SMTP Server Emails recognized as SPAM

Discussion in 'Site & Server Administration' started by pkallberg21, Aug 2, 2007.

  1. #1
    Hey guys,
    I have set up a SMTP server for my domains in Windows Server 2003, and when the server sends emails to for example gmail, they are constantly recognized as spam. Is there any way of configuring the server to send emails in a special way so that they are not recognized as spam?

    Note: I am not a spammer, I merely would like my members to get emails in their inbox rather than their spam.
     
    pkallberg21, Aug 2, 2007 IP
  2. Kommunicate

    Kommunicate Peon

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    #2
    A little more information would help. Are your emails in HTML or text format? Do your emails have any keywords in them that would flag them as SPAM? Is your Windows 2003 server hosted with a company that's on a RBL list?

    There are a few websites out there that will allow you to enter your domain name and it will see if your site is listed with the various RBL lists out there.

    Also what mail server are you using to send your mail? Make sure that your mail server is using valid SMTP messages. One wrong response to an EHLO command could possibly get all of your messages from your server sent to the recipients SPAM folder.
     
    Kommunicate, Aug 2, 2007 IP
  3. pkallberg21

    pkallberg21 Peon

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    #3
    I am using the default SMTP Virtual Server built into Windows Server 2003, and I suppose it sends emails in text format. They shouldn't contain any keywords that flag them as SPAM, as they are merely emails to my members to activate their vBulletin account on my website. I checked the IP of my server on several RBL lists, and it is not on there.

    Are there any configurations I can make to make the emails not seem like spam?

    Thanks for you're help.
     
    pkallberg21, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  4. inworx

    inworx Peon

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    #4
    Remove th serevr IPs from any blacklists
     
    inworx, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  5. pkallberg21

    pkallberg21 Peon

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    #5
    Could you please be more precise? What blacklists?
     
    pkallberg21, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  6. Kommunicate

    Kommunicate Peon

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    #6
    Well if your members are getting your emails, then it's not an SMTP or RBL problem. I'd have to say it's the content in the emails that is causing them to be flagged as SPAM.

    Make sure your vBulletin emails have a sender and subject line. Most SPAM filters will flag emails if those items are missing.
     
    Kommunicate, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  7. pkallberg21

    pkallberg21 Peon

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    #7
    The emails have a sender and subject line. It can't possibly be content, as the content is a regular account activation procedure.
     
    pkallberg21, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  8. Kommunicate

    Kommunicate Peon

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    #8
    If you want, i can try to register at your forum to see if my email gets flagged as SPAM. Or you could post the full contents of the registration email that vBulletin sends.
     
    Kommunicate, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  9. pkallberg21

    pkallberg21 Peon

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    #9
    Check you're PMs ;) Thanks for the help again.

    I sent a test registration email to my hotmail email, and got the same problem. The email got stuck in the junk folder.
     
    pkallberg21, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  10. Kommunicate

    Kommunicate Peon

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    #10
    I registered at your forum and my registration email was in my SPAM folder. :) I think it's probably a few things in your registration email template that are causing the SPAM filters to reject your emails.

    First get rid of all the asterisks (*) on this line:

    **** Does The Above URL Not Work? ****​

    Next get rid of all the dashes at the bottom above this line:

    --------------------
    To stop receiving this email, please visit this url:

    Try that and see if it helps.
     
    Kommunicate, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  11. pkallberg21

    pkallberg21 Peon

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    #11
    Still not working. Anything else I could try?

     
    pkallberg21, Aug 3, 2007 IP
  12. Kommunicate

    Kommunicate Peon

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    #12
    I would keep trying to re-work your registration email. Certain words or word combinations will set off SPAM filters from MSN, Yahoo, and Google.
     
    Kommunicate, Aug 3, 2007 IP