If you currenly have an email account hosted on a Grayworld Media email server, than email submitted to that account is filtered by a Realtime Blackhole List (RBL). We have done this to privide a level of spam protection to yoru account..

The following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) has been created to help you understand this feature.

What is a Real-time Blackhole List?

An RBL is a means of preventing email sent by certain servers from being delivered. The actual list of banned servers is maintained by an outside entity.

What RBL list are you using?

We are using the Spamhaus SBL list. To find more technical information on this list, go to http://www.spamhaus.org/sbl

Who uses the Spamhaus SBL list?

The Spamhaus SBL is used by many of the world’s Internet backbones. Large tier-1 providers and ISPs in almost every country, including a number of larger U.S. and European government and military networks, and some of the best giant free email providers. Most large SBL subscribers, universities, and corporations (which include major banks, aerospace and electronics), have hourly SBL Data Feeds. The combined SBL user base (mailboxes protected by the SBL) now exceeds 600 Million internet users.

What kind of messages will the SBL filter?

Any messages coming from servers that are VERIFIED spam sources (including spammers, spam gangs, and spam support services). The verification process is handled by the Spamhaus Project team. It is interesting to note that 80% of the spam received in North America and Europe can be traced back to a handful of about 200 known spammers. There is a list of these spammers on the Spamhaus website (http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso.

Why is Grayworld Media doing this?

Over the years, we have seen a dramatic increase in spam traffic. Our main account alone receives over 2500 messages a day (99% spam). We have had to implement a number of extremely technical measures to curb the problem. Even with these efforts in place, some spam still gets through. We must regularly adjust our filtering process every couple months to keep up. We have also seen extensive spam traffic on a number of customer accounts that rival our own. The solutions we have implemented for our own addresses have proven to be way too complicated for the average email account holder.

Can I override these settings on my email account?

No. Once we have implemented the RBL, it will be a server-wide implementation.

What if email I want to receive is blocked?

The frequency of this happening is extremely rare. The Spamhaus SBL is designed to filter messages only from VERIFIED spam sources. If email has been blocked from someone you know, it is probably because they (or the server they are using) have been verified as a flagrant spam source.

How frequently is the SBL list updated?

The SBL is rebuilt and reloaded every 30 minutes, 24/7, to ensure that new spam problems are swiftly blocked and resolved problems are swiftly removed.

Can I still use my spam filtering?

Absolutely. In fact, we recommend it. The RBL is only designed to filter VERIFIED spam sources. Even with the RBL in place, there will still be some unwanted email that could make it to your account. The RBL just adds another level of defense to your current spam filtering.

I maintain an email list, will I get listed?

This depends on you. Spam is defined as “Unsolicited Email”. This means email that the recipient did not ask for. If you list is composed of people who asked to be on the list, then you should be ok. In addition, all email must comply with the CAN-SPAM Act and include a way for those on the list to remove themselves. The list must also not contain any false information in the header of the message. Return addresses must be valid.

Grayworld Media also has very strict rules covering mass emailing through our servers. Should we discover any inappropriate use of email or find that a specific client has caused any of our servers to be listed on an RBL, the clients’ account will be immediately deactivated. In addition, this could also result in termination of any future relationship with Grayworld Media. We take spam very seriously. If you are planning on dong any mass emailing through our servers, we recommend that you discuss it with us first or find alternative means for handling the process.