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  1. #1

    Does hotmail initially mark emails from new IPs as spam?

    I finally received a new IP today to replace the blacklisted IP, so I am testing it right now.

    We have a classifieds site (we haven't gone live yet), so we test it by creating an ad. Once an ad is created, a confirmation email is sent via [no-reply@mydomain.com] to the poster so that he can confirm his address. I created three ads that correspond to the top three email providers.

    gmail and yahoo received the emails correctly, in their respective inbox. Hotmail, on the other hand, is marking them as spam. I tried again with hotmail, and it also fell in the spam folder.

    Is this something I need to worry about? I had requested new IPs for exactly this reason, and it seems it is happening again.

    Ironically, my hotmail account is for all the garbage emails I receive. I currently have 1,000+ unread emails in my inbox (apparently hotmail doesn't consider them spam), and only 17 that are marked as spam. My email is in those 17. My point being, that of the 1,000+ spams I have received, hotmail only marks 16 (plus the one from our site) as spam.

    I understand that the provider will call hotmail and discuss the issue, but why is this happening?

    Any help is appreciated.
    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    442
    Hotmail will never tell you or your provider with certainty.
    From what I understand, you're going to be "rated" low until you have some sending history, in order for them to calculate a proper "score" for you; rating how much of a "spammer" you are.
    The more you send (that isn't spam), the quicker you may experience better sending rates and avoidance of the junk folder.

    Also make sure you have proper MX, DomainKeys & SPF - if you use Cpanel, all of these can be set through your cpanel area.

    You should also look into this (if you haven't already): http://mail.live.com/mail/services.aspx

  3. #3
    You'll also want to make sure your reverse dns for your ip address matches the hostname you have for your server. Also, the hostname for the server had *better* be legitimate. Like, some.domain.com. I've seen people make their hostname match their ip, or just call it "joe bob" (with a space even!), and this causes spamhaus to blacklist you almost immediately. Also make sure the forward dns for the server sending the email matches the hostname and the reverse dns. So if you have a server sending mail from 1.2.3.4, with hostname some.host.com, "some.host.com" better resolve to 1.2.3.4, and 1.2.3.4 had better reverse back to "some.host.com".

    After that, it's worth checking to see if your ip is on any blacklists and get them removed. Even a brand new ip can be on a blacklist. We had particular problems with the trend micro database listing us as a dynamic ip pool, causing some major email providers to block us. Fairly simple to get removed from that list if you can figure out what's going on.

    trend micro lookup tool:
    http://www.mail-abuse.com/cgi-bin/lookup
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    453
    Hello,

    >> Set Rdns for Mail server IP.
    >> Set SPF for the domains in the server.
    >> Set Domain Keys for the domains in the server.
    " Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. "

    That's the mark of a true professional !

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    394
    We had a similar issue for a client, this is how we resolved it :
    1. Make sure the email address actually exists. Use classified@yourdomain.com instead of no-reply@...
    2. Make sure that the from, reply to and return path all use the same email address
    3. In your sendmail or postfix, add addition headers for the mail function. This should be '-f classifieds@yourdomain.com' as the 4th param. Remember, the mail function can be customized if you're using different emails eg alert@..., member@... Etc. Just add the extra param
    4. Setup dkim to sign outgoing mails.
    5. Setup correct rDNS & SPFs.
    6. For the spf use ~all and not -all or ?all

    Additionally, new ips have no reputation. Reputation is built over time so you're spam issue in theory will resolve itself in time as your ip gains a non-spam reputation. Go through your email headers in hotmail for a hint of what's wrong. Also, you're safe if its making it through to gmail & yahoo, they're the major players. We have a 100% on both, hotmail is more like 70/30

    Hope this helps

  6. #6
    As I recall you made a very similar post a few weeks ago and blamed the problem on your provider giving you bad IPs. What you really need to do is make sure everything you have is in order for proper mail delivery (forward and reverse DNS, SPF, mail server not an open relay, not on any blacklists, etc.) if after that you still have problems getting mail to get to an inbox you might need to get in touch with Hotmail and work with them some more.

    Have you considered at all that it could be something in your actual message causing it to be marked as SPAM? I haven't used Hotmail in ages, but I know that the Gmail policy seems pretty liberal by default. I can easily send mail from any Linux machine on my home network which by all means should probably be blocked or at the very least marked SPAM. My home setup involves a DHCP address, generic rDNS, invalid sender domain, and no mail server listening for return messages. If this setup works on Gmail it might not be the best acid test to say you have everything configured properly.

  7. #7
    thanks for info dudes..

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Pune, India
    Posts
    1,428
    After you have followed all of the above instructions, enlist yourself in hotmail's programs like JMRP , SNDS etc.
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  9. #9
    Thanks for all the replies.

    Since I am using a managed solution, all these technical details (rDNS & SPFs, hotmail enlisting, domain keys, MX, jmrp, etc) are being handled by the host and they have (supposedly) already been done. But I will let them know about all these things.

    I had posted previously, and the host took responsibility for the IP and changed them. gmail and yahoo are processing the emails correctly, but hotmail is still marking them as spam.

    The email account [no-reply] exists, and if I send an email through outlook, it will still be moved to spam.

    It is definitely not the contents of the email. The email essentially says "Dear Mr. XXX, Thank you for using Website.com. CLick on the link to publish your ad". Every email sent is related to an ad a visitor made. Essentially, without the email the buyer cannot publish the ad that they created.

    I understand that we have no reputation, but it doesn't make sense to blacklist my IP based on lack of reputation. What about the customers that I get during this 'reputation-building' phase?

    I did some testing, and it seems that hotmail takes the email address into account. I created an account [anuncio@website.com] and hotmail marks it as spam regardless of the origin (either by outlook or the website). So [no-reply] and [anuncio] are marked as spam regardless. On the other hand, my business email [vmyers@website.com] enters the inbox regardless of the origin.

    Anyways, this is very frustrating.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    9,072
    Have you emailed Hotmail's postmaster support?

    It'll take a few replies back and fourth but eventually they will whitelist your IP range despite claiming that they don't do such a thing... Hotmail has a garbage SPAM system and despite having a perfect email setup that accommodates every other provider in the world, your email will still end up in the Junk folder unless you pay a lot of $$$ to be a part of their sender reputation program. I once created two Hotmail accounts, sent each other a legitimate looking message and they both went into the Junk folder. I kid you not.

    Just be thankful you're not dealing with Yahoo. Their SPAM filtering is just as screwed up as Hotmail, except you'll never get anywhere with their staff and eventually you'll lose your cool after weeks of constant aggravation, frustration, begging and even a little bit of crying before deciding to "take it up" with their management only to receive a cease and desist letter to which you reply to their council with, and I quote: "Bring it on, mother < expletives >! BRING IT ON!" and now you wait around to be served because you feel this is a worthy cause. Just saying...

  11. #11
    My host contacted hotmail, and the problem is the IP I was given.

    ####################
    My name is Shirley and I work with the Windows Live Hotmail Sender Support Team.

    I have identified that messages from your IP(s) are being filtered based on the recommendations of the SmartScreenŽ Filter Technology. After reviewing the information you provided and in compliance with our mail policies, we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer any kind of mitigation at this time.
    ####################

    And then:
    ####################
    My name is Leo and I work with the Windows Live Hotmail Domain Sender Team.

    First of all, we understand the importance of this issue. Unfortunately, we can't provide any mitigation on your IP even though that the IP was just recently purchased by a new client and there might be a compromise on this IP by the previous owner.

    One explanation for this is that emails from IP's are filtered based upon a combination of IP reputation and the content of individual emails. The reputation of an IP is influenced by a number of factors. Among these factors, which you as a sender can control, are:

    ˇ The IP's Junk Mail Reporting complaint rate
    ˇ The frequency and volume in which email is sent
    ˇ The number of spam trap account hits
    ˇ The RCPT success rate
    ####################

    This is the 2nd crappy IP I've been given by this host.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    442
    It's not the hosts fault - Hotmail isn't giving you a direct answer so you can't blame anyone for this except hotmail for being indirect.


    The messages you received are the exact same responses I received a few months back.
    I followed all of their recommendations and just waited. As far as I can tell, all of my customers are getting my emails to their inbox now.

    This is the 2nd crappy IP I've been given by this host.
    This could be part of your problem. Stick to one IP. Continually changing IPs is probably making you look shady to their filters.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    9,064
    It may be worth opening a ticket with your provider, explaining the situation and that a cancellation is possible, and requesting new IPs and whatever assistance they can offer.

    Your provider may or may not be able to further help (it is Hotmail with which you're dealing! ), but it cannot hurt to inquire.

    -mike
    Mike G. - Limestone Networks - Account Specialist
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  14. #14
    I just wanted to update you guys on the situation...

    The host has tried several IPs and they all seem to indicate that any email sent from the IP (with my domain name) is still being marked as spam. So they suggested that it may be a problem with my domain. I didn't think that was the case, but anything is possible.

    So I took another domain that I had, and tried to send emails using that IP. Unfortunately, the result was the same as emails with this new domain (but same IP) are not only being marked as spam in hotmail, but also in yahoo. So this definitely proves that it is indeed the IP.

    Generally speaking, if one is starting a new business, is it a rule-of-thumb that I need to deal with the IP I get? So if I get 30 different IPs and all 30 have some issue with free email providers, should I just bite the bullet? It doesn't seem right, but I know nothing about IPs, reputation, and so forth so maybe I'm wrong.

    And what's going to happen if I move to another webhost and the same thing happens over there also?

    When does a webhost waive that responsibility? Keep in mind that both domains used are new domains that I created and purchased, and have never used.

  15. #15
    Hello,

    I am facing this problem in my new IP during sending to Hotmail for 4 months++.

    Hotmail support keep saying that my IP is block by their smart screen filtering.

    After 1 month, I email them again. They said does not have any offhand on my IP.

    But the result are same, ever message from this IP never get into Hotmail inbox.

    How and Why Hotmail like to doing this?

    They like to post their support template to answer clients.

    Please help me.
    Thanks

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Phoenix, Arizona
    Posts
    558
    I work with our abuse department in talking directly with all the spam block lists and hotmail is definitely one of the worst. Even when you do open a ticket with them you get exactly what was posted above as a "live person response". I have tried to engage them in conversation and it is pointless. I doubt if it is even a person. I try to have our clients contact them and request removal as much as possibly since their forms all assume that the person filling out the form is controlling the mail server. If we need to, we check the SNDS list and you can see what IPs are blocked and then you can assign an IP that is not blocked. The problem is that it changes all the time and they are so irresponsible about how they do the blocking that you can't keep up with it as an ISP.

    At every opportunity, I try to discourage anyone I know or run into to only use hotmail/msn for a junk account for websites that need an email address. As if their lame webmail interface wasn't bad enough, you just can't trust them as a mail provider to get what you need. I don't know why it is that Google is so good at spam filtering and hotmail is so terrible. You would think that they would have the budget to figure this out.

    Lame...

  17. #17
    Now here it is over 2 years later and it's still the same. After moving from a server in which I had a good email reputation of over 10 years, (I had to move to another server due to network issues and cost factors), and hence ended up with a new IP address. Hotmail is so stuck in their own hard-headedness that they won't even consider the previous long standing IP reputation. It does not seem to matter if you are enrolled in the JMRP or if you are in the Smart Network Data Services, have a SPF, are a member of return path, have a good sender score, have a complaint rate of 0.1% with no spam trap hits, and are not in any blacklists. All things they repeatedly recommend like robots without brains. They continue to block and say that "your IP is does not qualify for mitigation". They are simply being unreasonable, Hotmail is blocking emails to their own users without any legitimacy whatsoever. Hotmail blocking its users emails and not telling you users about it, it's not about preventing any spam. I don't know how it could have anything to do with any rules, (because the more you comply with what they suggest the more frustrating it gets), or if there is just some manipulative control freak making decisions to block emails because he/she can.

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  18. #18
    This is why I stopped using hotmail a long long time ago. Randomly, important emails would get put in spam or even better, silently deleted. It was really hurting me to continue using them and miss important emails, so I moved on.
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  19. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    495
    Hotmail is a pain. A company I worked for has an email list with hundreds of thousands of subscribers which has worked forever. Then one day they used a subject line that wasn't too smart and hotmail permanently bounced every email from then on.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    1,328
    I also stopped using hotmail for the very same reasons.
    Anything I got would go to the spam folder what a joke.

  21. #21
    Check out this snap shot of an email I received from them, particularly in paragraph 3 where it says: “and because SmartScreenŽ Filter technology is always adapting and learning more about what is and isn’t unwanted mail, it is not possible for us to offer specific advice about improving your mail content.

    These clowns are now deciding what is wanted and unwanted email for humans based on a computer program! For one, that is a good excuse to move emails to junk if they are likely to direct users to another website, but it's also controlling, manipulative, and unpractical. Programs do not think like humans, have thoughts, emotions, or brains like humans. This is a new level of absurdity!
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