SORBS Email Blacklist Blocks AntiSpam Publisher, Solid Oak Software, Inc.SANTA BARBARA Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , Calif. -- Solid Oak Software found itself in an unusual position. It was notified that its primary mail server was blocked by SORBS, a DNS (Domain Name System) A system for converting host names and domain names into IP addresses on the Internet or on local networks that use the TCP/IP protocol. For example, when a Web site address is given to the DNS either by typing a URL in a browser or behind the Blacklist (1) A list of e-mail addresses of known spammers. See spam, spam filter, Blacklist of Internet Advertisers, greylisting and blackholing. Contrast with white list. (2) A list of Web sites that are considered off limits or dangerous. AntiSpam provider. Solid Oak publishes CYBERsitter, a popular Internet filtering product. It also publishes Alligate, an ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. level AntiSpam SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) The standard e-mail protocol on the Internet and part of the TCP/IP protocol suite, as defined by IETF RFC 2821. SMTP defines the message format and the message transfer agent (MTA), which stores and forwards the mail. gateway product, CYBERsitter AntiSpam, a desktop AntiSpam product, as well as MXRate, a blacklist system service similar to SORBS. The 'official' reason for the SORBS listing was listed as "Backscatter backscatter in radiology, radiation deflected by scattering processes at angles greater than 90 degrees to the original direction of the beam of radiation. Important in radiotherapy when estimating surface exposure dose. " where an automated message was sent from Solid Oak's mail server to a SORBS spam trap A check box on a Web order form that defaults to "yes" or "I agree," but positioned on the page so that you will most likely overlook it. Unless you change the default, you are unknowingly agreeing to accept more solicitations by e-mail from that company or from third parties. See spam filter. address. According to Brian Milburn, President of Solid Oak, "We do not send spam, period! Our servers are locked down and cannot be used for sending spam. Getting listed because of a bounce message is completely bogus." he adds. "We know e-mail. We are 100% RFC (Request For Comments) A document that describes the specifications for a recommended technology. Although the word "request" is in the title, if the specification is ratified, it becomes a standards document. and 'best practices' compliant." According to Solid Oak technicians, the likely cause was an incoming message where the sender address was forged or mistyped. With over 3 million customers, and over 140 domain names, it is not unlikely that this occurred. A 'bounce' or 'auto-responder' message was generated and probably sent to a SORBS spam trap address. "This is the absolute wrong way to maintain a blacklist." says Milburn. "We too use spam trap addresses, however this is just a small part of the calculation used to determine whether or not a server is 'guilty' of spamming. A server must meet several other criteria utilizing various data collection methods." Solid Oak's MXRate blacklist system receives over 10 million spam reports daily from all over the world. Before a server is listed as a spammer, there must be several reports from different locations within certain time frames. De-listing is automatic when Spam reports cease. An even bigger surprise was when a technician went to the SORBS web site to report the block as a false positive. "Apparently SORBS will not de-list an address until the owner pays a ransom, or so-called 'fine' of $50," says Milburn. According to Milburn, SORBS is a relatively minor player in the AntiSpam industry. "Their lists are largely ineffective and have a very low hit rate and this will probably not have much of an effect on our mail deliverability." In response, Solid Oak has added the SORBS mail servers to its MXRate blacklist. "We're not going to play the de-listing game with them. There are thousands of servers using our blacklist all over the world. Maybe this will get their attention." Milburn said. "Let them contact us, our de-listing process takes a couple of minutes and it's free." |
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