetchmail.
In a lot of cases the smarthost will be your ISP’s mail server, which makes this option very suitable for dial-up users. It can also be a company mail server, or even another system on your own network.
4. You can of course also remove exim4 and replace it with an alternative MTA/MDA.
mail sent by smarthost; no local mail
This option is basically the same as the previous one except that the system will not be set up to handle mail for a local e-mail domain. Mail on the system itself (e.g. for the system administra- tor) will still be handled.
local delivery only
This is the option your system is configured for by default.
no configuration at this time
Choose this if you are absolutely convinced you know what you are doing. This will leave you with an unconfigured mail system — until you configure it, you won’t be able to send or receive any mail and you may miss some important messages from your system utilities.
If none of these scenarios suits your needs, or if you need a finer grained setup, you will need to edit configuration files under the /etc/exim4 directory after the installation is complete. More informa- tion about exim4 may be found under /usr/share/doc/exim4; the file README.Debian.gz has further details about configuring exim4 and explains where to find additional documentation.
Note that sending mail directly to the Internet when you don’t have an official domain name, can result in your mail being rejected because of anti-spam measures on receiving servers. Using your ISP’s mail server is preferred. If you still do want to send out mail directly, you may want to use a different e-mail address than is generated by default. If you use exim4 as your MTA, this is possible by adding an entry in /etc/email-addresses.