[SATLUG] Fwd: Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender

[Brad Knowles]

At 9:24 PM -0600 2/9/07, Herb wrote:

>  Gee Bob since you are an expert in this area maybe you can explain (not
>  solve) my problem so I can understand ... I have a hosted website and so
>  from that site I can and do receive any mail sent to @lookcee.com but
>  3weeks ago I began getting thousands per day of bounced mail that has
>  random ###@ so it all flows into my box when it is bounced from the
>  addy to: filter. I am not smart enough to know how to write a script
>  to stop this and am waiting for the webmaster to fix it.

Stop using a catch-all e-mail alias.  Set up specific ones that are 
used for different purposes, but if anything is sent to 
"some-totally-nonexistant-address at yourdomain.example.com", then it 
never gets accepted by the mail server for your domain, and you never 
have to deal with it -- regardless of where this mail is coming from.

>  So my question is why can anyone send spam out and if the TO:addy refuses
>  to receive it returning the mail how can they simply route it to me.

The only thing I can think of is that you've got a catch-all alias 
for your domain.

Of course, what you see in the headers may not have any bearing on 
the envelope addresses that are used.  It's entirely possible for 
someone to put in complete garbage into the header addresses, and yet 
the envelope addresses have something totally different -- like your 
direct personal e-mail address that you've never given out to anyone.

>  I fully agree that the mail system is damn sure broken since just in
>  receiving this huge volume into my box it fills my web capacity and and
>  I don't know what all happens but I do know I cannot even save any mail
>  up to the server archive. just today I have dled headers and deleted
>  over 6,000 pieces of mail, you can imagine how slow that is on a 40kbps
>  dialup.

I get hundreds of legitimate e-mail messages per day.  Prior to some 
anti-spam changes at my ISP, I would sometimes get thousands of 
messages per day, almost all of which was spam.

There's no way I could exist in this profession, if I didn't have 
pretty high speed Internet connectivity.  Lately, my cablemodem line 
has seemed like it's dead-dog slow, and I need yet another upgrade -- 
I'm thinking about checking into Verizon FIOS or maybe AT&T FTTH.


Running a large e-mail system is hard.  I know, I've specialized in 
that field for over a decade, including two years as the Sr. Internet 
Mail Administrator for America Online, and I co-wrote the booklet 
"Internet Postmaster: Duties and Responsibilities" for USENIX and 
SAGE.  I've given several invited talks on related topics at 
conferences in the US and Europe.

And I've seen a hell of a lot of really bad e-mail systems out there. 
But the stuff I've recently seen from Bob is one of the worst 
examples of "stupid admin tricks" that I've come across in the last 
few years.

-- 
Brad Knowles <brad at shub-internet.org>, Consultant & Author
Co-author of SAGE Booklet #15 "Internet Postmaster: Duties and 
Responsibilities"
Founding Member and Platinum Individual Sponsor of LOPSA: 
<http://www.lopsa.org>
Papers: <http://tinyurl.com/tj6q4> LinkedIn Profile: 
<http://tinyurl.com/y8kpxu>