Returned Emails

[Smiler.]

In the last week or so, I have received this message in reply to email I have sent to various people (there has not previously been a problem in sending such emails).


SMTP error from remote server after transfer of mail text:
host mail23.messagelabs.com[62.173.108.19]:
553-Message filtered. Please see the FAQs section on spam 553-at www.messagelabs.com/support/ for more
553 information. (#5.7.1)


I have checked out the info from the messagelabs site & checked out the IP address (I connect through the serviced office company I rent from) & it says something about Reverse DNS.

Can anyone assist?

TIA.

[SneakyNeil]

How is your outbound email handled - your own server or the ISP?

[sheets tabuer]

You may be on a spam list, a blackhole or an open relay

[griffgrog]

I think messagelabs need an SPF record for your sending MTA to be setup. For info on SPF see www.openspf.org

[Smiler.]

SneakyNeil said:

How is your outbound email handled - your own server or the ISP?

I use 1&1.co.uk for all the web domains & email addresses. Would I be correct in thinking this is my own server?

[Smiler.]

sheets tabuer said:

You may be on a spam list, a blackhole or an open relay

Blackhole/Open Relay - what are these? Could this have happened in the last 2 weeks.

[Smiler.]

griffgrog said:

I think messagelabs need an SPF record for your sending MTA to be setup. For info on SPF see www.openspf.org

I am way out of my league here.

[Smiler.]

Thanks for your replies chaps

I've put a call into the building IT department so hopefully I can find out more. What is weird how this has only occurred in the last week or so.

[Marshy]

What mail host do you use for sending your outbound messages? If this host (it'll be in the settings of your e-mail client) doesn't have a DNS record mapping the IP address back to a hostname, spam spotting software will regard this as suspicious. There may be other reasons why that address is regarded as suspicious (perhaps 1&1, if it's their server you use, have hosted spammers in the past). All in all, your message will get scored, and if that score exceeds a threshold, messagelabs will quarantine that e-mail.

FYI, messagelabs run spam/virus scanning services for their customers: they handle all the inbound mail, scan it, and pass on the clean stuff. Stuff that's in doubt is quarantined, and end-users check their quarantine periodically and can usually release (or get released) anything that's falsely quarantined. So you may find that the recipients did indeed get your message, albeit with a slight delay.

[Smiler.]

It transpires that 'someone' who uses the shared connection provided by the landlord (for which I pay a lot for access) has downloaded a spamming virus which has gotten the IP address blacklisted.

The landlord only investigated after I had made a noise because suddenly, mails were getting bounced. They said the problem would be 'sorted' by last Friday pm. Surprise surprise, mails are still bouncing.

[wyvern971]

Unfortunately for you even after the problem has been sorted out it will still take a short while for the IP address to be removed from the blacklist

[ThePassenger]

wyvern971 said:

Unfortunately for you even after the problem has been sorted out it will still take a short while for the IP address to be removed from the blacklist

If ever. SORBS is it? I've forgotten them but basically it's run as a one shot affair because getting off the damn list is practically impossible. Hopefully the people you're trying to e-mail haven't gone for this list.

[malman]

If its cbl or xbl you can get off it but you need to make sure there is no more spam leaving or you end up straight back on it again and you're back to square 1. Only it takes longer to get off next time.

Check your external IP here
www.spamhaus.org/xbl/

Edited by malman on Monday 30th April 23:28

[Smiler.]

Thanks for the advice.

The IT chaps have routed my access through another IP address & that seems to have solved the problem