Frequently Asked Questions

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Why is outbound spam so hard for web hosts to stop?

For two reasons. The first is because web hosts don’t control what email their clients send out. The second reason, and the one that’s more challenging, is that web hosting customers themselves don’t always control what email they send out. It’s estimated that 88% of all spam is sent from botnets (networks of compromised computers). Well-meaning web hosting customers who have no intention of sending out spam, may in fact be unknowingly sending out spam.

What are the risks of having my email server(s) send out spam?

Should your email servers, knowingly or unknowingly, send out spam, your IP address(s)  and your domain(s) could both be placed on blacklists. And if ISPs see you as a repeat offender, ALL of the email coming from your email server(s) could be blocked from reaching their destination. A single spammy web hosting customer can shut down your email server(s) for all your customers, who may then decide to switch hosting providers.

What are the two most important things in stopping outbound spam?

You might think that stopping outbound spam is a one step process: stop outbound spam from getting out onto the web where it can be classified as spam. But, that’s only the first step. There’s one more step which is just as important and that’s finding the source of the spam and turning it off. Make sure whatever solution you choose to stop outbound spam comes with spam alerting.

What should a web host look for in an outbound email filtering service?

Of course an outbound email filtering service should block outbound spam. Additionally, the solution should include the following:

• Spam alerting so you can shut down the spam at the origin
• A cloud-based service so spam can be blocked before it hits the web
• High deliverability rates with clean IPs to keep your customers happy
• Rate limiting: in case your account is compromised by a virus
• Scalable: it should be able to handle 10 thousand or 10 million emails
• Fast: it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to be up and running
• Easy: it shouldn’t require any hardware, software or ongoing maintenance
• Affordable: it shouldn’t require lengthy contracts or per-server fees
• Redundant infrastructure so your email is always being relayed
• Excellent customer service: 24/7/365 live support

What’s the difference between smtp relay and outbound email filtering?

SMTP relay is a service that routes email through a trusted 3rd party to deliver bulk email. It’s mostly used for sending large batches of emails (e.g., newsletters). In general, SMTP relay services will NOT accept spam coming from your email server(s). They will behave just like ISPs and cut off your outbound email altogether. In essence, they’ll blacklist you. Outbound email filtering by contrast actually decisions your spam while allowing legitimate email to still flow without the spam getting out on the web. And since outbound email filtering doesn’t cut you off or blacklist you, sending out spam, even unknowingly, won’t get you shut down.

What do you scan for on outbound email?

Outbound email filtering

Is there a way to get outbound email filtering that’s fast, easy and affordable?

Happily yes. OutboundEmailFilter.com provides enterprise-class outbound spam filtering at small business prices. There are no sales calls, no contracts, and you’re up and running in 10 minutes. Click here to get started today.