I'm blacklisted. Email blacklisted. Don't know how or why or when this dubious honor was bestowed upon me. So, I'm doing this post to see if anyone has had a similar experience. Maybe we can help each other out of this shit hole and avoid future holes. If you've been blacklisted I'd like to hear about your experience. Here's my story.
For the past year or so, every email sent to my brother bounced back with a 'failed' notice. I thought my bro had accidentally listed me as an unsafe sender in his email files. I visited brother recently, got on his computer and discovered that that wasn't the case. Then, I noticed that there was a notepad attachment (details.txt (404 B)) on the failed notice from the email postmaster. I opened the attachment, found a bunch of meaningless numbers and computer acryonyms and the words 'blacklisted by user'. What the hell?
Did some google research and determined that my internet protocol (IP) address was somehow associated with spamming and phishing and similar nefarious actions - none of which were initiated by me. Some SOB or SOBs unknown used my computer (or my computer's IP address) to pursue their nasty objectives, thereby placing me in said shit hole.
There are numerous blacklisting websites/services. Their mission is to watchdog, list and block spammers and phishers and other assorted SOBs. If, like me, you get on one of those lists, you have to beg them to let you off. You send an email to them and explain that you're a dummy, don't know how this happened, wouldn't even think of doing those nasty things, blah, blah, blah. The blacklister provides you with a 'ticket' number, runs some kind of test, and, hopefully, sends an email saying you've been delisted.
I've been delisted on one incident that was detected by one blacklister. Trouble is, the blacklister has a long list of these incidents, about 30 of them in various categories (phish, spam, indecent exposure, reckless walking and attempted crawl, whatever). I asked Mr Blacklister to clean up the whole mess in one fell swoop but doubt that's gonna happen: one incident, one ticket, no exceptions, piss off, go suck an egg. To be continued.
How frustrating! I don't think I've missed any of your posts, but maybe I wouldn't know? If it gets too quiet, I'll send an inquiry.
ReplyDeleteOne time my driver's license number was mistakenly put on that list that flags "trouble" at checkstands. I made the clerk call whoever puts that list out and they admitted having made a typo but it took a long and embarrassing time (months)before it was corrected. One stupid number off! They sent me a letter to carry with me to say that an error had been made, but there was always the rigamarole at the cashier's. Hard to prove your innocence once you've been charged guilty...I think there's a principle in there somewhere.
I had the blacklist issues before too, I host my email at a company that assigned me an IP address, but someone on that same IP range was spamming. So instead of blacklisting just the spamming IP, they blacklist the whole range of all 255 Ip's.
ReplyDeleteTheirs over 200 or so public blacklists and who knows how many private ones. But on occasion, I find a new private one, that I'm on that I have to get cleaned off of.
So now I monitor my 1 IP and My 1 Domain name for free, on the public blacklists, through http://www.unlocktheinbox.com/services/blacklistsmonitoring/
It's such a pain in the ass, when some other a hole causes your hours upon hours of work and research.