public function Connected() {
    if(!empty($this->smtp_conn)) {
      $sock_status = socket_get_status($this->smtp_conn);
      if($sock_status["eof"]) {
        // the socket is valid but we are not connected
        if($this->do_debug >= 1) {
            $this->edebug("SMTP -> NOTICE:" . $this->CRLF . "EOF caught while checking if connected");
        }
        $this->Close();
        return false;
      }
      return true; // everything looks good
    }
    return false;
  }