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ISP and SPAM


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I just read this Telegraph Connected question

My friend, who is with Wanadoo, used to e-mail me

regularly but since

Christmas he informs me that NTL have sent all his e-mails back marked

as unable to deliver. I have sent him a message today but as yet I do

not know whether he has received it.

After he has contacted both NTL and Wanadoo, both ISPs are blaming the

other for using Spam blockers. Do you know of others who have this

problem and more importantly how can it be resolved?

This keeps on happening as ISPs temporarily block servers they consider

to be a significant source of spam email. In this case NTL have been

blocking two Wanadoo servers and you have been caught in the crossfire.

Details of who is blocking who is carried on the SORBS (Spam and Open

Relay Blocking System) database and here you will find a Support form

that you can fill in to obtain help, though in the end the

responsibility for lifting the blockade lies with the ISPs so you and

your friend should continue to complain to both companies.

The SORBS website is to be found here:

http://www.nl.sorbs.net/

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Hello Clair

Your report confirms what we have already discovered, and there has been at least one recent thread on here about it. In our experience complaining will get you nowhere. If you wish to email NTL users (or tesco.net customers) from a Wanadoo account you need to subscribe to a relaying service to get round the problem.

A search on these forums will find a couple of recommended relayers.

Regards

Sid

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[quote user="sid"]Hello Clair

Your report confirms what we have already discovered, and there has been at least one recent thread on here about it. In our experience complaining will get you nowhere. If you wish to email NTL users (or tesco.net customers) from a Wanadoo account you need to subscribe to a relaying service to get round the problem.

A search on these forums will find a couple of recommended relayers. Regards

Sid[/quote]

Sid

I've been following the threads too, but I had never seen the SORBS website listed anywhere before. Until this morning, I did not know I could actually see whos' blocking who, so I thought it might be useful for other people.

I have only ever had problems with AOL from my own ****.com website, but I usually get round it by using my ****.tiscali.fr address instead.

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I guess it’s a difficult one.  People/organisations seem to want to SPAM (I guess its cheap) and

the rest of us receiving it don’t like it. 

Many people think something should be done.  Thing is that as one “loophole” is closed, so the spammers will

move on to another.  Thus e.g.

subscription services may be “clear now”, as other options become more limited,

so the spammers will take out these subscriptions. 

You only have to look at the many years it took BT and

others (with all their mail provider services) to close of their Open Relay to

see how easy it has been for spammers to operate.  It is only more recently that ISPs and the like have started to

show any interest in the matter.

To an extent the attitudes of the ISP can indicate how easy

it is for spammers to operate through them. 

If anybody has ever complained to Wanadoo about spam they will

appreciate how Wanadoo just totally ignore it. 

Wanadoo are not the only ISP with such an attitude.

In fact Wanadoo can be a source of spam themselves.  Just try creating a Wanadoo e-mail address

with a cryptic name but don’t tell anybody about it.  You may easily start receiving “offers” on that address (I did).

Maybe it is made harder by organisations who are now becoming

“marginal spammers”.  By this I mean

that they don’t manage their mail lists or claim “opt out policies” (where you

automatically get unwanted messages unless you go through some cryptic

procedure to “opt-out”) and thus send unwanted mail that may or may not be

strictly termed SPAM – but is equally undesirable.

When ISPs like NTL start doing something it totally disrupts

everything, proving a nuisance to both their customers and everybody else.  On the positive side, at least they are

doing something about it – all be that something totally inappropriate and

ineffective.

Ian

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