Blue Reef Virtual Servers: Support Archive - Questions posed to our Problem Tracking System: Blocking Spam. Also, peruse tutorials, faqs, manuals, and more!

Blocking Email from Specific Addresses

We have created an easy and straight forward way to block email to a Virtual Server from a specific email address or domain name.

This feature allows you to specify individual mail addresses or whole hostnames that you do not want mail from. If someone is sending you and your users mail you can reject all email from that someone. You can also block all mail from any user by just specifying the hostname. (For more information about spam see Paul Vixie's page "Promote Responsible Internet Commerce: Fight SPAM").

Each Virtual Server has a ~/etc/spammers file which contains something like the following.

#

      # Simply add the hostnames or email addresses on their own

      # lines below that you don't want to receive email from 

      # (lines, like this one, starting with "#" are comments; 

      # comments are good) 

      # Examples:

      # cyberpromo.com - blocks mail from this hostname 

      # spammer@aol.com - blocks mail only from "spammer@aol.com" 

      # 

      # Sources for lists of common rogue spammers and spam sites: 

      # http://www.idot.aol.com/preferredmail/ for AOL's blacklist 

      # http://www.vix.com/spam/rogues.html for Vixie's blacklist 

      # http://www-math.uni-paderborn.de/%7Eaxel/BL/ for Blacklist

      # of Advertisers

      # 

      # Promote Responsible Net Commerce: Help Stamp Out Spam! 

      # See http://www.vix.com/spam/ for more information

      # 

      spammer@aol.com 

      cyberpromo.com

Lines that begin with "#" are comments. Other lines contain email addresses or domain names that are blocked. If the Virtual Server is configured as above, all email with spammer@aol.com or cyberpromo.com in the "From:" line of the header is blocked.

Configuration
To block email from additional email addresses or domain names, use one of the following two methods.

ACE Spammers Manager
Connect to your Virtual Server via Telnet or SSH and do the following.

More Information
Many lists of reputed spammers have been compiled and made publicly available. You may or may not find these helpful.

Blacklist of Internet Advertisers
WebEasy - SPAM Database

Here are some other helpful URLS dealing with spam.

http://spam.abuse.net/howtocomplain.html
http://spamcop.net/

SEE ALSO:

POP/IMAP-before-SMTP Anti-spam Feature

Solutions to the Internet Spam Problem

SpamAssassin

Preventing Email Harvesting on your Web Site

BOOKS TO HELP YOU:

Removing the Spam:
Email Processing and Filtering
$15.96

Stopping Spam
$15.96

Marketing With Email
$19.96

Programmer's Guide to Internet Mail:
Smtp, Pop, Imap, and Ldap
$31.96

Internet Messaging
$35.96