Could not instatiate mail function

I am getting the mail transport error. And as soon as I do, my password to admin is no longer valid. Happpend on two different sites.

Suddenly, emails stopped working on all of my sites. At the same time, as soon as a customer or admin attempts to send an email, the admin password becomes unusable.

I have tried uploading new class.phpmailer.php but no improvement.

I am frantic here for a couple of reason, losing admin access and losing customers.

Whenever something "suddenly" stops working as it did before, it always points to something being changed, by someone, on the server or one of the servers connected to it.

That might be you or your staff, or your hosting company, or it might be a hacker. If you're sure it wasn't you, then that leaves only 2 other sources. Thus, you need to take the following actions:

1. http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/announcement.php?a=14

2. http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Recovering_From_Hacks

3. http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Troubleshoot_-_Diagnosing_Obscure_Issues

Thanks Doc. I read your other post about sudden changes = host. I think you are right.

The odd thing is it effects every site that I have. I can show you 100% of the time as soon as I get my admin password working and then initiate email, my password quits. As long as I dont attempt email my password will work.

I can recreate this as often as I like.

I noticed that even the new 1.39a release is still using an ancient phpmailer. Why hasnt that been upgraded?

I saw in another thread that I have not found again, that someone else reported the exact same symptoms. ie loss of password immediately after attempted email.

I think this is not a hack nor a server issue but more likely some incompatibility with latest version of php.

IMHO.

pixelpadre:

but more likely some incompatibility with latest version of php.
Well, I'm using the released 1.3.9 code (and formerly the 1.3.8 code) on numerous sites with varying versions of PHP, including the latest PHP ... all without ANY of the symptoms you describe.

Further, there is NO direct connection between sending an email and corrupting your admin passwords. NOTHING in the Zen Cart official code will do that. Nothing even remotely close.

So, that makes me suspect your addons or hacking activity.

All sites have the same symptons so I am thinking that its nothing that I have done since many of my sites I havent edits in more than 12 months.

I can repair the password and log in forever. with no problem. Until I try to use the php transport. If someone was hacking into my site then my site would be controlled by them and they could kill my password whenever they wanted.

I understand what you are saying about one not being remotely connected to the other but we definetly have a cause and effect situation here.

Well then I suggest that you choose an email transport that doesn't trigger problems for you. SMTPAUTH is really the best choice anyway, but requires that you enter email authentication details.

In the meantime I'll be interested to hear what you find as the "cause" in the "cause and effect" situation you describe.

Here is the similar post that I had read. Someone else with the same problem a fews ago. After getting bad password they get the bad transport

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82552&highlight=login+transport+error

Same thing happened to me except it wasnt a new install.

I guess if I knew what the cause was, I wouldnt be sitting here chatting with you.

:D

All I can tell you is that as long as I dont send any emails from admin, my password works. The very same moment that I send an email from admin, bang! password is dead.

Okay, so what exactly is different between your site and my brand new clean v1.3.9 install that works perfectly using PHP as the transport?

Well you are the boss. I'm nobody. I know didly squat compared to you, so its ludicrous to engage me in a technical squabble.

From the readme file it seems that latest version of phpmailer has many new features. In addition, it focuses on interoperability with the latest version of PHP. Seems like it would only be natural to integrate the latest phpmailer version into zen cart.

Its all moot since I changed to smtpauth. I think that there will be others in time who run into the same issue as webhosts start to upgrade their systems.

Dont get me wrong.. I think this has got to be the greatest shopping cart on the planet, with support that can not be found anywhere else.

pixelpadre:

From the readme file it seems that latest version of phpmailer has many new features. In addition, it focuses on interoperability with the latest version of PHP. Seems like it would only be natural to integrate the latest phpmailer version into zen cart.... but you said yourself that it didn't make any difference, particularly to the problem you are reporting.

Here are the changes log and readMe for latest version of phpmailer. It may or maynot be of interest or value to you.

They have a php4 version and a php5.

To answer your question that the newer version did not resolve my problems, there are other posts where users have acknowledged it has resolved their problems

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showpost.php?p=832534&postcount=21

Keeping in their usual ambiguous style, here is the response from tech support at my host.

"Thanks for the reports. The issue with PHP mailer has been resolved. It affected Web2 only which is why SMTP mailing was working. I tested the PHP mail with a basic script and it works as expected now."

I love their responses, they are so detailed.......NOT:blush:

Thanks for confirming that the problem was something broken with the hosting company.

No problem. Although thats quite a stretch when you assumed something was "broken" rather than "not compatible".

Thanks for ignoring the readme file and change log files and the thread that confirmed that upgrading to latest version of phpmailer resolved the problem for at least one other party.

:clap:

I didn't ignore them. Their experience is noted.

The entire email engine is being replaced in the next version.
There's no point breaking this version by putting in an untested other system that's only helping one party with a particular "not compatible" problem.

As you noted, even in your case upgrading the class didn't make any difference for you. If others have the same problem as the other party you mention, there's a workaround available for them. But there's no compelling reason to mess with it now. The code is seriously different, and as such requires a huge amount of regression testing ... and unless you're volunteering to secure about 30 different servers with 30 different hosting companies and set up shops to test about 15 different combinations of settings on each of those servers and then blast the heck out of them all with all kinds of possible email formats and combinations and email clients on numerous different operating systems as well as webmail clients in multiple browsers on multiple operating systems ... then ... it's not getting changed in 1.3.x.
Now, if you are volunteering to provide those resources and testing facilities, send me a PM and we can talk about it. :)

All I can do is be a beta tester. Thats one of 30. I dont think that you would have too much trouble finding the other 29. In fact you would probably find 100 without too much trouble.

The most recent version has been out for a year as I recall. So most likely there has been some improvements made from users feedback.

Email is essential to zencart users. Phpmailer in its earlier form is not guaranteed to work with php5 as stated by the developers of Phpmailer. Just because its working now in zen cart isn't to say that it won't become problematic in the near future on a large scale.

I am often called an alarmist.....maybe its so. But I'd rather meet the future prepared than run a damage control algorithm and risk loss of business.

ME----->:lamo:

Thanks for your offer to test. Looking forward to hearing your detailed assessment of what does and doesn't work when using their newer code compared against the older version of their code.