Spamming from our mail server

3rd February 2006

I got a text message saying Spamcop got a report that our mail server IP address was sending spam. After checking my mail 1/2 hour later, I determined that it was a flook, and surely Spamcop wouldn’t blacklist me.

So I sat down and banged out about 4 email replies and a couple of new ones and hit “send and receive”…

Here’s what I got back for nearly every one (I added the x’s)

209.237.x.x does not like recipient.
Remote host said: 554 Service unavailable; Client host [209.237.x.x] blocked using bl.spamcop.net; Blocked - see http://www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml?209.237.x.x
Giving up on 209.237.x.x

That means that one of the nations largest Spam services got one single complaint, and blacklisted my entire domain’s ability to send mail.

What gives them that authority on an unsubstantiated claim? We did, the american public, with the ICANN Spam act and other public outcry over SPAM.

Fortunately, it took only 60 seconds for us to swap around some IP addesses, but what would you do if this happened to your company domain name? Could your web host fix it fast?

In a best case scenario, there are no other complaints and your mail comes back the next day, a full 8 hours later.

In a worst case scenario there’s more than one complaint, and you continue to be unable to send mail to over 1/3 of the world? 

Don’t take chances with your business. Use PDXTC for your Oregon Web Hosting needs, and never send unsolicited emails.  It only takes one complaint to get you in trouble…