mail undelivered --please decipher error message

Question

Level 1

25 points

mail undelivered --please decipher error message

Hi,
I'm having a little trouble figuring out what to do next.
My sister's email is suddenly getting returned undeliverable. She had a worldcom.ch account, and that recently had an alternate address of ip-worlcom.ch. She said I could use either one. Then, the non-ip address started returning things. Now they both do.
If I read the message below correctly, it says i'm being blocked at the server level, based on my individual IP address (hidden in the msg's below).
Is the problem in my single machine, or is it mac.com, or is it my provider, or is it worldcom's spamblocker? As far as i can tell she needs to specifically allow my IP address to receive my emails.
What's curious is that it took a few days to shut me out totally. The only other variable is an auto software update to OSX on my end.

Thanks for any help to let me know how to open the gate.

I'm copying the message i get in my inbox, and the reply she got from worlcom support in case anyone can read the french.

The original message was received at Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:26:58 -0700 (PDT)
from webmail11-en1 [10.13.10.117]

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<xxxx@worldcom.ch>
(reason: 591 your computer's IP address [YY.xxx.LLL.aa] is blacklisted by bl.spamcop.net. No direct mailling accepted, use SMTP of your ISP)

----- Transcript of session follows -----
... while talking to smtp1.worldcom.ch.:
DATA
<<< 591 your computer's IP address [YY.xxx.LLL.aa] is blacklisted by bl.spamcop.net. No direct mailling accepted, use SMTP of your ISP
554 5.0.0 Service unavailable
<<< 554 no valid RCPT address specified
Reporting-MTA: dns; smtpout.mac.com
Received-From-MTA: DNS; webmail11-en1
Arrival-Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:26:58 -0700 (PDT)

Final-Recipient: RFC822; xxxx@worldcom.ch
Action: failed
Status: 5.0.0
Remote-MTA: DNS; smtp1.worldcom.ch
Diagnostic-Code: SMTP; 591 your computer's IP address [YY.xxx.LLL.aa] is blacklisted by bl.spamcop.net. No direct mailling accepted, use SMTP of your ISP
Last-Attempt-Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:27:02 -0700 (PDT)

From: Mail Delivery Subsystem <MAILER-DAEMON@mac.com>
To: <mememe@mac.com>
Date: Tue Apr 18, 2006 09:59:33 AM CDT
Subject: Returned mail: see transcript for details

The original message was received at Tue, 18 Apr 2006 07:59:48 -0700 (PDT)
from webmail10-en1 [10.13.10.112]

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<xxxx@worldcom.ch>
(reason: 591 your computer's IP address [YY.xxx.LLL.aa] is blacklisted by bl.spamcop.net. No mail will be accepted, use SMTP server of your ISP)

----- Transcript of session follows -----
... while talking to smtp2.worldcom.ch.:
DATA
<<< 591 your computer's IP address [YY.xxx.LLL.aa] is blacklisted by bl.spamcop.net. No mail will be accepted, use SMTP server of your ISP
554 5.0.0 Service unavailable
<<< 554 no valid RCPT address specified

Bonjour,

voici le message retenu dans le mail :

******************************************************************************** **************
ATM à distance smtp1.worldcom.ch : Diagnostic SMTP : 591 your host
[YY.xxx.LLL.aa] is blacklisted by : bl.spamcop.net. No mail will be accepted
******************************************************************************** **************

Ce message signifie que le la personne qui tente de vous envoyer un mail utilise un serveur d'envoi qui est sur une liste noire de Spam, (message publicitaire) en terme plus claire son serveur est utilisé pour polluer les boîtes des internautes avec des messages non désirés.

IP worldcom se réfère à ces listes noires afin de ne pas accepter les mails venants de ces serveurs !
Après plus d'une année d'expérience nous avons constaté que plus de 80% des spams sont filtrés de cette façon.

Pour se désinscrire de cette liste noire, l'administrateur du serveur ou le provider doit faire le nécessaire pour sécuriser son serveur ou changer le reverse de son adresse IP.
Allez ensuite directement sur le site www de : http://www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml?YY.xxx.LLL.aa

Meilleures salutations, Yannick
Support technique IP worldcom SA

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

IP worldcom SA
4, ch. du Vuasset
1028 Préverenges

http://www.ipworldcom.ch

Administration : 021/804 53 53 (9:00-12:00/14:00-17:00)
SIP administration : 53 (interne) ou 53@sip.worldcom.ch (international)
E-mail administration : info@ipworldcom.ch

Support PC & MAC : 021/804 53 73 (9:00-18:00)
SIP support PC & MAC : 69 (interne) ou 69@sip.worldcom.ch (international)
E-mail support PC & MAC : support@ipworldcom.ch
Fax : 021/803 22 66

ibook g4 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Posted on Apr 20, 2006 5:37 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Apr 20, 2006 6:58 PM in response to eden and 1

Hello,

There is a good deal of irony in the message you received, and the web page at the link in the message your sister received.

In the case of ISP's trying to police sending from computers connecting to their networks, an authenticated SMTP (which smtp.mac.com is) is a good thing, and they readily allow you to use the smtp.mac.com (but often on special Ports). In the case of your sister's ISP any authenticated SMTP is a bad thing, based likely upon the fact that authenticated SMTP are needed when sending from hotspots, cafes, etc, where such use might disguise the source point for email. For you, as a .mac user that is a strength of the using the smtp.mac.com, precisely because it aids in sending when you are away from home, and the connection with your ISP.

So their filter apparently is based upon recognizing the domain of a sender, hence the admonishment to use the SMTP of your ISP -- I have never seen this message, but understand it to mean they are only going to accept mail from know sources, and their method of "knowing" is the evidence of the use of the SMTP of a known ISP.

Your quickest solution is to use the SMTP provided by your ISP as the Outgoing Server for your .mac account -- this should not require you to use the email address given to you by your ISP, however.

If this banning has been somehow "learned", it could be due to Mail 2.0 turning Rich Text into HTML, and HTML is often a trigger to declaring an email to be Junk.

More info, if possible, of if you find out more.

Ernie

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Answer 2

eden and 1 Author

Level 1

25 points

Apr 20, 2006 8:47 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

thanks Ernie.
I do not know how to go outside of mac.com but i can look into it, i guess(yuck).

Do I understand you to imply that it does not appear that she can just grant me permission in her spamfilter settings somewhere?

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Answer 3

Apr 20, 2006 9:08 PM in response to eden and 1

You should consult the link below for information on how to resolve this issue:

http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/405.html

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Answer 4

eden and 1 Author

Level 1

25 points

Apr 20, 2006 9:16 PM in response to Michael Lafferty

hmm.
this page does not mention anything about mac or pc and i presume it refers to pc when it advises some antivirus software.
In any case, it is not bouncing my IP, so presume it must be the server. I will send the bounce message back to them and let you know what happens.

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Answer 5

Apr 20, 2006 9:31 PM in response to eden and 1

The phrase 'SMTP; 591 your computer's IP address [YY.xxx.LLL.aa] is blacklisted by bl.spamcop.net' indicates that one or more ISPs along the path handling the mail messages will not deliver the message because the actual IP address shown is on a blacklist maintained by SpamCop. That page outlines procedures to follow to request that the offending record be removed from this blacklist.

Although clearly the virus information is intended almost exclusively for PC users, the first three possible conditions apply:

• The bounce message should contain the name of the blocking list and the IP address being rejected. If the IP address is not included in the bounce message, please contact your mail service provider.

• You send mail through your ISP or hosting company: the listed IP is the ISP/host mail server. The ISP must solve the problem that caused the listing. Send the bounce message to them and ask them to contact SpamCop if assistance is required.

• If the IP shown in the bounce message is the one assigned to your computer by your ISP: your computer/network/LAN is insecure. A PC may be infected; a proxy may be insecure; a script may be insecure or your mailserver may not be set up correctly. Once you find and remove the source of the spam your IP will automatically delist after 24 hours with no new reports. Your ISP has probably received reports concerning the spam activity; get in touch with them for more information.

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Answer 6

Apr 21, 2006 4:32 AM in response to eden and 1

When you signed up with your ISP, did they provide you with one or more POP accounts and addresses? If so, set up an account in Mail with that address, and check the support pages of your ISP for the name of their POP3 and SMTP servers. Once you set up that account, then in the Mail Preferences for your .mac account, change the Outgoing Server to be the SMTP provided by your ISP.

If you want detailed help, with info that you do not want to post in full public view, email me. My address can be found by clicking on my name to the left of this post, and looking in the bio line of my Profile.

Furthermore, if you will provide me your sister's address, and I will use my .mac address to test for the same problem when sending her an email.

Ernie

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Answer 7

Apr 21, 2006 11:40 AM in response to eden and 1

I have a test underway. How long was it before you received the failure message?

Ernie

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Answer 8

eden and 1 Author

Level 1

25 points

Apr 21, 2006 1:38 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

hi ernie,
i replied to you...thanks so much for taking the time to help outside of the discussion!
i'd guess that it took up to 6 hrs to get a returned reply, sometimes only one hour.
switzerland is also a different time zone, approx. 9hrs or so -later than Oregon, i mean.

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Answer 9

eden and 1 Author

Level 1

25 points

Apr 23, 2006 9:53 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

a million thanks to you Ernie, you have gone above and beyond.
Switching to plain text email rather than RTF is working.

It's a temporary solution, and I wish I knew who to contact to fix the problem.
My dotmac account? my ISP host? Her ISP host?

From all I can figure due to your help, it seems that her ISP does not like me in particular, so that tells me I need to get her to have something unlocked on her end, as pertains to my address.

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Answer 10

Apr 24, 2006 5:44 AM in response to eden and 1

Hi,

Certain factors, discovered both in your prior experience, and in my tests, give me some doubt about how to fully resolve:

You experienced the problem both sending using Mail, from home, and webmail while at work. You have now apparently gotten relief, sending from home, using only Plain Text. (This workaround does not directly reflect upon using webmail and .Mac via Browser.)

I successfully sent to your sister from my .mac address, using BOTH Plain Text and Rich Text, which does not fully explain your success using only Plain Text. If your address is not liked by her provider, then not sure why they accepted you, when only using Plain Text?

This curious collection of factors and experiences suggests looking for other things. In your Mail Preferences/Accounts/Account Information/Server Settings, what Port is specified? This information may suggest another change to help.

Ernie

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Answer 11

eden and 1 Author

Level 1

25 points

Apr 25, 2006 5:56 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

prefs says: port 143

i dont think i did have a problem sending to her from work via webmail, sorry if i was confusing.

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Answer 12

Apr 25, 2006 6:21 PM in response to eden and 1

Hi,

You have NOT looked in Mail Preferences/Accounts/Account Information/Server Settings, BUT rather in Mail Preferences/Accounts/Advanced. Please look in Mail Preferences/Accounts/Account Information/Server Settings -- this will be accessed by clicking on Server Settings immediately beneath the name of the Outgoing server.

Ernie

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