SPAM when switching to PLESK

[johnboypro]

I've been using PLESK for a while and LOVE it! It's great, reliable and very user-friendly.

However, I've noticed that when I switch a domain from a previous host to my server - the SPAM increases greatly.

And, this is the kind that doesn't get caught by spamassasin. They seem to be "phishing" spam emails that aren't recognized by spamassasin and that are actually sent to the email accounts that I setup within PLESK.

Basically, it seems like someone, somehow knows when I've set up a new account in PLESK and then gets all the email accounts that I set up as well. These emails don't come to a bunch of random email addresses, but are very specific.

Also, these email accounts aren't listed anywhere on the www.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

John

 

[jwdick]

To answer, we need more information. What version of spamassassin? MAPS zones enabled? if so, what are your entries into the MAPS zones?

 

[johnboypro]

Thanks for your response. I do not have any MAPS zones enabled. Spamassasin version: 2.63-8

I do not believe this to be a spamassasin problem at all.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

John

 

[jwdick]

It may not be a totally spamassassin problem, but you are running an older version.

You should at least enable MAPS zones and enter:

opm.blitzed.org;rbl-plus.mail-abuse.org;bl.spamcop.net;relays.ordb.org;sbl.spamhaus.org;KR.rbl.cluecentral.net;BR.rbl.cluecentral.net;blackholes.mail-abuse.org;cbl.abuseat.org;sbl-xbl.spamhaus.org

as it's settings. Doing this eliminated 80% of the spam my boxes were getting.

 

[johnboypro]

Thanks. But, how do I know if it's blocking legitimate email if I enable MAPS?

Thanks,

John

 

[jwdick]

If you enable maps, you will not know if someone is being blocked from sending emails. The sender will receive an error when sending, telling them which abuse site is blocking their ip address. It is up to them to correct their listing if they are being blocked.

As far as I know, if you want a list of the sender and the email message subject line being blocked with an option to have it delivered, you will have to sign up with a spam blocking service like "postini". All of the ones that I know about have a "fee" associated with their service.

I tend to leave it up to the sender to clear thier ip address if they want to send a message to anyone on my servers. I admit this may not be the best solution for everyone but it has served me well.

 

[johnboypro]

Thanks for your advice. Back to my original question. Do you know of any reason that SPAM would increase just from switching to PLESK?

It seems like something strange happens when switching from another host. All of the sudden, my clients get lots of SPAM that they didn't get before.

John

 

[wagnerch]

Is your client using catch all's?

 

[jwdick]

Plesk is just a control panel. By and of itself, it is just an interface that makes administration of domains easier for the admin and subsequent clients. There is nothing in Plesk that would make it any more vunerable to spam than any other control panel. If you have more spam now after switching from another host, it would seem that the other host was employing spam blocking techniques that you have not implemented on your server.

 

[johnboypro]

Hello - the strange thing is that the emails are sent to very specific email accounts, and catchalls are in place.

For example: [email protected] will get an email specifically to him just days after I transfer their domain to my server.

The same emails didn't get sent to his address on the old server just days before, and they didn't even have spamassasin, etc.

And, his email address is not listed anywhere online.

I understand that PLESK doesn't cause this in and of itself. But, does the transfer process "spark" some kind of weird process in the "SPAM" world? I know that's a pretty uneducated guess. But I'm just wondering if they can pick up on a domain that has recently changed DNS, etc..?

This has just happened too many times to ignore...

Thanks again,

John

 

[jcoulter]

Something else to consider is the learning curve of Spam Assassin. Your old server probably had a similar software package that had, over time, learned what was spam. WIth the switch, the new server must go through the same learning curve.

I did a switch of a domain and had a sudden flow of spam to one of my clients, some specifically sent to particular users. Come to find out the old server had learned these emails were spam and they weren't getting through. The new system hasnt picked up on that yet.

It' possible the old server had MAPS in use. My old server did but it wasn't something I could change (poor control panel and domain administration opens, which is why I switch to dedicated with Plesk).

I now have MAPS in place and use 4psa's Spam Guardian (which uses the Spam Assassin engine). My email has been cut back by about 70% and as the system relearns what is spam, even less gets through.