Performance: Cornell email blocks related to Spamcop
Last Updated:
2013-11-14 05:00:00
Event:
2013-11-04 05:00:00
Status:
Closed
Brief Description:
Email
User Impact:
N/A
Workaround:
There is no workaround for this issue
Current Status:
N/A
Services Affected:
Full Description:
Mail is being delivered at this time. The Spamcop defense used by some external email services is no longer blocking email sent from Cornell addresses.
CIT TDX ID:
Timeline of Changes
| Description | Current Status | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the past 24 hours, Cornell email has not been blocked by external email services that use Spamcop. The issue is considered resolved. | In the past 24 hours, Cornell email has not been blocked by external email services that use Spamcop. The issue is considered resolved. | 2013-11-14 | 05:00:00 |
| The Spamcop blocks against Cornell have been lifted. We are monitoring for the next 24 hours as normal mail flows resume to see if the situation changes.\n\n\nPREVIOUS DESCRIPTION:\nA very small amount of email from Cornell to non-Cornell addresses is being rejected by those services' Spamcop defense. If this happens to you, you'll receive a delivery error email that includes "bl.spamcop.net" in the text. You can try sending again. | The Spamcop blocks against Cornell have been lifted. We are monitoring for the next 24 hours as normal mail flows resume to see if the situation changes.\n\n\nPREVIOUS DESCRIPTION:\nA very small amount of email from Cornell to non-Cornell addresses is being rejected by those services' Spamcop defense. If this happens to you, you'll receive a delivery error email that includes "bl.spamcop.net" in the text. You can try sending again. | 2013-11-13 | 05:00:00 |
| A very small portion of email sent from Cornell is still being blocked by Spamcop. CIT is continuing to monitor and request that the blocks be removed.\n\nIn addition, CIT has made some changes. Over the weekend, we made a system adjustment that enables us to prevent apparently compromised NetIDs from sending email while the IT Security Office investigates. Last Monday, CIT implemented a specific, short-term IP address range block to deflect the source of most of the spam coming in at that time. \n\n\n\nORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:\nEmail sent from Cornell to addresses outside Cornell may be blocked if the receiving email system is using Spamcop anti-spam protection. When this does occur, users can attempt to send again.\n\nOne way of confirming that a message has been blocked by Spamcop is to scroll down in the returned message to a section headed "Diagnostic information for administrators." If a few lines down, the phrase "Client host ... blocked using bl.spamcop.net," appears, the message was blocked by Spamcop.\n | A very small portion of email sent from Cornell is still being blocked by Spamcop. CIT is continuing to monitor and request that the blocks be removed.\n\nIn addition, CIT has made some changes. Over the weekend, we made a system adjustment that enables us to prevent apparently compromised NetIDs from sending email while the IT Security Office investigates. Last Monday, CIT implemented a specific, short-term IP address range block to deflect the source of most of the spam coming in at that time. \n\n\n\nORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:\nEmail sent from Cornell to addresses outside Cornell may be blocked if the receiving email system is using Spamcop anti-spam protection. When this does occur, users can attempt to send again.\n\nOne way of confirming that a message has been blocked by Spamcop is to scroll down in the returned message to a section headed "Diagnostic information for administrators." If a few lines down, the phrase "Client host ... blocked using bl.spamcop.net," appears, the message was blocked by Spamcop.\n | 2013-11-11 | 05:00:00 |
| The Service Desk is reporting an increase in reports of email blocked due to Spamcop. The cause and extent is being investigated. | The Service Desk is reporting an increase in reports of email blocked due to Spamcop. The cause and extent is being investigated. | 2013-11-08 | 05:00:00 |
| The Spamcop block on email from one of the two affected Cornell servers was removed shortly after midnight. Since the request to Spamcop to unblock the remaining blocked server was submitted at the same time, it should be in the queue and hopefully be resolved soon. Cornell email staff are monitoring the situation. | The Spamcop block on email from one of the two affected Cornell servers was removed shortly after midnight. Since the request to Spamcop to unblock the remaining blocked server was submitted at the same time, it should be in the queue and hopefully be resolved soon. Cornell email staff are monitoring the situation. | 2013-11-06 | 05:00:00 |
| Due to factors that are likely related to how Spamcop determines to block (very low threshold of complaints required; activity based on complaints as they arrive, rather than examining the age of the email that triggered the complaint), the previously unblocked server has been blocked again. \n\nWork by Cornell staff to request unblocking of both servers is ongoing. Since the volume of mail affected is less than one percent of outgoing mail regardless of whether one or two servers are affected and the Spamcop blocks have been fluctuating, future updates will focus on the overall issue, rather than individual servers. | Due to factors that are likely related to how Spamcop determines to block (very low threshold of complaints required; activity based on complaints as they arrive, rather than examining the age of the email that triggered the complaint), the previously unblocked server has been blocked again. \n\nWork by Cornell staff to request unblocking of both servers is ongoing. Since the volume of mail affected is less than one percent of outgoing mail regardless of whether one or two servers are affected and the Spamcop blocks have been fluctuating, future updates will focus on the overall issue, rather than individual servers. | 2013-11-06 | 05:00:00 |
| After being resolved by midnight on November 4, the issue resurfaced around noon on November 5. Staff are working on a fix. | After being resolved by midnight on November 4, the issue resurfaced around noon on November 5. Staff are working on a fix. | 2013-11-05 | 05:00:00 |