E-mail Problem

Most times when I had a problem with certain people not being able to send or receive from only one or two people it was an ISP problem. Are the ISP's the same or different ones?

I used to use Earthlink and I had one hell of a time sending email to my sister on AOL. She would get about half of them and the  way we knew this was I sent the mail to two different address (she also had earthlink account) and she always got the ones to the earthlink account. The problem was she used AOL as the default email account and I could never be sure she got them.
Also one other problem was none of the email were returned to me as undeliverable, it was like they were simply lost.
I know this probably has nothing to do with your problem, but made me wonder what ISP you were using for each account.

Maybe their mailbox is full. Some ISP's only allow so much space (10MB maybe) and if they have their account setup to only delete them from server when deleted from computer then mailbox on server can get full and will reject new mail.

We have different ISP's.  I use AOL through a Cox Internet cable modem.  He has a local dial-up ISP.  At first I was having a problem with messages that I sent to him.  Sometimes they would just disappear with no error returned.  Later he started getting the error message every time he tried to send me a message.  He said that he even tried to send an e-mail to me from a neighbor's account and got the same error.  It makes me wonder if the entire domain is blocked by AOL, or if I am blacklisted on his ISP.

I found the following information about the error codes:

Non-Delivery Reports

Non-delivery reports are always submitted to the original sender of each email and also to an administrative person (postmaster@domain.com). The general structure of NDRs is defined in RFC 1893. Each NDR provides a 3-digit status notification code that defines the failure in detail. Each of these three digits provides information about the failure itself and can be translated as follows:

2.x.x                               successful transfer
4.x.x                               persistent failure
5.x.x                               permanent failure

The following list describes second and third digit:

x.1.0                                other address status
x.1.1                                bad destination mailbox address
x.1.2                                bad destination system address
x.1.3                                bad destination mailbox address syntax
x.1.4                                destination mailbox address ambiguous
x.1.5                                destination mailbox address valid
x.1.6                                mailbox has moved
x.1.7                                bad sender’s address syntax
x.1.8                                bad sender’s system address
x.2.0                                other or undefined mailbox status
x.2.1                                mailbox disabled, not accepting messages
x.2.2                                mailbox full
x.2.3                                message length exceeds administrative limit
x.2.4                                mailing list expansion problem
x.3.0                                other or undefined mail system status
x.3.1                                mail system full
x.3.2                                system not accepting network messages
x.3.3                                system not capable of selected features
x.3.4                                message too big for system
x.4.0                                other or undefined network or routing status
x.4.1                                no answer from host
x.4.2                                bad connection
x.4.3                                routing server failure
x.4.4                                unable to route
x.4.5                                network congestion
x.4.6                                routing loop detected
x.4.7                                delivery time expired
x.5.0                                other or undefined protocol status
x.5.1                                invalid command
x.5.2                                syntax error
x.5.3                                too many recipients
x.5.4                                invalid command arguments
x.5.5                                wrong protocol version
x.6.0                                other or undefined media error
x.6.1                                media not supported
x.6.2                                conversion required and prohibited
x.6.3                                conversion required but not supported
x.6.4                                conversion with loss performed
x.6.5                                conversion failed
x.7.0                                other or undefined protocol status
x.7.1                                delivery not authorized, message refused
x.7.2                                mailing list expansion prohibited
x.7.3                                security conversion required but not possible
x.7.4                                security feature not supported
x.7.5                                cryptographic failure
x.7.6                                cryptographic algorithm not supported
x.7.7                                message integrity failure

http://www.msexchange.org/pages/article_p.asp?id=637


I also found some information about the options that are available in a server:

OK -accept e-mail even if other rules in the current ruleset would reject it.
 
RELAY -Allow domain to relay through the mail server. RELAY implies OK
.
REJECT -reject the e-mail with a general error message.

DISCARD -silently discard the message completely.

http://www.sendmail.org/~ca/email/chk-89f.html#RHS_DISCARD

Have your friend send another email to you, but this time have him do a CC to his own email address so that you can then examine the email's "header".  Just wondering if something in that header is being blocked.

Does this happen for text-only AND html-formatted emails, and do the messages contain attachments?

Is his system known to be virus-free?

Has he got his email configured to "always request a read receipt"?

What about the setting "encrypt contents and attachments for all outgoing mail messages"?

There is always the possibility that your email address has been grabbed off a page like this and is being used to send spam with your address as the "sender".  In that event, you would normally have been hit by a whole flurry of "undelivered" messages, but if you have filtered out a key word that always appears in this type of message, then maybe you have been unaware of this.

If your email is seen as having issued enough spam to a certain number of domains, then you could be blacklisted.

Can YOU email YOURSELF?

Blacklists usually block IP addresses or specific mail servers, NOT individuals' email addresses.
I assume that you don't have a dynamically assigned IP address.
Check these links.

Realtime Blackhole List

http://www.mail-abuse.com/services/mds_rbl.html

http://www.mail-abuse.com/support/lookup.html

http://www.mail-abuse.com/cgi-bin/lookup

I tried the lookup tool and got the following response, but I don't know what it means:


The IP address 66.76.xxx.xxx does not appear on the MAPS RBL.

However, it does appear on other lists: List Entry
dul 66.76.240.0/22

Please see the correct web pages for information about the other lists, contact information, why the address is listed, and how to get it removed, if applicable. Please do not contact the RBL team for RSS, DUL, or other list problems.

Please note that neither the MAPS RBL nor any other MAPS list works on a domain name, only IP addresses are involved.


I can e-mail myself both to my AOL account and to an account that I have at work.  I can also e-mail my AOL account from my account at work.  The company I work for owns their own e-mail server.  My friend can also send e-mail to my account at work.  The messages are text only, and some of them have attachments.  The attachments are usually MP3's or MS Word documents.  I sometimes send him HTML files.

The MAPS DUL list is explained here:

http://www.mail-abuse.com/services/mds_dul.html

>>>
"The MAPS DUL (Dynamic User List) is a comprehensive list of IP addresses that should not be running mail servers, usually dynamically assigned IP addresses. These are addresses that should not be a direct source of email. When they are, it is often due to a virus or other type of illegal or unknown use of the end-users resources. Mass emailers often use compromised machines, often home computers, to directly connect to the mail servers of their targets, bypassing the usual ISP gateway. The victim of this compromise is often unaware that this illegal activity is taking place on their computer. It is for this reason that the DUL was created, to block those addresses where spam should not be sourced and to help prevent the end user from unknowingly supporting spam.

Using the MAPS DUL Service enables the IT professional to block illegal and often dangerous email, thereby protecting resources and reducing the amount of unwanted email. Reduced mail volume means savings in every element of your messaging cost structure; from intangible costs such as worker productivity and risk reduction, to direct costs such as bandwidth, storage, mail servers, spam filters and IT personnel.

While the majority of listings on the MAPS DUL are dynamically assigned IP addresses (including dialup, DSL and cable connections), the MAPS DUL also includes some static addresses where the owning ISP has requested a listing due to contractual prohibitions against the usage of servers on that address. We invite ISPs to help protect their networks, as well as others, by sharing with us those addresses under their control that should be listed on the MAPS DUL.

If you are an ISP and have dynamic or static IP addresses you would like included on the MAPS DUL, please contact the MAPS DUL management group.

The MAPS DUL Service is also part of the MAPS RBL+ Master Service".
<<<

I assume that the /22 at the end tells you that it is No. 22 on the list, but I am not sure.

How to nominate an IP address to the MAPS DUL :
http://www.mail-abuse.com/support/nominats_dul.html

How to get an IP address removed from the MAPS DUL :
http://www.mail-abuse.com/support/removereq_dul.html

>>>
"Removal due to listing error
Because real people maintain the MAPS DUL, mistakes occur. We make every effort to ensure we don't include fixed hosts, especially SMTP servers, in this list. But don't let that stop you from writing us if you think we made a mistake. Remember that the MAPS DUL is not for listing open relays or blackholing "spam houses"; that is a matter for the MAPS RBL. The MAPS DUL is for identifying dynamically assigned IP pools where trespass spam occurs.

When reporting a mistake, please include a sample of the bounced message or error message you received, and the IP address of the server that refused your mail due to your being listed on the MAPS DUL. It may be possible they have a cached entry not yet cleared due to a removal, or they are blocking your mail for a different purpose yet are citing the MAPS DUL. We'll try to contact the site's owner if they are blocking mail from non-DUL-listed networks yet are citing the MAPS DUL".
<<<

>>>
"To request an IP address be removed from the MAPS DUL, you may contact us via email or our web form. Please include details regarding why your IP address(es) should be removed:

Email:   dul@mail-abuse.com
Webform:  http://www.mail-abuse.com/support/lookup.html
<<<

Products that use the MAPS DUL and Examples :
http://www.mail-abuse.com/support/removereq_dul_ex.html

Is this helpful?
 

It sounds to me like a trojan or other parasite has used his computer to send spam or mass mailings using SendMail or similar.

I did not read all the comments so if I repeat what someone elses said, I apoligize.

I have seen the message when the e-mail address for you is just not typed in correctly. Has he ever been able to send you email?

gonzal13(Joe)

I am planning to check with AOL tech support, but I haven't been able to contact them yet.  I sent an e-mail to my friend from my AOL account this morning and carbon copied it to myself at work.  I don't know if he received it, but I didn't get it at work.  No error was returned either.  We have been exchanging e-mails for several months, but the problem only started recently.

I had a hell of a time recently with 120 or more "undelivered" bounce bsck emails from servers blocking emails through aggressive filtering.

It looks like one of my email addresses must have been used by a mass mailer as the sender's address and I was seriously worried that I would be blacklisted.

I eventually had to create several message rules in Outlook and Outlook Express to delete all emails from my ISP mailbox which contained the standard keywords that I was able to derive from the subject lines.   This filtered out 99% of these bounced messages, although it still takes extra time to delete them all from the server.  I retained these rules for many months, so I was really not aware of whether the problem had gone away.

When my hard drive took a nose dive recently, I hadn't backed up the registry keys containing all these rules.   I was relieved to find that the messages had ceased.  I suspect mass mailers use certain email addresses for a period of time and then use another unfortunate person's.

This obviously doesn't really apply to your (or your friend's) situation though.  If the IP address IS blacklisted, then the problem won't go away after a given period.

Just for additional interest, I occasionally use a small program named POP3 Scan Mailbox:
http://www.kempston.demon.co.uk/smb/
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~kempston/smb/

or

Pop3 by Eric Phelps:
http://www.ericphelps.com/pop3/index.htm
http://www.ericphelps.com/pop3/pop3_setup.exe

to connect directly with my POP3 mail server and delete a problem email that is blocking the download of others queued behind it.  It's easier than talking UNIX to the mail server, because it does it for you via a graphic interface :-)

Let us know the results of your further enquiries.