As hard as we try, there is always someone on any given server who has a really poor password and ends up getting hacked by spammers. This is a weekly occurrence despite our pleas and warnings to customers to use secure passwords. The net result is there is always some spam monitoring agency somewhere that has the main shared IP address of the server in some "blacklist". We waste hours every day jumping through hoops for these companies to try to get off their lists. But it's like a hamster wheel; it never stops.
So we have devised "classes" of email….
Your email is currently going out in 3rd class. I'll explain:
We have three levels of service for your outgoing mail. We call them 1st, 2nd and 3rd class. (99% of accounts are in "coach") – the reason is very simple:
YOUR website's outgoing email may OR may NOT violate certain security policies; one of several most basic Internet laws for email is the CAN SPAM ACT: https://www.google.com/search?q=can+spam+act ::- In a nutshell, it says:" Send an email to your mother she does not like,,, she can report it as spam and it will cost you $10,000 – please read it! It's no joke!
3rd Class (Free)
That is the default. All users on the server share the same IP address for outgoing SMTP. If one person sends out a ton of spam, the IPs Reputation is wrecked. It takes us weeks and sometimes months to go and beg all the companies who blacklisted this IP, to reverse their decision.
2nd Class (Free) SOLD OUT
We can put your outgoing SMTP on an IP that is still shared [for free], but we would need you to agree to the following conditions, as all the other users have agreed to the same terms:
1. All passwords (mail, cPanel, FTP, WordPress; ALL) you use on your account hit at least 100% strength on the cPanel password strength meter.
2. All passwords are unique.
3. You may not use mail forwarders in cPanel to any of the big email providers (Yahoo, Comcast, Verizon, Google etc)
4. You agree and assure us you will not setup auto responders in cPanel (even "vacation" responders are taboo, rather forward the mail directly to someone else on your own domain)
5. You regularly check all mailboxes on your account and never allow them to become full so that they start to bounce mail.
6. If you allow members to sign up to your site (WordPress, Joomla, Message Board etc.) you must have the following in place:
• Human verification (preferably ReCAPTCHA) so that bots cannot signup and cause backscatter.
• A mechanism to ban IP addresses that try to guess a users password. Some Apps like vBulletin come with it built in as a standard feature, but for most of the others, it's a plugin.
• If your APP supports it or if there is a plugin for your APP, you must signup with AKISMET and use them for processing signups to your site.
• You must keep all PHP scripts updated and patched to the latest secure version at all times.
7. You must at all times abide with the RFC rules and the CANN Spam act:
• If you send out more than 10 emails at a time it is regarded as "Bulk" and the act mandates bulk mail must be:
o Double Opt In
o Each mail sent must have a one click unsubscribe button/link at the bottom of the email.
8. Unfortunately if one of your email addresses has been a source of spam in the past, you must stay on the main server IP
9. You need to understand that this is a "best effort" attempt. Except for Google (who no one dares to ban), I don't know of any MTA IP that is not listed in some blacklist somewhere.
First Class ($3/mo) SOLD OUT
We put your site on a clean dedicated IP address, just for you. No one else will send email from the server on that IP but you. For your own benefit, we highly recommend you rigorously apply the 2nd Class conditions to yourself because if you damage the reputation of a dedicated IP, you have only yourself to blame.
Solution (Temporary) for mail users sending less than 12000 emails a month
—-we currently use this system ourselves for the ticket system
Create a Mandrill Account
To get started, you'll want to create a new Mandrill account here: http://mandrill.com/signup/
Set Up Sending Domains (optional)
Once you've set up your account, one of the first things you'll want to do is set up your sending domain(s). Mandrill will provide DNS settings so you can add SPF and DKIM records to your domain to show that Mandrill has permission to send on behalf of your domain. Send these to us.
To setup mail clients see:
http://help.mandrill.com/entries/21694508-Can-I-use-my-desktop-email-program-to-send-through-Mandrill-
You Might Want to Know…
• Sending quota: Each account has an hourly sending quota based on the account reputation and typical volume of email. When you first get started, since you have an unknown reputation, the quota is very low but will quickly increase as you start sending. More information about the reputation system and sending quota.
• Size limits: Messages should be 25MB in size or less.
• Attachments: You can include any type of attachment, including inline images. Messages with attachments will be queued and all attachments run through a series of virus scanning engines.