FYI, for the list posterity... I received a direct email out of the blue from someone who stumbled across my query below in the archives asking me if I had ever figured out a solution to my predicament. Indeed I did several months ago, but promptly forgot to post what it was (shame on me). Anyway, Mailspike.org is a Real Time Block List that is part of Anubis Networks out of Portugal. Based on my armchair research, they *appear* to be legitimate. It seems that Spam Assassin and other spam filtering applications/appliances may use Mailspike as one of their RBLs. If you find yourself on their block list, then all you have to do is go here:
http://mailspike.org/anubis/lookup.html (The website doesn't offer much in the way of information, so I was hesitant at first to simply put in my mailserver IP Address.) Once there, simply enter the public IP Address of your mail server. That will tell you if your server is being blocked by them. If it is, they provide a link to request that it be unblocked. This will resolve the issue, if not permanently, at least temporarily - and it seems to be almost immediate. (gee, do they really mean "Real Time"? I guess maybe they do...) Also, in my searching to properly resolve the issue, one thing was brought to the forefront that those of us who are not full time mailserver admins should know... One of the recommendations on the http://wiki.apache.org/spamassassin website to help limit legitimate email being flagged as spam is to have a functioning postmaster [at] and abuse [at] email accounts and monitor them on a regular basis. That way you can respond to anyone (or any automated systems) who thinks you may be sending out illegitimate email. I also setup an SPF address record in our DNS to limit emails being successfully forged with our domain name for spam filters that support SPF. It only takes a few minutes and is Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. Hope this is helpful to anyone else who happens to stumble across this... Cheers! Jonathan L. Raper, A+, MCSA, MCSE Technology Coordinator Eagle Physicians & Associates, PA www.eaglemds.com [email protected] ________________________________________ From: Raper, Jonathan - Eagle Sent: Friday, October 22, 2010 4:49 PM To: '[email protected]' Subject: http://mailspike.org Anybody here know anything about mailspike.org? We’re getting bounce backs from a couple of people that have internet service from one particular carrier stating, “Connection refused due to abuse. Please see http://mailspike.org/anubis/lookup.html or contact your E-mail provider.> #SMTP# Jonathan L. Raper, A+, MCSA, MCSE Technology Coordinator Eagle Physicians & Associates, PA [email protected]<BLOCKED::mailto:%[email protected]> www.eaglemds.com<BLOCKED::http://www.eaglemds.com/> Any medical information contained in this electronic message is CONFIDENTIAL and privileged. It is unlawful for unauthorized persons to view, copy, disclose, or disseminate CONFIDENTIAL information. This electronic message may contain information that is confidential and/or legally privileged. It is intended only for the use of the individual(s) and/or entity named as recipients in the message. If you are not an intended recipient of this message, please notify the sender immediately and delete this material from your computer. Do not deliver, distribute or copy this message, and do not disclose its contents or take any action in reliance on the information that it contains. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
