Spam Policy
Vicnet does not tolerate unsolicited email (commonly referred to as spam or junk email) whether this mail originates from our members, from our member's customers or from outside providers and services which are used to support spam.
Vicnet has implemented three methods of detecting spam:
- Spam filtering software
- Vicnet maintained lists
- External open relay databases
Spam filtering software
Vicnet has installed Bogofilter and SpamAssassin on the Vicnet mail server to filter e-mail. This software performs a number of checks including scanning the subject and body of the e-mail. Both outgoing and incoming e-mail is checked.
E-mails that have been classified as spam will have *****SPAM***** inserted in the subject header of the e-mail. These e-mails will be delivered. Spam detection is not perfect, members should be aware that the software will occasionally tag legitimate mail as spam.
You may wish to filter these e-mails into a separate folder in your e-mail program or delete these e-mails. Refer to the quick links box on the right hand side for links to help pages for your e-mail program.
Vicnet maintained lists
Vicnet maintains some lists which block things like domains used by spammers. E-mails matching any rules on these lists will not be accepted by Vicnet's mail server.
How do I know if the sender appears on this listing?
If the sender has received a bounce message which contains the following, or similar (particularly the key phrase "Access denied"):
----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
(reason: 550 : Client host rejected: Access denied)
then the sender is listed on one of Vicnet's block lists.
External open relay databases
Vicnet (and our upstream providers) subscribe to several databases containing lists of open relay mail servers. Open relay mail servers provide an anonymous method for sending email and hence are a key cause of spam. Email from these servers will not be accepted by Vicnet's mail server until the server is removed from the various databases.
Some of the open relay databases Vicnet uses as guides against spam include, but are not limited to:
You can check to see if your mail server is listed on a variety of blacklists in one search thanks to the relays.osirusoft site.
Correctly configured mail servers on the Internet will only allow legitimate connections to their services. If unidentifiable/unaccountable connections are made to a mail server then the server is regarded as an "open relay". This open relay allows an unauthorised person to generate spam from this server.
How do I know if the sender appears on this listing?
If the sender has received a bounce message which contains the following, or similar (particularly the key phrase "open relay"):
550 Service unavailable; [x.x.x.x] blocked using [x.x.x.x], reason: Open relay
- see http://www.xxx.xxx?address=x.x.x.x
then the sender is using an open relay server to send mail and appears on the International listing.
Vicnet cannot remove a mail server from any of the databases we use as guides. Only the administrator of the mail server in question can initiate the process required to remove their server. All responsible administrators on the Internet will know how to configure a mail server to eliminate this problem from occurring.
How do I remove the mail server from an open relay database?
The only way to remove the mail server from the listing is for the administrator of the open relay mail server to contact the open relay database that has blacklisted their server. If the server has been configured to stop relaying third-party mail, it will be removed as soon as possible.
Why adopt this policy?
The problem of spam costs ISP's money and wastes resources which originators of spam pay nothing for. With conventional junk mail the originator must pay for delivery to recipients upfront. In the digital world downloaded traffic is charged for. Enormous amounts of unsolicited email and spam is paid for by the end user (Vicnet clients) in wasted download bandwidth which is charged to us.
Why can't someone send me email?
If you are not receiving e-mails from a particular address it could be possible that the domain where that e-mail address is hosted appears on a Vicnet list or external database. You will be able to send to that domain but the recipient will not be able to reply.
Please contact Vicnet Customer Service if you have questions about receiving e-mail.
I didn't know that Vicnet did this.
This is part of the Vicnet Acceptable Use Policy, point 1 (b) and 2.
What action can I take to try and avoid spam?
A useful site with information on this topic is the Coalition Against Unsolicited Bulk Email (CAUBE) site.
