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[nicka]

Do you all realise that PlusNet is rejecting legitimate emails from friends, work colleagues, businesses etc?
PlusNet have changed their procedures and are using a flaky third-party www.senderbase.org as a blacklist in the process blocking legitimate email
There does not seem to be any appeal procedure!
If you have been affected I urge you to complain to PlusNet
You are being affected!

[bpullen]

This flaky third-party is actually a reputation-based detection engine used by IronPort, an email security vendor owned by the reputable and well renown Cisco Systems.

There's an overview of these reputation filters here with more a more technical description visible here.

If email from a certain source is getting rejected then it's highly probable that the sending mail server is poorly configured; Even if it isn't it will almost certainly have been assigned a poor reputation.

TBH the IronPort antispam appliances are alarmingly accurate and dependable, however no anti-spam solution is 100% reliable.

@nicka, without knowing the specifics of your situation, it's a little hard for me to advise further. If you don't like the way our anti-spam appliances are handling your email though then why don't you turn spam filtering off? If you do decide to do this though, prepare to receive a lot of junk email unless you're one of the people lucky enough not to be plagued by the nuisance.

Edit: BTW, I notice it's your first post so if you were looking for our official forums then you'll find them here.

[nicka]

I find this reply insulting and a little ironic considering the spam that was received when your servers were hacked!

[nicka]

and even if it is "actually a reputation-based detection engine used by IronPort, an email security vendor owned by the reputable and well renown Cisco Systems" where is their appeal procedure? Even SpamCop and IBL have those
It's junk and you know it!

[bpullen]

@nicka, my reply was intended to be informative and not insulting so sorry if it came across that way. I have to admit though I fail to see what relevance the Webmail hacking incident of three years ago has to do with your current problem?

Perhaps if you can elaborate on what issues you're having I might be able to help?

[nicka]

We are using authenticated SMTP so our email can be traced - we are not spammers

Modified by mistake. Can anyone roll back to original?

[bpullen]

I'm assuming from your IP address that you're posting from a BT Retail-based DSL connection at the moment? When you're trying to send these messages, how are you connected to the www?

[nicka]

BT

[bpullen]

In which case, can you not use BT's relay server to send your messages (do they provide you with one)? Alternatively if you're running your own mail server you could set up a smart-host/smtp connector so that email destined for Plusnet addresses is routed through BT instead of Heart.

[biondani]

We are using authenticated SMTP so our email can be traced - we are not spammers

Authenticated SMTP is just between you and your mail providers. Plusnet have no way of telling if the message was sent using authentication or not.

Senderbase doesn't actually have it's own blocklist, it just queries other blocklists so any appeals need to go the corresponding blocklist. You can see which it comes from on their site http://www.senderbase.org/senderbase_queries/rep_lookup

Ian

[nicka]

In which case, can you not use BT's relay server to send your messages (do they provide you with one)? Alternatively if you're running your own mail server you could set up a smart-host/smtp connector so that email destined for Plusnet addresses is routed through BT instead of Heart.

Yes I know that but:
1. it's a complex procedure (see http://btyahoo.com/smtpnonbt)
2. I have half a dozen (mostly non-techie) customers affected as well as myself
3. I hate having to implement workarounds for procedures that were poorly implemented and not properly thought through in the first place
4. do your customers know their email is being blocked??

[nicka]

We are using authenticated SMTP so our email can be traced - we are not spammers

Authenticated SMTP is just between you and your mail providers. Plusnet have no way of telling if the message was sent using authentication or not.

Senderbase doesn't actually have it's own blocklist, it just queries other blocklists so any appeals need to go the corresponding blocklist. You can see which it comes from on their site http://www.senderbase.org/senderbase_queries/rep_lookup

Ian

Please see my most recent reply

[nicka]

This flaky third-party is actually a reputation-based detection engine used by IronPort, an email security vendor owned by the reputable and well renown Cisco Systems.

There's an overview of these reputation filters here with more a more technical description visible here.

If email from a certain source is getting rejected then it's highly probable that the sending mail server is poorly configured; Even if it isn't it will almost certainly have been assigned a poor reputation.

TBH the IronPort antispam appliances are alarmingly accurate and dependable, however no anti-spam solution is 100% reliable.

@nicka, without knowing the specifics of your situation, it's a little hard for me to advise further. If you don't like the way our anti-spam appliances are handling your email though then why don't you turn spam filtering off? If you do decide to do this though, prepare to receive a lot of junk email unless you're one of the people lucky enough not to be plagued by the nuisance.

Edit: BTW, I notice it's your first post so if you were looking for our official forums then you'll find them here.

I just checked the spam sources on the following blacklists for the IP in question - 79.170.40.11:

dnsbl.njabl.org
dnsbl.sorbs.net
sbl.spamhaus.org
bl.spamcop.net
cbl.abuseat.org
pbl.spamhaus.org

they are the ones used by senderbase

All were negative, clear and reported no problem

So much for "a reputation-based detection engine used by IronPort, an email security vendor owned by the reputable and well renown Cisco Systems."

I suggest that you check whether your systems are actually working as they should or have PlusNet messed up?

[xpcomputers]

In which case, can you not use BT's relay server to send your messages (do they provide you with one)? Alternatively if you're running your own mail server you could set up a smart-host/smtp connector so that email destined for Plusnet addresses is routed through BT instead of Heart.

Yes I know that but:
1. it's a complex procedure (see http://btyahoo.com/smtpnonbt)
2. I have half a dozen (mostly non-techie) customers affected as well as myself
3. I hate having to implement workarounds for procedures that were poorly implemented and not properly thought through in the first place
4. do your customers know their email is being blocked??

Hi Nicka,

Sorry to hear you are having problems.

There are no easy answers when it comes to spam. It affects everyone who uses email, and it causes no end of problems....

The problem with email was it was invented in an era when few had access, and therefore trust & authentication weren't required. Most attempts to "fix" spam cause pain for the users...

The convoluted workarounds for BT to send your emails, are a result of BT wanting to protect themselves & their servers reputation from compromise. The results of not doing that are that the servers are more open to to abuse and more likely to end up on a block list somewhere. I appreciate it is a pain, but following BT's procedures might be best, as you only need to do it once, and then you are using a reputable sending server (and one that is actively defending that reputation!).

Plusnet's spam solution is actually very highly regarded now. It isn't perfect, but for most users to does an amazing job, cutting spam level right down from hundreds a day for me, to a couple a week!!!

The only time I know Ironport was losing mail personally, was when a colleague's email was coming from a email provider in the states. After some digging into it, I found that that their email provider had VERY badly setup their email servers (and so actually it wasn't Ironport's fault at all), and when challenged with the facts, they refused to change their setup... my suggestion was that the colleague moved providers to one who took their setup seriously... they did just that, and are very happy now.

I'm guessing you mentioned Heart internet above, but it seems someone edited your post by mistake. Is that who you currently send emails by? I ask because I know someone who is in the same position, who uses Heart especially because BT's email registration system is so tortuous! If they might encounter problems with Plusnet (or other providers), it'd be good to know that.

Mike

Plusnet Customer for 12 years...

[nicka]

In which case, can you not use BT's relay server to send your messages (do they provide you with one)? Alternatively if you're running your own mail server you could set up a smart-host/smtp connector so that email destined for Plusnet addresses is routed through BT instead of Heart.

Yes I know that but:
1. it's a complex procedure (see http://btyahoo.com/smtpnonbt)
2. I have half a dozen (mostly non-techie) customers affected as well as myself
3. I hate having to implement workarounds for procedures that were poorly implemented and not properly thought through in the first place
4. do your customers know their email is being blocked??

Hi Nicka,

Sorry to hear you are having problems.

There are no easy answers when it comes to spam. It affects everyone who uses email, and it causes no end of problems....

The problem with email was it was invented in an era when few had access, and therefore trust & authentication weren't required. Most attempts to "fix" spam cause pain for the users...

The convoluted workarounds for BT to send your emails, are a result of BT wanting to protect themselves & their servers reputation from compromise. The results of not doing that are that the servers are more open to to abuse and more likely to end up on a block list somewhere. I appreciate it is a pain, but following BT's procedures might be best, as you only need to do it once, and then you are using a reputable sending server (and one that is actively defending that reputation!).

Plusnet's spam solution is actually very highly regarded now. It isn't perfect, but for most users to does an amazing job, cutting spam level right down from hundreds a day for me, to a couple a week!!!

The only time I know Ironport was losing mail personally, was when a colleague's email was coming from a email provider in the states. After some digging into it, I found that that their email provider had VERY badly setup their email servers (and so actually it wasn't Ironport's fault at all), and when challenged with the facts, they refused to change their setup... my suggestion was that the colleague moved providers to one who took their setup seriously... they did just that, and are very happy now.

I'm guessing you mentioned Heart internet above, but it seems someone edited your post by mistake. Is that who you currently send emails by? I ask because I know someone who is in the same position, who uses Heart especially because BT's email registration system is so tortuous! If they might encounter problems with Plusnet (or other providers), it'd be good to know that.

Mike

Plusnet Customer for 12 years...

I think are you a bit confused but thanks anyway