SMTP: Message Refused

Posted By: SlackmasterK | Jul 16th @ 9:40 PM
page 1 of 1
Comments: 21 | Views: 1073
#Jul 16th @ 9:40 PM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines
Subtext: BattleBot is a Windows Service that maintains my blog's database, deals with incoming attacks, and sends me a daily report in an E-mail.

Two days ago, I noticed that BattleBot hadn't sent me my daily report. There was some troubleshooting (Click for details on that process) and at this point I don't know why it's failing to send this E-mail.  The log entry (with exception) reads as follows:

07/16/2008 10:30:04 |      0 | Mail Error: System.Net.Mail.SmtpException: Transaction failed. The server response was: Message refused.
   at System.Net.Mail.DataStopCommand.CheckResponse(SmtpStatusCode statusCode, String serverResponse)
   at System.Net.Mail.DataStopCommand.Send(SmtpConnection conn)
   at System.Net.Mail.SmtpConnection.OnClose(Object sender, EventArgs args)
   at System.Net.ClosableStream.Close()
   at System.Net.Mail.MailWriter.Close()
   at System.Net.Mail.SmtpClient.Send(MailMessage message)
   at MV4.misc.SendMail(String to, String subject, String body, LogAdapter la)

The interesting part is that BattleBot also sends out E-mails to interested parties when a new Entry is posted.  Those E-mails are going through fine; only the Daily Reports are being refused by GoDaddy.  The working messages are sent with the same from and to addresses (That is, the Daily Report goes to one of the aforementioned "interested parties), the message is sent from the same Service on the same server on the same IP.  The domains of the from and to fields even resolve to the same IP as the SMTP client (BattleBot).

GoDaddy blamed Comcast.  Comcast blamed Godaddy.  I verified this occurs on my DSL as well, so I called GoDaddy on their bull.  They responded with "We can't support that"; despite the fact that their server is refusing delivery.  Since I can't exactly fly out there and troubleshoot secureserver.net's SMTP servers, can someone here help me out? Why is this happening?
#Jul 16th @ 10:45 PM
TommyCarlier
TommyCarlier
Trust me, I'm from the Internets
How big is this daily report? Could it be that it's refused because of size limitations?
#Jul 16th @ 11:19 PM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines
Recent reports have been around 18KB, text only.  During my test phase, I had been enclosing error logs as well; they went through while well over 200KB.  My inbox is empty and has 20MB storage.  I also know I can take at least a 10MB attachment.
#Jul 17th @ 6:55 AM
figuerres
figuerres
???

so where does the server live at ? 

is it a 550 error?

I do not want you to get spamed by posting email info but I used to run smtp for an ISP.
I also used to run my own mail servers till I got tiered of it.

can you open a command window on the server you send the messages from or is it a shared host with no real access??

message refused / 550 errors generaly have to do with a problem in the message sender / source server address or if the message "looks like" it's a relay or can't be verified by reverse DNS lookup or last is if the sender is on a blacklist by IP block range.

for example if I did not want any email from say @MSN.COM I could reply with a 550 to all mail from them.
or if say I got a message saying it was from @MSN.COM but the IP address maps to say a server ran by some ISP in Japan.
if the IP and name do not match BING!  refuse the email it's forged!

just a few examples of what might trigger that.

#Jul 17th @ 9:10 AM
Matthew van Eerde
Matthew van Eerde
AKA Maurits
Could just be graylisting.  I'd suggest you run SMTP services on the server and have BattleBot drop off messages to the local SMTP server.  Then the local SMTP server could take care of the nonsense of retrying/generating undeliverable reports etc.

Of course, if you do this, make sure you're not setting up an open relay - either directly (via port 25) or indirectly via BattleBot.
#Jul 17th @ 9:11 AM
Matthew van Eerde
Matthew van Eerde
AKA Maurits
Actually it's probably not graylisting if it's a 550 error.
#Jul 17th @ 2:49 PM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines
IIRC, there was no error number with "message refused", but when I changed to their "relay server" I got 553's; I'll double check the logs when I get home.   When I tried to connect via a telnet on port 25 to the old "message refused" server, I got a different 553; not the same one the app got.

The original server (and that which I reverted to) is smtpout.secureserver.net. I'll check the new one when I get home.

The mail client/service is in my server rack in my upstairs computer lab at home. I have full access to it.

Reverse DNS may be the problem. I'm sending from an IP that reverse resolves to Comcast, despite both my domains resolving to that IP.

[Edit]: Got home, checked stuff.

The "message refused" error had no fault code. The above error was pasted directly.

This error occured when I switched to the other server -- relay-hosting.secureserver.net: 
Mail Rejected: System.Net.Mail.SmtpFailedRecipientException: Mailbox name not allowed. The server response was: sorry, relaying denied from your location [IP] (#5.7.1)

I got the same (above) 553 error when trying to telnet into relay-hosting on port 25.

When I tried to telnet into smtpout.secureserver.net on port 25, I got this:
553 Sorry, that domain isn't in my list of allowed rcpthosts."
#Jul 17th @ 5:34 PM
Matthew van Eerde
Matthew van Eerde
AKA Maurits
Sounds like you need a server that will relay for you.  There are two choices - find one provided by your ISP, or install your own.

If you install your own, make sure you lock it down so you don't relay for other people.  There are various tools that will do this for you, like the "open relay" test on dnsgoodies.com.
#Jul 17th @ 6:39 PM
figuerres
figuerres
???
what is the from and to setup like???

SMTP rules should let you send email to a valid address with a valid from line...

do you have an @comcast email address you can use?

... I am thinking you might be able to send to your domain with a from user@comcast
and just the public ip your connection has.

*OR*  if comcast is letting you run a server are you dynamic or static ? if you have static can you have them reverse map ?

*OR*  what about a web service running on your godaddy web account ?  use a webservice to send the data to a godaddyserver and then use that server to send the emails ?
#Jul 17th @ 7:00 PM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines
"What is the from and setup like" - I can infer that you mean the setup in the upstairs computer lab? What means this "what is the from"?  It's coming from webmaster@zindex255.com and going to admin@damnednice.com (two of my domains).

I'm sure I do have a comcast address, but I've never used it.  I suppose it could be looked into.  Heck, if they don't require authentication I could just Google their mailserver and fake a mail from line.

My IP address is dynamic, but it hasn't changed in two years except when the modem or router got replaced.  I could buy a static IP...  AFAIK, they don't allow servers, but with the gigs upon gigs of monthly upload, they would have said something by now if they cared.

I stopped my GoDaddy Hosting services as soon as my webserver became stable and I learned my way around DNS changes... Though I suppose I could do that. 

Interestingly enough, my Daily Report came in today.  I changed the subject line from "Daily Report" to a dynamic "Daily Report for MM/dd/yyyy".  If tonight's report comes through, I can probably assume they flagged it as spam (Despite going to and from the same address and only to one address).  We'll see.
#Jul 17th @ 7:02 PM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines

I've been considering it for some time.  My webserver hasn't needed a reboot (Windows Updates and hardware installs excluded), ever.  Of course, then I need a static IP for the reverse-lookup DNS rules... Though it would be pretty awesome to sync Outlook over a Gigabit connection ten feet away.  How much does Exchange cost? Smiley

#Jul 17th @ 7:30 PM
figuerres
figuerres
???
if you go the server-at-home route then look at SBS  as it gives you a bunch of stuff.

like remote desktop via http from outside to your pc's inside.

also it includes exchnage and remote-web-workplace

#Jul 17th @ 9:36 PM
Matthew van Eerde
Matthew van Eerde
AKA Maurits
You don't need Exchange to run an SMTP server... one comes with IIS.

If you're on a dynamic IP you can probably just use your ISP's outgoing SMTP server; this should be listed in the documentation that came with your account, or you could call your ISP.

Or you could do both - run SMTP services locally but configure it to route all mail through your ISP's outgoing mail server.

(Times may have changed since I did this.)
#Jul 17th @ 9:56 PM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines
Yeah, I considered that... Then I realized I have disparate info (mail, calendars, tasks, etc) on the Outlook instances on my laptop and desktop... Is there a solution similar to Exchange that's designed for such a small userbase?
#Jul 17th @ 11:53 PM
jh71283
jh71283
Throw new System.Beverage. OutOfCoffeeException​()
Gmail.
#Jul 18th @ 6:09 AM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines
... Is there one that doesn't feel like it starts with a lowercase i? 
#Jul 18th @ 7:09 AM
figuerres
figuerres
???
I have heard of folks using a tool to copy the outlook pst file ... but I think that's a hack that has it's own problems.

I agree it would be cool.... Hey  if we had the mesh SDK  what about a "Mesh-Outlook" app?   part outlook part mini-exchange by use of the network cloud ??

I wonder if some part of the exchnage protocol  could be adapted -- Apple has done something like this for the iPhone.....

Seems like an idea that could be done ....  wish we had the code for exchnage to pick apart in some way....

afterall what they do is hold the master on a server and each client gets a local cache of the data.

the closest today I can see is SBS ... it is made more for 4-5 up to 20 users (25 max i think)
but it does run on one box and works w/o hardly any tinkering to get it up and running.
#Jul 18th @ 8:00 AM
AndyC
AndyC
If your mails are going from webmaster@zindex255.com and going to admin@damnednice.com via @comcast.com then you are relaying and that is usually not allowed because it rapidly turns a mail server into a spam source. Sometimes you'll be able to do it if SMTP is being authenticated, but even then it may get filtered as spam at the recieving end if the MX records don't match up.
#Jul 18th @ 8:59 AM
Matthew van Eerde
Matthew van Eerde
AKA Maurits
> If your mails are going from webmaster@zindex255.com and going to admin@damnednice.com via @comcast.com then you are relaying

... not necessarily.  The "is this mail an open relay" question breaks down to:

1) Is the destination local? This question typically looks only at the RCPT TO domain.
2) Is the source local? More on this in a minute.

If the answer to both questions is "no", then this is open relay and should be denied except in very special circumstances.

There are multiple ways a source can be local though.  The IP can be from a trusted range, or the session could be authenticated via SMTP-AUTH.  The MAIL FROM address is typically NOT used to determine open-relay-ness because it is just too easy to spoof.

> it may get filtered as spam at the recieving end if the MX records don't match up.

... meh.  It is actually quite common for organizations to use different IP addresses to send mail than they do to receive mail, so sending from an IP that is different from your MX is fine.  There is the Sender ID/SPF concern, but zindex255.com doesn't have an SPF record.
#Jul 18th @ 1:47 PM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines

Granted, the problem is infuriating; though the part that confuses me is why it only occurs intermittently and why it started this week, when I've been doing this for months.

#Jul 18th @ 2:23 PM
figuerres
figuerres
???
it might be that they have a farm of servers and not all have the same configuration.