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My IP has a poor reputation causing email to bounce back, what can I do? Last Updated on Friday, 14 March 2014 14:18 Written by Rob Turner Hits: 12230

If your getting email with the a bounce back stating you have a poor reputation what does it mean? Here is an example of a mock bounce back that might look like yours, the blacklist maintainer in this case is barracuda networks:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. SMTP error from remote mail server after end of data: host mail.destinationserver.com [12.62.3.52]: 554 Service unavailable; Client host [smtp.myhostingco.com] blocked using Barracuda Reputation; http://www.barracudanetworks.com/reputation/?r=1&ip=12.62.3.52

The remote host accepted the email and at the end of receiving the data (body of the email), they consult blacklists maintained by 3rd parties, Barracuda provides network hardware including spam washing servers and they are able to maintain a comprehensive accurate list of IP's that are spam sources.

So who's IP is it?

This IP could be your home network but it could also be your email provider. One way to see if its your home network is to go Google and type in Whats My IP, Google will respond and tell you:

If its not your IP you could use a whois tool on the internet to find out who it is but I would at this point inform your email provider of the error and they can take if from there.

What if it is my IP!? What does that mean!

It means something in your network is sending spam, so what do you do? Firstly, contact your email provider, any good email provider will be able to look at the mail server logs with you on the phone, tell you if your account is being used to send spam and and assist you in the change the passwords used by your account. I would change the password regularly anyway and use a strong password, a mix of letters, numbers, punctuation and at least 8 characters if not more. If they confirm your email account was sending the spam, don't just plug it in the enter your new password box on the computer and carry on, make sure you have thoroughly scanned your computer for Malware and Viruses, a key logger could be on your computer and give that information out again. I personally would recommend Avast's security products, the paid versions are worth the money but the free ones will catch allot. I strongly recommend shelling out a little money if it means you can still operate without interruption. avast.com have security scanners for Windows, Apple Mac, iOS (iPads and iPhones) and Android and that brings be to my next point, the source of the spam inside your network may not be computer(s) but could also be the devices you use, if you have tablets, iPads, iPhones

Everything comes up clean? Now What?

Another thing to consider is that your WiFi may be wide open or have a weak security, if a person living near you is able to connect to your WiFi without a password or has broken through any security your router has been set with and is sending spam via your network, it may be something where they are infected and don't realize that using unsecured WiFi without consent is both immoral and in some countries, illegal. Good Router manufacturers are DLink and LinkSys and you can but these products online at Ebay, Amazon London Drugs, The Source, FutureShop and many other places. Looking at your router logs by logging into it will allow you to see what has been connecting and the best method of security I have found is to limit connection to Mac Addresses, a physical unique identifying code that is stored in any device. You basically tell the router only let certain mac addresses in and block all others. Also, its potentially possible you have a "Zero Day" infections, this means its something new that avast.com product cannot detect, you could use other scanning software or make sure that the avast.com product is updated to the latest version and scan again.

Summing Up

• Scan your systems and devices : If you don't have a good security on all your devices in your network you are on borrowed time, you need to have something and I can highly recommend avast.com paid products for all devices

• Make sure the Wifi is secure : Secured WiFi with a good encryption or lock everything else except your devices using Mac Addresses. Make sure you have a known brand of Manufacturer, read reviews and known exploits and make an informed decision as a consumer.

• Delist Your IP from the blacklist : Once your happy, you can go through a delisting process, in this example you would go to http://www.barracudanetworks.com/reputation/?r=1&ip=12.62.3.52 which was stated in the bounce back and follow the process if your listed.

• Verify your not listed anywhere else : You can also use a service like this one http://multirbl.valli.org/dnsbl-lookup/ or http://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx and check your IP address to see if its on other lists and follow links for delisting, some of these blacklists are temporary so if you rectify the source of the spam your IP will be delisted over a period of time.

• Make sure your email host is awesome: Use an ISP for email hosting that is able to provide good support, For only $2.95 a month you can have a low capacity email at http://www.islandnet.com where you get all that support I mentioned above.