XF 2.0 Lots of trouble with email system, and not just with 2.0

[jr777]

This has been an ongoing problem for quite some time, not just with 2.0.

I've been having pretty much all my emails go into spam lately, even emails sent to my own account. Also lots of emails getting kicked back as undeliverable. I use Gmail business for my email address.

This last one has me rattled though. What does Google mean by "similar messages?" I can guarantee that my email address has not been used to steel anyone's personal information, so I have to think it's a problem with the way the email system on my site is set up.

 

[Paul B]

https://xenforo.com/community/resources/dealing-with-spam-filters.366/

 

[Chris D]

As a side note, I wouldn't be too concerned with the warning banner. Indeed it is a concerning message, so the advice Brogan links to above will hopefully help avoid it, but it isn't a specific message targeted at you. It will just be some false positive or over-zealous algorithm for detecting phishing messages.

 

[jr777]

https://xenforo.com/community/resources/dealing-with-spam-filters.366/

As a side note, I wouldn't be too concerned with the warning banner. Indeed it is a concerning message, so the advice Brogan links to above will hopefully help avoid it, but it isn't a specific message targeted at you. It will just be some false positive or over-zealous algorithm for detecting phishing messages.

Okay, I am seriously confused. This is the info from my headers if you guys could look at it and see if it raises any alarms:

Received: from jk-acf.556files.net ([2600:3c00::f03c:91ff:fe7b:9fd4])

The IP is my server in New Jersey, and I'm assuming that jk-acf.556files.net is the name of my server or something?

 

[jr777]

On the AOL postmaster check, I checked my public IP, which is 66.228.55.227, and it says it's "undisclosed." Is that bad??? My host is Linode.

 

[Chris D]

I guess, but we're not really in a position to know that. Your host may be able to shed some light and perhaps advice specifically on what configuration is required to essentially "authenticate" your mail server as a legitimate source.

Just to be clear about XenForo's involvement in mail, we literally just pass the mail off to your mail server. There's practically no control on our side as to what happens to it after that point. Everything beyond XF passing the mail off is down to your server/host/ISP/Gmail or whatever path it takes along the way.

 

[Sim]

Number one cause of this message is having links in the email which are for a different domain to that you sent you email from.

How are you sending your emails?

What is the "From:" address of your email and how what domain do the links in the email use?

 

[jr777]

Number one cause of this message is having links in the email which are for a different domain to that you sent you email from.

How are you sending your emails?

What is the "From:" address of your email and how what domain do the links in the email use?

I'm not sure what you mean. My site is 556files.net if you could register and tell me if the registration email looks kosher to you. I will delete your account afterwords.

 

[Kirby]

What Sim meant is that if the links in the email are for 556files.net, the from address should be @556files.net and (ideally) the email should be sent from a mailserver within 556files.net

 

[jr777]

What Sim meant is that if the links in the email are for 556files.net, the from address should be @556files.net and (ideally) the email should be sent from a mailserver within 556files.net

My email is gmail business. My host, Linode, doesn't have email hosting. My site is 556files.net, and my email is admin@556files.net.

So is that a really bad thing not to have an email server with my host? There's a way to do it, but they recommend against running your own email server.

 

[Sim]

I can't see anything obviously wrong with the welcome email - links all match sending domain. Thunderbird doesn't complain about the email at all (but its checks are a lot more simplistic than something like Gmail would be).

I also didn't see anything blacklist related for your domain - although I guess it could be related to something relating to the past usage of the domain (rather than something you're doing now) ?

You could try setting up SPF for your domain to help with your sending authority - https://support.google.com/a/answer/178723?hl=en

Otherwise, I don't have any other suggestions.

I'd be inclined to just ignore it for now - revisit it if your users are reporting issues.

 

[jr777]

I can't see anything obviously wrong with the welcome email - links all match sending domain. Thunderbird doesn't complain about the email at all (but its checks are a lot more simplistic than something like Gmail would be).

I also didn't see anything blacklist related for your domain - although I guess it could be related to something relating to the past usage of the domain (rather than something you're doing now) ?

You could try setting up SPF for your domain to help with your sending authority - https://support.google.com/a/answer/178723?hl=en

Otherwise, I don't have any other suggestions.

I'd be inclined to just ignore it for now - revisit it if your users are reporting issues.

I'll try that and get back to you. That's encouraging that it didn't go to your spam filter.

 

[jr777]

I can't see anything obviously wrong with the welcome email - links all match sending domain. Thunderbird doesn't complain about the email at all (but its checks are a lot more simplistic than something like Gmail would be).

I also didn't see anything blacklist related for your domain - although I guess it could be related to something relating to the past usage of the domain (rather than something you're doing now) ?

You could try setting up SPF for your domain to help with your sending authority - https://support.google.com/a/answer/178723?hl=en

Otherwise, I don't have any other suggestions.

I'd be inclined to just ignore it for now - revisit it if your users are reporting issues.

Okay, did I do this correctly? The attachment is a screenshot of my DNS settings.

 

[Liam W]

The name should be the domain you're sending them from - 556files.net in this case.

You may have to leave the name field blank, or enter an @ symbol to make it apply to the root domain - it depends on your DNS provider.

Liam

 

[jr777]

The name should be the domain you're sending them from - 556files.net in this case.

You may have to leave the name field blank, or enter an @ symbol to make it apply to the root domain - it depends on your DNS provider.

Liam

Cool, thank you. My host wouldn't let me use @ but it would let me leave it blank. If I type in 556files.net, then it just shows up as if I had left it blank. Or in other words, intentionally leaving it blank and typing in 556files.net both result in the field being blank.

 

[Liam W]

I don't think that's worked, does it let you enter your domain (556files.net)?

Liam

 

[jr777]

I don't think that's worked, does it let you enter your domain (556files.net)?

Liam

Negative. It says invalid if I do that and won't take it.

So blank indicates the root? Will that work since my email is coming from Google's server?

 

[Liam W]

Negative. It says invalid if I do that and won't take it.

So blank indicates the root? Will that work since my email is coming from Google's server?

Yeah, spf basically tells email providers what servers are allowed to send emails for a specific domain, so you set the domain (name) to the domain you're creating the record for.

It could just be taking a bit of time to refresh through the dns caches - eventually, you should see it detecting the record here: https://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx if you enter your domain.

Liam

 

[jr777]

Yeah, spf basically tells email providers what servers are allowed to send emails for a specific domain, so you set the domain (name) to the domain you're creating the record for.

It could just be taking a bit of time to refresh through the dns caches - eventually, you should see it detecting the record here: https://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx if you enter your domain.

Liam

It said to allow 48 hours for propagation. Maybe it just needs a few minutes.

 

[Sim]

Your SPF record is correct. I use Linode as well.

Linode refresh DNS every 15 minutes, and then depending on your TTL, it can take up to 48 hours to propagate (although usually a lot less).

Give it some time before you test it.

That being said - mxtoolbox is already reporting it as operational - https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx?action=spf:556files.net&run=toolpage# (they query the authoritative DNS directly).

It can still take time for other DNS servers (eg gmail's) to pick up the new record.