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story category AT&T Tackles Mail Complaints
'Unexpected error' led to mail delivery failures...
(old news - 08:45AM Wednesday Mar 26 2008)
tags: business · mail · AT&T DSL Service
Yesterday we noted that AT&T's spam filters have been getting a little aggressive, eliminating legit e-mail alongside spam. AT&T tells us mail delivery was impacted due to "an unexpected error" that occurred during a maintenance update. "The impact was on a small percentage of messages compared to the overall e-mail volume," AT&T's Jenny Parker tells us. "AT&T quickly realized this error and began immediate efforts to restore e-mail delivery to normal conditions." According to Parker, users who continue to struggle with mail delivery can fill out this form.

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Forums » AT&T Tackles Mail Complaints
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Post a:

ropeguru
Premium
join:2001-01-25
Hollywood, FL
clubs:

So which form

should the users fill out? The only one I saw there was only for administrators. So is this just the wrong link Karl or is it AT&T's typical resolution to issues? They make you wade through tons of crap to find what you need, then when you do get it filled out they /dev/null it and never act on it anyway.
omgdave

join:2006-12-31
United State

Keep'em blocked!

Don't restore things to normal, keep it ABnormal, or possibly dial things back to maybe 75% abnormal. I have seen no legit email delivery failures in my accounts.
As always, YMMV.

Dave

knot44

@lexis-nexis.com

fill out the form...

According to Mays, users who continue to struggle with mail delivery can fill out this form.
...which will be emailed to the appropriate individuals...

NUXI

@amazonaws.com

from:
koitsu See Profile

ORDB related?

Cookies to donuts they still had ORDB in their RBL setup.
claco

join:2002-09-29
Tallmadge, OH

Re: ORDB related?

I was thinking the same thing myself. I took it out of my postfix a long time ago...but a guy I work with got bit by it last night.

sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
·Optimum Online

said by NUXI :

Cookies to donuts they still had ORDB in their RBL setup.
We had a customer with that problem yesterday... I found info that ORDB disappeared quite some time ago, but I had no luck finding an announcement that they had recently set things up to respond positively to every query. I'd like to pass that info on to the customer...

koitsu
Premium
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA

Re: ORDB related?

You should show that customer the attitude of ORDB users, and how utterly bizarre their attitudes are. No other way to see it: complete and total power trippin'.

Moral of the story: be VERY CAUTIOUS when it comes to picking RBLs.
--
Making life hard for others since 1977.
I speak for myself and not my employer/affiliates of my employer.
ross

join:2000-08-16
·Digizip


edit:
March 26th, @03:13PM

said by NUXI :

Cookies to donuts they still had ORDB in their RBL setup.
WTF is ORDB? I had a reference and link to that in the rejection message I got from the mail servers I have been sending to (non-AT&T).
----------------------------

OK, I found out what ordb.org WAS. This DNS Blacklist service "org" went offline two years ago. Why is its disappearance just now causing trouble? What changed? Something is totally screwing up all my e-mail accounts. All incoming mail is labeled as SPAM.

koitsu
Premium
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA


edit:
March 26th, @03:26PM

Re: ORDB related?

said by ross See Profile :

WTF is ORDB? I had a reference and link to that in the rejection message I got from the mail servers I have been sending to (non-AT&T).
Post said rejection message, with timestamps! This is solid proof that AT&T mail server administrators are not keeping up on which RBLs are mismanaged or even offline, not to mention are relying on public RBLs!

Regarding what ORDB is: it's a now-defunct blacklisting (RBL/DNSBL) service for mail servers. Read.

Every time a connection is made to an SMTP server using an RBL, a DNS lookup of the IP of the SMTP client is performed against a specific DNS server to see if it's considered "bad". "Bad" means possibly a compromised machine, an open relay, has been sending viruses, whatever -- it's up to the operators of the RBL to define what's bad and what isn't.

For example, if an SMTP client of 5.6.7.8 connected to your mail server and you were using an RBL, you'd try to do a DNS lookup of "8.7.6.5.dnsbl.server.com.".

If that lookup is successful (usually returning a PTR record like 127.0.0.2 to say "yes, that client connecting has been known to send spam/has trojans/whatever"), the mail server automatically rejects any further conversation with the client. Meaning: your mail gets *rejected*. You'll get what appears to be a bounceback, usually with a 5xx SMTP response.

ORDB has been offline since December 2006. However, despite their servers not answering RBL queries, the argument is that the "amount of network traffic still going there was substantial".

So instead of removing their public DNS record for ORDB DNS lookups (relays.ordb.org), they decided to *re-enable the RBL service* and start returning "yes, that IP is bad" for *every single IP looked up*.

I'm sure you can imagine what a horrible, *HORRIBLE* idea this was -- and now you're seeing the results of it.

If you're using your ISP's mail servers and seeing said rejection behaviour, call them IMMEDIATELY and report this problem. Do not take "Sir it sounds like your Outlook client may be incorrectly configured" Tier 1 rebuttals -- ask to speak to Tier 2 or Tier 3 and skip the garbage. This indicates a problem with their mail servers, and not you.

--
Making life hard for others since 1977.
I speak for myself and not my employer/affiliates of my employer.
ross

join:2000-08-16

Re: ORDB related?

Thank you koitsu! That is the explanation I was looking for. Unfortunately, I discarded all the bounced e-mail with the ordb.org links and the 5xx error codes earlier today.

Your response is much appreciated.
cine0n

join:2003-03-11
Santa Monica, CA

This appears to be hitting a lot of companies. This was sent be the admin of the company I work for:

"Today, a once-widely used Blacklisting service, Open Relay Database (ORDB), that stopped updating their database last year, enforced the deprecation of their service by blacklisting the entire world. Our mail servers check for open mail relays in an effort to control inbound spam and spam relaying. In essence, because ORDB blacklisted everyone, our mail servers were told that ANY email server trying to send mail to us was an Open Mail Relay, so we rejected the message and bounced it back to the sender. We've since updated our server configs to look to other services and get mail moving."

koma3504
Advocate
Premium
join:2004-06-22
North Richland Hills, TX

Ironic

any one notice it redirects you to a »worldnet.att.net/general-info/bl···iry.html

worldnett website.

insomniac
Oh Yeah
Premium
join:2002-09-22
Naperville, IL
clubs:

Gee, it wasn't RFC non-compliance?

Where are the people who were screaming yesterday about how this was only occurring because of mail that wasn't RFC-compliant?
--
If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.

RadioDoc
Sortofadog
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
Chicago, IL

Re: Gee, it wasn't RFC non-compliance?

Back in high school? Maybe their spring break is over.

That one guy was a real trip.
--
Toolmaster of La Grange.

MagMan
Life is simpler when you tell the truth.
Premium
join:2003-10-01
Westlake, OH

"an unexpected error"

This whole thing has been one big error from the start period.

JAXx
aka Stephen
Premium
join:2000-03-31
New York, NY
clubs:

Re-directed to the NSA?

Maybe all that email went to the NSA by "mistake"

orion940
A PITA for over 50 years
Premium
join:2001-12-23
Windsor, CT
·AT&T Yahoo

Not so quick...

I'm still seeing stuff in the spam folder, which I have to log onto the web for, as recent as yesterday.

Here's the funny part (ha-ha or odd), there is no consistency to the spam. Sometimes legit mail gets through, sometimes I have to retrieve it from the spam folder.

Mail has never been their strong suit.

O.
--
In Windsor CT, Home of The Decorative Zamboni

RadioDoc
Sortofadog
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
Chicago, IL
·AT&T Midwest

Re: Not so quick...

said by orion940 See Profile :

Mail has never been their strong suit.
ISP services in general have never been their strong suit.
--
Toolmaster of La Grange.

fancydancer
Still alive
Premium
join:2002-08-28
Springfield, IL
clubs:
·Comcast
·Insight Communicat..

Pain in the rear....

that's the only way I can describe their email server management. I never know what they are going to screw up next in regards to email.
Unfortunately, I manage customers with Exchange servers (which send non-RFC compliant messages) and have opted every single one of them out of the port 25 blocking but ATT still finds a way to screw me by pulling this crap. Just stick to smtp auth without all the SSL bs, for crying out loud.
--
Thank you for keeping this a work-free environment!
Rockrz

join:2003-11-25
Austin, TX

Re: Pain in the rear....

Best way (ONLY way, actually) to deal with spam is to use MailWasher at »www.firetrust.com/products/mailwasher-pro
Forums » AT&T Tackles Mail Complaints


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