Can somebody explain the "whitelist". Is it server based? User? Email address?

[mwisk]

Most of the time when a colleague of mine sends me email, it comes through. Other times, it bounces back with a message like this:


<myaddress@MyHostPCdomain.com>
199.237.54.205 does not like recipient.
Remote host said 550-Email blocked by ORDB - to unblock see
550 http//www.hostpc.com/emailnotdelivered.php
Giving up on 199.237.54.205.First off, I'm not sure why an email sent at 11:31 gets bounced but one sent at 11:46 comes through fine. Both were sent from their office yet one bounces and the others don't.


Secondly, the page they're directed to: http://www.hostpc.com/emailnotdelivered.php says:
"If you believe this report is in error, submit a whitelist request
with the email address you're attempting to send mail TO."

How does this whitelist work? Is my colleague's email address put on some kind of "whitelist"? Is their IP address put on a "whitelist"? Or something else?

Thanks

[admin]

Open a helpdesk ticket for mail related issues please.

[mwisk]

Open a helpdesk ticket for mail related issues please.

Okay. But is the whitelist process a secret?

[Sean]

No secret. Within the mail server (exim) configuration we have a product called SpamBlocker (basically a set of prebuilt rules that catch spam based on RBL lists). We add domains to a file that says any mail coming in for that domain is to be checked against the RBL's. If there is a match, it gets bounced back with a message on how to get that senders domain (or email address) added to an exception list (the "whitelist").

Sean

[mwisk]

We add domains to a file that says any mail coming in for that domain is to be checked against the RBL's. If there is a match, it gets bounced back with a message on how to get that senders domain (or email address) added to an exception list (the "whitelist").

Thanks Sean. That leads me to a more specific (and complicated) followup question that I'll just take to the helpdesk.

[mwisk]

Thanks Sean. That leads me to a more specific (and complicated) followup question that I'll just take to the helpdesk.

Well, my specific question about the whitelist to the helpdesk merely resulted in a pointer to the HostPC spam filter announcement (http://www.hostpc.com/community/showpost.php?p=14586&postcount=11). They completely ignored my actual question, so I'll try again here and maybe Sean can help.


So you're saying that either domains or email addresses can be added to the 'whitelist', correct? The majority of my legit (non-spam) email is actually redirected/forwarded to my HostPC account via a domain not hosted here. So when my colleagues send me an email, it's addressed to me@my_main_email_addy.com and that server merely forwards it to mymailhere@myhostpcdomain.com where I get all my mail from all my HostPC domains.

My question is: Can the 'whitelist' be set up so that the address in the "To" header is allowed? If so, then my main (non-HostPC) email address could be 'whitelisted' and anything addressed to me@my_main_email_addy.com would get forwarded here (as usual) and be allowed through. That way I could get ALL the mail my friends, coworkers and family send me, no matter where they're sending it from.

Can the whitelist work in that manner?

Thanks

[ozee]

Whitelist works on the From: field.

Basically, when you setup your whitelist, it is saying who you want to get mail from, no matter how spammy it might appear. Your whitelist would include the addresses of your friends, coworkers and family. Most whitelists also accept the use of wildcards: e.g. *@workdomain.com would whitelist all users sending you an email from your work domain. That way, you don't have to list them all individually.

[mwisk]

Whitelist works on the From: field.

Thanks ozee, that's all I needed to know.