Blacklist + AOL + server primary IP

[nhouse]

Hello Good People,

Please share your thoughts with me about the following issue. Our company manages a webserver that is a designer box basically. We do not have open enrolment... mostly we just host our existing clients (we are a computer consulting firm). The server is a LAMP setup. We run the latest version of DA, 1.213.

We also use a Barracuda Spam filter to cut down on the junk email. Anyway, AOL suddenly blacklisted our primary server IP address which in turn effects all of our clients... most of which have their own public IP's assigned to them on our server (in the same range).

Now for the main question... the primary server IP is assigned to a domain that isn't even utilized for anything, especially email. So, how did AOL pick up on that IP address for it's evil blacklisting purposes??? (tongue in cheek, of course)

Insight???

[sander815]

same for my server
can't send mail to aol anymore, blacklisted

don't know why. There were some mail sned to unknown aol.com adresses, but accusing me of sendign bulk email?

[nhouse]

Sander...

Just curious, is your box open enrolment... or more of a designer box? Also, which version of DA are you at now. Thanks!

[nobaloney]

If you really want help, then give specific information...

The IP# in question, for example.

And the specific error message AOL uses when refusing email.


If you want to know why AOL has blacklisted you, though, they'd be a much better place to ask.

Jeff

[sander815]

Originally posted by nhouse
Sander...

Just curious, is your box open enrolment... or more of a designer box? Also, which version of DA are you at now. Thanks!

well, more a service for our clients of our designer company, and some friends and people i know, around 20 domains only, and 2 larger forums
i am always at the latest version

I suspect i am blocked, as i see that being the only reason, spam being send to me with adresses <user>@aol.com get bounced back to aol.com, exim can't send cause the adresses don't exist, and retries several times. Maybe they think thats bulk email from my server....

anyway, i contacted aol already by email, but no reaction since that, 1.5 weeks ago...also check WHT, lots of postings regarding this

[sander815]

and if i get no reaction, then so be it....ill just inform my clients to use their ISP's smtp server, and explain them the situation

[nhouse]

sander185... thanks for your input.

jlasman... I am looking more for a general answer about the process, how they picked up on the server IP... as I mentioned earlier. I didn't think quoting the specific IP was necessary. Also, I have most definately talked to AOL and have gotten whitelisted as per their stated process. So, yes I do want help... well, maybe more so I'd like to think that I can get the members of this forum to "share" their thoughts with me about issues. You know, some of us are still a bit unfamiliar with the intricacies of DA... so we desire to lean on those of you who are more well versed with it.

Have a good day.

[nobaloney]

Originally posted by nhouse
I am looking more for a general answer about the process, how they picked up on the server IP
AOL generally doesn't explain how they do anything.

Our servers are at a tier one datacenter, and we have properly generated reverse DNS, and we don't have any spammers anywhere near our C-class allotments.

Yet we did once get blocked by AOL. And a day later we got unblocked.

Without doing anything at all.

Speaking only for myself, in general you won't get good help from me unless I can look up actual domains, IP#s, etc., using various tools I have.

Jeff

[warren]

Hi Gents

This happened to me also last year on an exchange server at work which glitched and was open for relay for about a week. Spammers pickup on it and crashed it so thats how I found out. If you have a mailbox postmaster@yourdommain.com check it you should see a message from those scum that you have been blacklisted. It had instructions (I think you just emmail the postmasterr@aol.com and ask them to scan your server again) to see it its open for relay (assuming that you fixed the problem). BTW I regret informing you that those blacklist get passed around and don't get updated so quickly. A year later we still have problems with other ISP who reject mail cause were on an old blacklist.

I'd say the best thing that could happen is Time-Warner sells them or they go belly up!

Regards
Warren