I've had to take over as the system administrator at the office... problem is I am very very very unfamiliar with running a server! Here's the biggest problem: I've set up two new e-mail accounts for me and another new employee. We can receive e-mails from other people within our domain, but not from any other. I've noticed I cannot connect to my email from home using Thunderbird. I'm sure this is probably related. Any help is appreciated.

You got to provide some info! What are you using for messaging...Exchange? Which version? "...but in my defense, it was dark, I was drunk, and it was delicious!"

Check your email client settings. If you're using Outlook Express for example you have to go into: Tools >> Accounts >> Mail Tab >> Select your email account and click on properties >> Servers Tab and under Outgoing Mail Server (at the bottom) check the box beside "My server requires authentication". NOTE: I'm not talking about the "log on using secure...." setting. With some systems, you have to check the authentication box I mentioned in order to be able to send/receive outside your domain. The setting in Outlook is found in pretty much the same place. With other client software, I couldn't tell you where to look but I do know that they should all have a similar setting. Try selecting that setting in your client software and see if you can't send outside your domain after. If not, it's a setting on your email server that needs to be fixed.

OK, I tried that. Here's the error it still gives me when I try to send mail to an external domain. The message could not be sent because one of the recipients was rejected by the server. The rejected e-mail address was 'nick@nmdigital.net'. Subject 'Re: Testing', Account: 'mail.fluidnine.com', Server: 'mail.fluidnine.com', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '553 This server does not accept mail for that address (#5.7.1)', Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 553, Error Number: 0x800CCC79

That most likely indicates your user account has not been stamped with that smtp address by the Recipient Update Service. Check and see if your RUS is working. If it is, use ldp to find your user account, and see what smtp addresses it's been stamped with. "...but in my defense, it was dark, I was drunk, and it was delicious!"