What is Backscatter ??
Well if you are here on this page you are probably a frustrated
system admin who like thousands of other people cannot understand
why their server has been blacklisted on the http://www.backscatterer.org website.
Today I read that there are at the moment 72,000 plus servers that
are according to UCEPROTECT (The guys who run the backscatterer
website) incorrectly configured.
I created this website for the sole purpose of helping people to
figure out what this whole "backscatter" issue is. I hope it proves
to be helpful to you.
I preface this by saying that I think Backscatterer.org are a
fairly ignorant and arrogant bunch, that is why there is so much
hate out there in the Net aginst them... BUT they are Unfortunately
right in what they are saying to a CERTAIN EXTENT, Backscatter is a
Legitimate problem, How they as a DNSBL are dealing with it is an
entirely different matter.. You can decide ! I highly recommend
that you dont "troll" them or threaten them with Legal Action,
simple reason for that is that you just cannot find them...
Backscatterer.org , my friends, is a real pain in the ass, you
know why ? because you cannot get delisted for a month unless
you pay say 100 swiss francs. Even if you have fixed the
PROBLEM. This is non negotiable, I will discuss the
business practices of Backscatterer in a little while.
A Lot of people , Like me at first ! simply do not understand
what the problem is, so what i will try to do here is to explain
what these guys are looking for in Plain English, and to try and
build up a database of Mail Server configurations that will show
you how to fix the problem on your specific mail server.
So what is Backscatter ?
Backscatter.org maintain that this is a form of a mistake
on "poorly configured mail servers" They break down their argument
into 3 Sections. if you are listed on their blacklist your server
will fall into one or more of these categories.
Bounces
Backscatterers Argument.
They maintain that your email server should not sent out
bounces... in other words.. If I send a mail to
"nouser@backscatterer.org" and the user/mail address does not
exist on that server then theoretically that mail should simply
disappear into Cyberspace..(be deleted).The "backscatter.org" mail
server should not send a message to the server trying to send
the message and say "hey server trying to send this message ,
thanks for contacting us , but there is no such user here so
see ya around, here's your message back" (thats it in plain
English) . If your server is configured to do that then in their
opinion you have a "poorly configured server" . They maintain that
this is abuse of the "Vrfy" command that is always used by mail
servers. OK I can see the Logic in this to a certain extent but
have we not moved on ???
There are a number of contra measures already in place to
prevent this type of abuse. among them are for example
- spf verification (this means that unless my IP
address matches the domain that I am sending from then ALL properly
configured servers will refuse the mail.) My POINT ... SPF
negates the need for Backscatters. In other words .. as a spammer
it is virtually impossible to bypass this check now.
- Sender Authentication. Most properly
configured mail servers request that person trying to send mail
authenticates their account before sending mail , using either a
username and password , or some other method of
Authentication.
OK so you are there and on the list, frustrated because your
users mail is not being received by companies or ISPs who have
subscribed to the Backscatterer Blacklist. So whats the next step..
????
I am putting together a list of videos and instructions for
various mail servers on how to make sure your mail server is NOT
sending out these bounces... you will find a list of them here on
this Page.
****WARNING**** you will need to check that
your server is configured to all of the above points raised by
backscatterer "Bounces , auto responders and Sender
callouts." (you may also need to check the Antispam settings on
your firewall)
Here is something pretty Ironic, this is a fact , you can test
it yourself
I sent a test email with a madeup email address to some of the top
email providers in the world, namely Gmail , Hotmail , Microsoft ,
yahoo and Bluewin in switzerland... I received an answer from ALL
of them (see below). My question is "why are these GIANTS not
listed in Backscatterer... ????" You can guess the reason...
Maybe all of these mail servers are"poorly configured"
