Yahoo spam problem
I need some practical advice after migrating to a VPS server with my own mailserver for the first time.
For years I got around Yahoo mislabeling legit e-mail as SPAM by relying on my ISP's SMTP server for mail client purposes. My new mailserver passes all of the usual tests on the configuration. My managed host (Knownhost) says everything looks good and I'm not blacklisted anywhere. All of this should sound familiar because it's a common problem -- I think related to the lack of DomainKeys authentication and the young age of my new mailserver(?)
Now for the problem. My site has a Zencart online store and the order confirmation and shipping notification e-mails are sent via the server. The fact that I can't (yet) get through to Yahoo-managed e-mail accounts without being mislabeled as spam likely means the Zencart e-mails will suffer the same fate. This is a sticky situation because the credit card companies require a receipt for each transaction. Should a customer not receive the e-mailed receipt because it was lost in spam, they could report me, even though it's not my fault. I don't want to know what the penalties might be -- Visa and Mastercard are known to rule with an iron fist.
This affects all of my customers with yahoo.com, att.net, bellsouth.net, pacbell.net, and sbcglobal.net e-mail addresses because they're all managed by Yahoo.
Any ideas what to do?
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[quote="Infopro, post: 1712222">Try the docs: /http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Troubleshoot_-_Email_Problems Email Authentication - cPanel Documentation
That's got nothing to do with my question. I already know how to set up Zen Cart. My concern, without being able to test various accounts managed by Yahoo, is whether the legit messages sent by the server, even in SMTP mode, reach their inboxes or their spam folders.0 -
[QUOTE]That's got nothing to do with my question. I already know how to set up Zen Cart.
Of course you do. Is it setup to use SMTP so that mail is coming from the user and not the server though? [QUOTE]Now for the problem. My site has a Zencart online store and the order confirmation and shipping notification e-mails are sent via the server.
This reads like the answer to my question is, no. So, my suggestion is valid./http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Troubleshoot_-_Email_Problems#Using_external_SMTP_mail_servers
[QUOTE]Some people prefer to use resources such as gmail or yahoo mail etc for sending their business emails. There are differing schools of thought about the merits of doing so. If you deem that this is the best practice for your business, the following information may be of help to you. NOTE: If you are self-hosting on a local PC server for development purposes, remember that your ISP (internet provider) usually blocks outgoing traffic on port 25, which is commonly used for email. Anything on port 25 destined for any server other than the ISP's own email server is generally blocked in order to control spam. You will need to choose another port (usually 587 or sometimes 465) and use SMTPAUTH and specify the correct SMTP server credentials.0 -
Yes, I have Zen Cart configured to use SMTP with SMTPAUTH. Since messages from ordinary mail clients (i.e. Thunderbird) to Yahoo managed e-mail accounts land in the spam box, won't the same thing be happening to all Zen Cart order confirmation and shipping notification e-mails? I have a very limited ability to test Yahoo-managed e-mail accounts to see how Zen cart messages are routed. My limited testing has shown these messages do indeed land in the spam folder. Depending who you believe, Yahoo is either doing this because (1) my mailserver is brand new and needs time to build trust, or (2) cPanel/WHM doesn't support DomainKeys. Whatever the cause, the original dilemma remains. If customers start complaining to VISA and Mastercard that I'm not supplying a receipt as lawfully required, this is not going to end well. One workaround suggested to me is configuring Zen Cart to use my ISP's SMTP server, but I'm not comfortable storing my ISP account credentials in a Zen Cart database for this purpose. Is there anything in the e-mail configuration within WHM that could be changed such that Yahoo Mail gets along with my new mailserver? 0 -
[QUOTE]Depending who you believe,
I believe cPanel works fine. [QUOTE] Yahoo is either doing this because (1) my mailserver is brand new and needs time to build trust,
If you're on a brand new server with an old tainted by the previous owner IP address who may have been sending spam, you might find it listed as such and would need to contact them to get it removed from where ever its listed. Yahoo, where ever. [QUOTE]or (2) cPanel/WHM doesn't support DomainKeys.
This link may be of some use. Click the email listed, hit send, wait for result in your inbox. [url=http://www.port25.com/support/authentication-center/email-verification/]EMAIL VERIFICATION [QUOTE]One workaround suggested to me is configuring Zen Cart to use my ISP's SMTP server,
I think I did, just above. The docs do at the link I provided. [quote]but I'm not comfortable storing my ISP account credentials in a Zen Cart database for this purpose.
Why not?0 -
[quote="Infopro, post: 1714182"> If you're on a brand new server with an old tainted by the previous owner IP address who may have been sending spam, you might find it listed as such and would need to contact them to get it removed from where ever its listed. Yahoo, where ever.
There's no evidence of this. The IP is not blacklisted anywhere I've checked. [quote="Infopro, post: 1714182"> This link may be of some use. Click the email listed, hit send, wait for result in your inbox. [url=http://www.port25.com/support/authentication-center/email-verification/]EMAIL VERIFICATION
Yeah, that's a good tool. I used it a bit yesterday. SPF check: pass DomainKeys check: neutral DKIM check: pass Sender-ID check: pass SpamAssassin check: ham [quote="Infopro, post: 1714182"> Why not?
I have extra services (i.e. security-related) associated with the ISP account that I don't want bad guys getting access to. As configured at the moment, I don't believe that's possible, but should the ISP make changes on their end, anything is possible. It's a risk I don't want to take.0
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