Knowledgebase

Legitimate messages are blocked or bounced back to the sender

To ensure the safety of your email M2Technology filters all incomming messages with a variety of security checks. Our email security appliances employ numerous Spam and Virus scanning tests including:

• Spam Blocking using the MailFoundry MessageIQ engine
• *Spam Blocking using online RBLs (Real-time Block Lists)
• Efficient Virus and Worm Scanning
• Email Content and Attachment Filtering
• Fraud Protection Scanning
• Email Attack Protection (e.g. Dictionary Attacks)

Of these - RBL testing typically proves to be the most effective with regard to blocking Spam. However, there is a trade-off in that sometimes legitimate email can be tagged as being Spam. RBLs are basically lists of IP addresses that have been identified by the various list maintainers as being Spam sources. As a result RBL testing can be prone to mistakes, and dated information may sometimes lead to false positives.

RBLs

Being blocked by an RBL means that that the sending IP address, typically that of an email server, is flagged as being a source of Spam. When this happens, any legitimate "sender" using this email server is affected. Because email servers provide services to a wide range of website owners, innocent users can be hampered by the activity of a few "bad apples" - Spammers using a mail server to deliver content.

Bounce Back Messages - Read The Header

To assist legitimate email senders M2Technology provides our contact information in the header of all email messages that are returned to the original sender.

If you find that you are unable to receive messages from a specific sender, ask them to review the message and check the header for additional information. If they are being blocked due to an RBL, they will be provided the name of the RBL and a link for them to follow to correct the issue. Typical header messages include the following:

Senders are encouraged to visit the particular RBL that has flagged their IP or mail server IP address as a source of Spam. Each RBL has a procedure to remove IP addresses from their system. As a result IP blocking is not permanent - rather it is a dynamic block so long as the original source of the block does not actively continue.

Whitelists - The Immediate Solution:

M2Technology can "Whitelist" any email address or domain - which effectively allows it to bypass our filtration servers. This is meant to provide our hosting clients an immediate solution so that they will be able to receive any email that is blocked by an RBL. However, we still suggest that the sender resolve the block on their address.

To whitelist a sender or sending domain, visit http://www.m2technology.com/spamblock.php.

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