Spam and Default Addresses

[#1]

Hi Folks
I am trying to sort out my spam problem and would appreciate a little advice. Firstly let me explain my setup and how I have dealt with spam in the past.
I don’t use server side spam filters as I don’t trust them. I have had important mail go missing this way. I normally let my local email client put suspect emails in a junk mail folder and I take a quick peek to see if there are any false positives in there.
I have never used my plusnet email address as an outgoing email address. For many years I have had domains such as www.myname.org.uk ; and used that as an outgoing email address and redirection of incoming mail to my plusnet address.
I am now receiving spam on my unused default plusnet address; presumably this is because of the security problem a while back. It’s coming in at a higher rate than I am used to and it is getting on my nerves, thus deciding to sort it out.
I have taken up the plusnet free domain option and plan to redirect all incoming emails from www.myname.org.uk to an address at www.myfreedomain.co.uk.
If I create incomingmail@myfreedomain.co.uk and set this as my default address (notifying plusnet so I still get account emails – they are the only people who use my default address) what will happen to spam aimed at my old default address, will this end up being redirected to my new default address or die a horrible spammy death somewhere else ?
Cheers

[#2]

Depends if you have a catch-all switched on or not.  If you turn off the catch all, and change the default address - then mail sent to the old default address will be dropped (so long as there is no mailbox, alias or redirect for it).
One thing PN can do, if you raise a ticket, is switch off email to @username.plus.com so that you only receive mail to your domain.
That could be handy for you?

[#3]

Hi LiamM
Thanks for that.
It looks like turning off the default catch all and redircting mail from my external domains to newmailbox@username.plus.net would fix the problem without having to use either the new internal domain or raising a ticket.
I think I will give that a go 

[#4]

There is a way you can achieve what you want.
Firstly, go into your mail settings and change the name of your default mailbox. For newer Plusnet members, the mailbox will be named firstname@username.plus.com, if you've been a member for a longer time, the default will be username@username.plus.com, change it to something else. Personally, I wouldn't give it the name of something you are likely to use as an email address, just in case there is a repeat of the webmail incident, although it is unlikely - so call it mail@... or default@...
You might want to leave it at that for a couple of hours, so that it all gets set up.
Next and this is the key to solving the problem, go back into your email settings and set up a redirect for what WAS your default mailbox, whether it was firstname@.... or username@....., and use the button that tells the system to send it to the blackhole address. This will blackhole ONLY the mail addressed to what was the default mailbox.
Now you should be able to safely turn your catch all address back on, and the spam filtering off. If your spam problem is a direct result of the webmail incident AND you don't normally use webmail the only address compromised was your default mailbox, which you've now blackholed.
Hope that helps

[#5]

Hi Phil
I seem to be Spam free again 
I had already changed my default address to mail@ (great minds think alike etc) and turned off catch all. So, no more incoming from the compromised address as they are being bounced.
I didn’t know the blackhole option existed as I haven’t ever used redirects on plusnet. I have followed your suggestions and have now enabled catch all again for the new default address.
Thanks for that.
Moot Point: bouncing and blackholing which is best for an individual and the net?
Bouncing – I suppose that if spammers continuously get bounces from an address it might eventually get removed from their list, or does the bounce just prove the domain exists and ensures it continues to be targeted?
Blackholeing – If you blackhole a spam message the sender has no idea that you have not received it and your address continues to be live therefore adding to the % of spam still flooding the net each day?
As an example, about 2 years ago a customised address on one of my external domains was compromised, the address had in fact either been hacked from the database of a major company (or sold on by a rouge employee).  I started to receive a torrent of spam, more than I could possibly live with. At the time my solution was to set up a googlemail account and redirect mail from the compromised address there. That address regularly received over 3,500 spam messages a month; even now it still receives about 1000 a month. The compromised address has therefore been subjected to between  50,000 to 100,000 mails and is still going strong. Frightening isn’t it?

[#6]

Because I couldn't change my username, I renamed the default mailbox with something@username and it is spam free now. However, because of the security breach, I half expect it to start again as it is the same username and in consequence I am not currently using it. If I understand it correctly from the previous post,  it is possible to rename the default mailbox without the username i.e. something entirely different.  Is this the case?

[#7]

You can change your default mailbox to:
anythingyoufancy@username.plus.com you can then make it catch all or not.

[#8]

From what I have read they do make some effort to keep lists up to date, much like direct mail companies. They need to compete against other spammers with their 'offering'. One way of doing this is to have a better 'live' list than the opposition.

[#9]

As Phil-E suggested above, about a month ago I created a shinynewname@username.plus.com and set it as my catchall then blackholed my original username@username.plus.com address which was getting all the spam.  I have had no spam since.  I have even turned off my PlusNet spam filter.
The benefit of this process (apart from the lack of spam) is that you don't need to change your username or switch the catchall off.  I'm sure that spammers will eventually find another way of spamming me but in the meantime I have minimum disruption and when spam returns I'll deal with it in a similar way.

[#10]

I have done the same as Jazz, renaming the default mailbox using my original username, something different before the @, and having 'catchall' turned off.  However, using this method, you cannot separate the username (which the spammers already have) and I wonder how long it will be before  they  gain the new address using a dictionary attack.  I would have preferred a completely different username but couldn't have this because I have Homephone.  Also, it wasn't worth paying for a domain name as it would only have been for e-mail purposes.

[#11]

Poppy,
You shouldn't have to pay for a domain name if you're yet to accept our offer of a free one. The offer ends today, so you'd have to be quick but you should be able to register one here.

[#12]

Bob - thank you for taking the time to get back to me about this. I filled in the form a month or so ago but it ended with a request for a DD so I assumed that it was going to cost and cancelled it.  I have followed your link and clicked 'register' and raised a ticket so that I can have a bit of time to sort it out.

[#13]

Quote from: God

Moot Point: bouncing and blackholing which is best for an individual and the net?

IMHO, bouncing is a no-no. It generates unnecessary net traffic and the chances are that the spammer forged the 'From' address. Then some poor soul is wondering why he/she is suddenly getting so many bounced mails that were never sent anyway. Just my opinion of course.
Glad to see you're back to a spam free situation.

[#14]

Just another thanks to Bob - registered the domain at the very last minute and lo and behold it is all now up and running less then 12 hours later!  Also, thanks to the Forum and the staff post (I think it was Chris) about mail management I have got to grips with the Alias business and am well pleased.  Big thanks to Force9 - brilliant.