Re: [exim] RBL Blocking

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Author: Viktor Dukhovni
Date:  
To: exim-users
Subject: Re: [exim] RBL Blocking
On Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:10:49PM -0600, Matt wrote:

> What if I want to block at connect time like right after HELO, EHLO or
> even before that?


Returning 5XX at connect time (server SMTP banner) is unwise:

    - Postfix and various other MTAs will by default treat a 5XX
      banner as a temporary error condition, and will queue and retry.
      The reason is historically flawed 5xx responses from some servers
      when they're overloaded.


    - You don't get to log the sender and intended recipients, so it is
      difficult to identify false positives in your logs when users
      report missing email.


If you return a 5XX "EHLO" response, the first objection goes away,
but the second remains. You should generally leave RBL processing
at the RCPT TO stage, so you can log rejected recipients.

-- 
    Viktor.