No forum notifications via email

[cdsJerry]

I never get notified that there's been a reply to a forum topic I've subscribed to. I've double checked to make sure that I'm actually subscribed. And I've checked my profile to make sure it's set to send me an email notification immediately. and I've checked my email address. I've even checked on my server email logs to make sure the mail isn't getting caught in spam filters or something. The email server log shows no email attempts from proxmox.com at all.

Is email working for anyone or is it just not working for me?

I'm afraid I'll mess a reply and 1) I won't know what that person said and will continue to wander around lost as a result 2) that person will think I'm ignoring them or rude.

 

[tom]

I just checked the email logs, your mail server does not answer, connection time out.

 

[bread-baker]

which country do the email originate from?

I had a similar issue which was caused by settings in pfsenses' country block add on.

 

[udo]

which country do the email originate from?

I had a similar issue which was caused by settings in pfsenses' country block add on.

Hi,
take a look at one forum-mail:

Received: from forum.proxmox.com (forum.proxmox.com [188.165.145.221])

whois shows france:

whois 188.165.145.221
% This is the RIPE Database query service.
% The objects are in RPSL format.
%
% The RIPE Database is subject to Terms and Conditions.
% See http://www.ripe.net/db/support/db-terms-conditions.pdf

% Note: this output has been filtered.
%       To receive output for a database update, use the "-B" flag.

% Information related to '188.165.145.208 - 188.165.145.223'

inetnum:        188.165.145.208 - 188.165.145.223
netname:        OVH-Proxmox
descr:          Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH
country:        FR
admin-c:        OTC2-RIPE
tech-c:         OTC2-RIPE
status:         ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by:         OVH-MNT
source:         RIPE # Filtered

role:           OVH Technical Contact
address:        OVH SAS
address:        2 rue Kellermann
address:        59100 Roubaix
address:        France
admin-c:        OK217-RIPE
tech-c:         GM84-RIPE
nic-hdl:        OTC2-RIPE
abuse-mailbox:  abuse@ovh.net
mnt-by:         OVH-MNT
source:         RIPE # Filtered

% Information related to '188.165.0.0/16AS16276'

route:          188.165.0.0/16
descr:          OVH ISP
descr:          Paris, France
origin:         AS16276
mnt-by:         OVH-MNT
source:         RIPE # Filtered

Udo

 

[cdsJerry]

Ah! Yes, that makes perfect sense. If the emails are coming from France then yes, they'd be blocked by pfsense. I'll try unblocking France and see if that does the trick. I didn't realize they were coming from there. Sorry.

 

[cdsJerry]

Having unblocked France I am now getting notifications from Proxmox.com That was it. Good call.

 

[tom]

looks like you still block emails from Austria.

 

[cdsJerry]

How many countries does the forum use to send emails? I would expect a single mail server for the forums. Blocking countries where we don't do business greatly reduces our spam and keeps our servers from many attacks.

 

[tom]

Proxmox servers are currently in France and Austria. This Forum is currently running in France.

 

[dietmar]

Blocking countries where we don't do business greatly reduces our spam and keeps our servers from many attacks.

But you will loose all mails sent from other countries - IMHO a very bad strategy for spam prevention.

 

[udo]

How many countries does the forum use to send emails? I would expect a single mail server for the forums. Blocking countries where we don't do business greatly reduces our spam and keeps our servers from many attacks.

Hi,
if you use postfix with the new postscreen-features you can reduce spam without block any country (blocking countries are IMHO an bad idea)!
I have roll out an new mailserver (also with clamav and spamassassin) and the amount of spam was reduced noticeable compared with the mailserver before.

Udo

 

[cdsJerry]

It's not just spam prevention however the amount of smtp attacks and the amount of spam take a drastic cut when you block out all those places. I mean really, I don't need another African email telling me my dead relative left me millions and I only need to pay his attorney's fees and it's all mine.

Since my company doesn't do business outside the US we have no need to keep our site open to the world and give that many more hackers access. There's really nothing to gain by making the site more vulnerable. There are some countries where we have need of access (now France and Austria?) but for the most part stopping 500 countries from attacking us is a good thing. Firewalls are a good thing and blocking by country only makes sense for a company like ours.