NOTE: This article applies only to Shoestring Solutions clients and may contain outdated information. It remains published, however, for its general value. If you have any questions, contact us.
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like AT&T/Bellsouth and Comcast continue to tighten the rules on email delivery in response to Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE) and spam. ISPs use many different methods to minimize junkmail and will even block mail from other servers when the percentage of unwanted email reaches a predetermined level.
For smaller service providers like Shoestring Solutions, the tighter rules mean plenty of headaches! Because our server hosts only our client sites, the amount of genuine email is very low, meaning that the ratio of spam to genuine email is much higher. As a consequence, our server is occasionally blacklisted by a major ISP.
The block is always quickly removed, but it is always an inconvenience and a serious service issue for us. The problem can be traced to email “forwarder” addresses. At your web site, you may have published one or more addresses like info[at]yourdomain.com that “point” or forward to your Bellsouth or Comcast account. Because that address is displayed on your site, it is “harvested” by spammers. Any junk sent to that address is immediately forwarded to your primary account. The spam, because it is forwarded by our server, looks to your ISP like it originated with our server, and therein lies the problem!
Fortunately, the problem is easily solved. Generally, you need to eliminate the forwarders and pick up your site email directly from our server. That way, you receive all of your email and your ISP is happy.
We are currently experiencing no problem with email delivery to most ISPs. However, if you are a Bellsouth/ATT customer and you receive your site email in your Bellsouth/ATT mailbox, you should immediately make the following changes! Comcast customers should also consider making this change.
We will assist you with implementation of the following procedure. To request assistance, please submit a ticket through our HelpDesk (www.shoestringwebs.com/helpdesk/) or email us at somebody@shoestringwebs.com. Because it provides issue tracking, the HelpDesk is preferred.
Let’s make a mailbox…
1. Log into your web site control panel at www[dot]yourdomain.com/cpanel/ . (If you do not know your cPanel login info, contact us.)
2. In the “Mail” section, select “Email Accounts.”
3. In the “Add a new email account” section, select a mailbox name and password. For the mailbox name, select something a little odd; you’re not going to give this mailbox address to anyone, anyway. Be sure to create a good password. Make your mailbox quota (size) 15 or 20 (megabytes) or leave the box empty if you want the mailbox size to be limited only by your total account quota.
4. Click “Create”.
5. On the next page, you will find instructions for configuring your email program, which can check more than one mailbox. If you use Outlook or Outlook Express, you may be able to allow the server to configure your email program for you. Unless you are technically knowledgeable or require added security, you will select “Auto-Configure Microsoft Outlook [Express] for POP3 Access”.
6. In the alternative, you can configure your email program manually. In your email program, find the dialog for creating a POP3 mailbox and use the following info:
- Mail Server Username (almost always your email address): info+yourdomain[dot]com (replace [dot] with a period, of course, and “yourdomain” with your actual domain). Note the “plus” sign in place of the ampersand (@). If “+” doesn’t work, use “@”.
- Incoming Mail Server: mail.yourdomain.com (If SSL: ds1019.securenet-server.net)
- Outgoing Mail Server: mail.yourdomain.com
- Check “server requires authentication” using your login info
- (For SSL, Outgoing Mail Server = ds1019.securenet-server.net (server requires authentication) port 465)
- Supported Incoming Mail Protocols: POP3, POP3S (SSL/TLS), IMAP, IMAPS (SSL/TLS)
- Supported Outgoing Mail Protocols: SMTP, SMTPS (SSL/TLS)
7. If you receive no error messages, you can test by sending an email to yourself.
Now let’s configure forwarders…
1. In the “Mail” section of the cPanel home page, select “Forwarders.” You will see the list of current forwarders and the mailbox or address to which they forward. You can create an unlimited number of forwarders.
2. Delete the forwarders that point to your ISP-hosted mailbox (we advise one at a time) and re-create them to point to the mailbox that you just created.
3. To add a forwarder, click “Add Forwarder.” On the “Add a new Forwarder” page, enter the first part of the desired forwarder in the “Address to forward:” box; then enter the mailbox that you just created in the “Forward to email address:” box.
4. Click “Add forwarder.”
If you are successful, all of your site email will be directed to your new mailbox.
Finally, go to the cPanel home page, then select “Default Address” in the ”Mail” section. The default address should be set to “Discard with error to sender (at SMTP time).” The default failure message is fine or you can create a short one of your own.
Remember: The idea is to eliminate any forwarders to your ISP mailbox. When you’re done, you should have deleted them. In some cases, it is not possible to eliminate all forwarders but you should make every effort to do so, especially to major ISPs.
Final notes and additional considerations…
You may have noticed a few other mail-related features in the control panel. Contact us if you need help in configuring:
- Webmail – You can access your mailbox from anywhere you have an Internet connection via the Webmail feature at www[dot]yourdomain.com/webmail/ . You will need your email address and password to log in;
- SpamAssassin – This feature adds the special characters (currently “SPAMJUNK::”) to the subject line of your email so that you can use a filter to move junk out of your Inbox. SpamAssassin is enabled by default on your account;
- Email Authentication – Your account includes two features to minimize spam- “DomainKeys” and “Sender Policy Framework (SPF).” You should enable both; the default setting is fine IF you created a new mailbox as described above;
- BoxTrapper – BoxTrapper protects your inbox from spam by forcing all people not on your white list to reply to a verification email before they can send mail to you. This is the most effective way to eliminate spam, but may not be appropriate for a business mailbox where you don’t want to require potential clients to take the extra step.
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