Email Security -
Branagh Computers takes email security very seriously.
As with any responsible email provider we have measures in place on our mail servers to stem the flow of spam email to our clients' inboxes.
How does this work and what does it mean for mail senders / recipients?
Branagh Computers employs several tactics to deal with spam email, the most effective of which are:
Reverse DNS requirement for connecting servers,
All properly configured mail servers should have reverse entries specified in their DNS records. Reverse DNS does exactly the opposite as forward DNS, eg. If I look up IP address 12.34.56.78, the reverse DNS entry would return the domain name linked to that address eg. mydomain.com
Hosts with no reverse records specified can often be a source of spam as they can actually be the addresses of personal computers that are infected with spam producing viruses.
Any host connecting to the Branagh Computers mail servers with no reverse DNS records will be completely rejected.
Blocking Lists,
The Branagh Computers mail servers make use of two of the worlds leading RBL's (Real-time Blocking Lists).
These lists are continuously updated with the addresses of hosts that are a known source of spam. More importantly, addresses are also removed from these lists on a continuous basis that are no longer deemed as a spam threat. The lists used are:
sbl.spamhaus.org A list of addresses with known bad reputation.
xbl.spamhaus.org A list of addresses of computers known to be infected with spam producing viruses.
b.barracudacentral.org A list of addresses with known bad reputation.
All connections to the Branagh Computers mail servers will be checked against the above lists. If they are found to be on any of the lists, connection will be refused.
More information of these lists can be found on their individual websites:
The above measures are very effective at rejecting malicious email and only malicious email but unfortunately no system is perfect.
If you are a Branagh Computers client experiencing difficulty receiving email from a specific address, or if you are a user experiencing difficulty sending mail to a Branagh Computers client, the following tool can be used to check the security of the sending server:
Using this tool you can check for reverse DNS entries and check the sending address against the lists mentioned above. If an issue does exist, it is strongly advised that the administrator of the sending server be contacted immediately to investigate mail and security settings.
Please also contact us with the senders address as we can also investigate and if necessary, allow access to the address on a temporary basis with assurance that the source of the security issue is being investigated.
|
