RBL settings - combination use - blocking vs scoring

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mshanley
Posts: 41
Joined: 26 Apr 2014 05:19

RBL settings - combination use - blocking vs scoring

Post by mshanley »

Hi since im pretty new user on this spam filter can someone break down the locations / config files - setup for RBL's?

I am aware of the entries in the Postifix Config - putting an RBL here will reject the msg and not be seen by mailwatch / mail scanner.. good example is zenhaus or Barracuda (highly trusted)

I am also aware that you can add / use RBL's in MailScanner? Where is this done and how do we get to the file to edit it.?
IS this a scoring that is applied to the email and will a HIT here also show as "Listed in RBL" in mail watch?
What is the method to add / use RBL's in Mailscanner and how do we get to it? I'm assuming it's a config file as it is not in the console menu.

I am also aware we can add RBL's to Spam Assassin. What do we need to do to put the RBL's here?
This method is most likely a scoring method if there is a HIT on an RBL used in SpamAssassin?


I really really like this EFA mail filter setup but would like to tweak it using a few different methods with RBL's as some would be great to add for scoring to increase the score of the spam and others can be used for out right blocking. I have been using a combination of RBL's over the years and have a pretty good idea where I'd like to use them scoring vs blocking.
I have been running this filter for a month now and believe it or no it works really well. I have seen a few pieces of email get through and that is why I would like access to make a few changes using rbl scoring. NICE JOB!
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shawniverson
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Joined: 13 Jan 2014 23:30
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA
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Re: RBL settings - combination use - blocking vs scoring

Post by shawniverson »

Although Postfix RBLs are the most efficient, it does result in emails being blocked without any sort of indication.

For MailScanner method:

/etc/MailScanner/MailScanner.conf

Code: Select all

Spam List = myRBL1 myRBL2 
Define RBLs here:

/etc/MailScanner/spam.lists.conf

Code: Select all

myRBL1   rbl.myspamlist.org
myRBL2   rbl.myspamlist.net
dbator
Posts: 35
Joined: 20 Aug 2014 19:18

Re: RBL settings - combination use - blocking vs scoring

Post by dbator »

What happens if I put the same RBL in the MailScanner.conf and the postfix.conf (like I have before)? Is it an uneccessary redundancy, or will it actually hinder performance (not check against the RBL at all, or use more resources?)

Is one way preferred over the other? Is their a pointer to look at the list in MailScanner.conf in postfix.conf? How does it know to use this list? More importantly, if you have multiple RBL's listed, is it going to check every email message against all 3 RBL's, or is it going to check it against just 1 (in a round robin sort of fashion)?

Lastly, in postfix.conf, I see this section
smtpd_recipient_restrictions = ... check_recipient_access hash:/etc/postfix/recipient_access

Currently there is nothing in this file. Is this the file where I can add IP addresses and/or hostnames to basically override the RBL's? Say if for some awful reason gmail.com got blacklisted, I can add:
gmail.com OK
into this file, and it will bypass the RBL checks?
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shawniverson
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Joined: 13 Jan 2014 23:30
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA
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Re: RBL settings - combination use - blocking vs scoring

Post by shawniverson »

What happens if I put the same RBL in the MailScanner.conf and the postfix.conf (like I have before)?
Postfix will take precedence over MailScanner, and the MailScanner.conf will run a check against the RBL if the email gets past postfix, which should return a negative result. Therefore, it will consume extra CPU power as any emails not on the RBL will get checked twice.
Is one way preferred over the other?
Postfix is most efficient way, but postfix will block it and you won't get any feedback.
MailScanner will quarantine the message, but uses more resources.
dbator
Posts: 35
Joined: 20 Aug 2014 19:18

Re: RBL settings - combination use - blocking vs scoring

Post by dbator »

Thanks!
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