SQL & PL/SQL :: Authenticate Mail Using A Procedure

I need to authenticate mails against a new mail server.

Earlier I used a procedure to send mails which worked until now. Now I will not be able to complete my job of sending emails unless I authenticate them. I have already surfed and researched my problem. I also found a solution, but I have not been able to solve my problem even after trying for many hours. The trouble is that I get no error message. The procedure simply runs for too long.

I use the following information in the procedure. All I want to know is, does this look correct? For privacy reasons, I am filling in some general values for the values I have been given to use such as

Server: smtp.xyz.com
Port: 111 or 222
Security: SSL on 111; STARTTLS/TLS on 222
Username: xyz@abc.com
Password: aaaa?1111

I am using them exactly as below, and the procedure gets created but does not seem to send mails.

c := utl_smtp.open_connection('smtp.xyz.com', '111');
utl_smtp.helo(c, 'xyz.com');
utl_smtp.command(c, 'AUTH LOGIN');
utl_smtp.command(c,utl_encode.base64_encode(utl_raw.cast_to_raw('SSL on 111')));
utl_smtp.command(c,utl_encode.base64_encode(utl_raw.cast_to_raw('xyz@abc.com')));
utl_smtp.command(c, utl_encode.base64_encode(utl_raw.cast_to_raw('aaaa?1111@abc.com')));

I have an additional question about the password. If the password has a question mark in it and if I use the escape character , then I guess the password would be accepted. For instance I am doing this: 'aaaa?1111@abc.com' When I see the email in text format, it seems to truncate everything before ? showing aaaa?1111@abc.com, hence the doubt.