BoxTrapper - Ignore, White, Black list order

jxmot

• August 29, 2017 17:25

Greetings, There seems to be an issue with the order in which the ignore, white, and black lists are used. For example, I want this to pass through to me - someone@alerts.specificdomain.com And in my white list - from .+\@.+\.specificdomain\.com The intent is to pass everything that matches through to me. However the ignore list gets in the way because apparently it's evaluated first. IMHO that is wrong. Here's the ignore list entry that's catching it - from .+\@.+\..+\. The intent there is to catch anything (except for what's white listed). I believe that will match things like - anyone.else@abc.anyotherdomain.* So if the list order was - white ignore black Then I would have received that email. The alternative is that if something is caught in the ignore list that then subsequently the white list would be checked. If there is a way I can correct this please let me know. I've been frustrated by this issue for quite some time. Thanks in advance!

• 

  Marc Barker

  • December 23, 2024 21:52
  • Edited

  ***********************************************************

                             Workaround

  For BoxTrapper ignores whitelisted senders issue.

  **********************************************************

  (This is best one I have tried so far I think which most people can easily implement while causing minimum disruption)

  This workaround 1. nullifies the Ignore-list, so the White-list can establish its priority over Black-list as one expects it does.  and 2. Re-purposes the Black-list to instead become a "black hole list" and so do the Ignore-list's job. The Ignore-list itself may be left blank.

  After it's applied, instead of the sender receiving a "...does not accept mail..."  fail response, it's instead discarded into a 'blackhole', thus ignoring the sender. (Black-list responses nowadays provoke domain-fouling backscatter anyway - so blackholing them instead is certainly a good thing).

  Importantly there's no changes to BoxTrapper code, the priority remains as standard: Ignorelist [nullified] -- Whitelist -- Blacklist .  

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  Here's how:

  • Step 1: Pick a suitable email address to use as a black hole. (Or use "/dev/null"  if this works for you)

  • Step 2: Find your BoxTrapper's Black-list mail template:  By navigating to BoxTrapper, click 'manage'  -  'Edit Confirmation Messages'  and click the Blacklist button.

  • Step 3: Edit the Black-list mail template:   In line 1, overwrite and replace the text:   %email%   with your black hole email address, (without % symbols). So for example line 1 reads instead: To:  blackhole@mydomain.com .  On line 2 , append on the end of line the text:    To: %email%     (to fool the dialog syntax checking, allowing you save changes).

  • Step 4: Click Save mail template (Success: Your changes have been saved.)

  • Step 5: Go back and click  Edit White/Black/Ignore Lists .    then cut and paste everything out of Edit Ignore List  , and paste it into the  Edit Black List  .  Save your changes.

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  From now on:

  1. Whitelisted sender is never ignored. (focus of workaround)

  2  Non-whitelisted sender triggers a Black-list rule, email goes into black hole (psuedo ignored, as normal)

  3. Non-whitelisted sender (not triggering any Black-list rule) gets the usual challenge response. (as normal)

  Boxtrapper Log reports 'blacklist events' - but now 'blacklist' means they're going into Black Hole (ignored).

  Note. If you ever wish BoxTrapper to ignore whitelisted senders, then add these rules to Ignore-list since it has priority over everything else.

   

  1
• 

  Marc Barker

  • December 23, 2024 21:48
  • Edited

  Additional. Related to above workaround, these days for most users the majority of Challenges are non-deliverable triggered by spam anyway.

  To reduce this non-deliverable backscatter a BoxTrapper user can also nullify the other three Mail Templates associated with the Whitelisting process too. This is also particularly effective to stop victims of a spoofed email address receiving unsolicited BoxTrapper Challenges received in their name, often damaging the BoxTrapper user's domain reputation. 

  The configuration done the exact same way as with Blacklist mail template above, by replacing  To: %email%  for your choice of destination.

  If this done of course the BoxTrapper user needs to review the Queue, since from now challenges are suppressed.

  Instead of a black hole  can instead provide a specific mailbox address  the BoxTrapper user has access to, such as quarantine@mydomain.com . Thereafter all Challenges come to one same mailbox, giving the BoxTrapper user an additional way to manage the Queue for authentication.

   

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  Roybar

  • January 03, 2025 19:42

  At long last a forum contain some sense, this is EXACTLY explained what my trouble always had with white list. Exactly said in one..... "BoxTrapper ignores whitelisted senders".  I never suspected ignore list, but now thibk about it so obvious.  I thought white list took over but it the other way round. So the answer is just divert the black list reply to a black hole?  Blanked my ignore list works has instantly stopped the ignoring!!    all this time.  You sir are genius.    (repost cos wont let me edit spell errors) 

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