FAO : "VRAM" (others can just delete/ignore)

[James Gray]

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:14, Tony Arnold wrote:
> James Gray wrote:
> > On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 18:44, Vincent Trouilliez wrote:
> >>On Mon, 2005-12-19 at 23:40 -0800, Vram wrote:
> >>>Vince
> >>>It was rejected at the ISP...
> >>>Not me..
> >>
> >>Yes that's what I said: "your mail server", obviously equals to "you
> >>ISP" ;-)
> >
> > Hmmm - I guess people like me with their own mail servers don't need to
> > worry then :P  FWIW, I haven't used a mail server I don't directly
> > admin in over 5 years...ISP mail servers are horrid beasts that suffer
> > exactly the sort of problems the OP is having.  I control my servers,
> > and my IP range, so if someone relays through my servers (hahah good
> > luck!) it's my own stupid fault :P
>
> It's not necessarily relaying causing this. It just needs a compromised
> PC that uses the ISP to start sending out SPAM through their mail
> router, and things like SpamCop and others will black list the mail
> router. Other mail routers may check the black list and refuse to accept
> mail from such machines.

Yep - there are a few RBL's I don't use as their policies for black listing 
and then getting the IP or range cleared are just plain stupid.  Case at 
hand; a customer of our ISP who shares the same /24 block as us (we have 64 
addresses, they have a different 64 address block in the same /24 range) 
was an open relay.  So a few RBL's black listed the entire 254 address /24 
block...including our mail servers!  Idiots.  Took me two weeks to fix it 
all up.

> This happens to us at my University, and we have some very carefully and
> tightly controlled mail routers.
>
> Ideally, it should be the originating machine and not the mail router
> that should be blocked, but it's not a perfect world!

Exactly the reason why we scan outgoing mail as well as incoming.  If an 
outgoing message is classified as spam, it gets quarantined and the user 
notified.  Only IT Operations staff can release it from quarantine.  Same 
deal for viruses, except the user isn't normally notified as the sender's 
address is usually forged.  I run the same logic on my mail server at 
home :)

Mail administration is challenging but I find it immensely rewarding too.

James
-- 
Is there any truth to the rumor that the number appearing after the words 
"Microsoft Windows" is the minimum amount of memory, in megabytes, required 
for execution?
                -- Craig Milo Rogers
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