Whitelist Management
Contents
Whitelist Management
Spam 'n Virus Blast It! is a unique blend of automation and human control that results in 99.99% elimination of spam and 99.98% extermination of viruses (all figures approximate!). It's divided into two sections...
- E-mail Account Management, where you create and manage your individual e-mail accounts (which are the only accounts that may receive e-mail)
- Whitelist Management, where you manage who is allowed to send you e-mail.
For e-mail to reach you, it must be sent to an existing e-mail account and it must be from an address that is on your whitelist.
The ultimate goal is to receive only wanted e-mail. With SVBI!, only legitimate contacts know one or more of your e-mail accounts and have their e-mail addresses on your Whitelist, so their mail is allowed through!
SVBI! eliminates spammers. And it also eliminates nuisance e-mail from non-serious visitors to your site, replaced by serious prospects who complete Contact Forms instead.
The result?
Near 100% elimination of spam and viruses, AND near-zero "false positives" (for a full discussion of false-positives, please click here). False-positives will be reduced to a very small number of low-potential, unknown contacts (ex., a visitor who won't take the time to complete a Contact Form but prefers to guess at a non-published e-mail address, and even then won't reply to the Challenge-Response system in place).
Use this section of SVBI! to manage your whitelist.
A whitelist is a list of e-mail addresses that are "allowed" to e-mail you. One way or another, you know that these addresses belong to real human beings, either people you know or those people who have manually indicated an interest in your business. And that means that senders using those addresses have permission to contact you at your e-mail accounts.
SVBI! handles much of your Whitelist Management automatically (as described below), just like your E-mail Account Management.
You start your whitelist by populating it with all the e-mail addresses of friends, colleagues, relatives, business associates... all the addresses that you want to "let in."
It's easy. "Start big!" Just click on the Add to Whitelist button. But, just before you do that...
Export your entire Address Book in your client-side e-mail software (ex., Outlook, Eudora, Apple Mail). It's the fastest and easiest way to start your whitelist. Then use the Add to Whitelist button to import it into SVBI!...
Instant Whitelist!
You can do the same with any other database of contacts, suppliers, prospects, customers, etc.
You do not need to add SiteSell domains to your whitelist. We would not be able to send you your "Welcome" e-mail unless those domains were a built-in part of every SBI! whitelist.
In addition to the "mass-import," you can also add addresses through the form in the Add to Whitelist section. Use this to add the "one-ofs" that you likely don't have in your Address Book, but from whom you do receive mail. For example...
- e-zine addresses
- mailing/discussion lists
- companies you purchase from
- other individual acquaintances that were not included in the above process.
In both cases, just follow the online help for Adding To Your Whitelist.
Important Note
Spammers sometimes forge the "from" address to be the same as the "to" address in an effort to "trick the mail into your INBOX." Therefore, we do not automatically whitelist e-mail to yourself from your own SBI! domain. We suggest you leave it like this. However...
Some people have special reasons to CC themselves. If that is your case, create a special e-mail account just for this (one that a spammer would not guess at). Add that address to your whitelist.
Want to remove an e-mail from your whitelist? Easy. Click the Remove from Whitelist button and follow the online help for Removing From Your Whitelist.
A "blacklist" is a list of "never-want-to-hear-from-you-again" addresses. SVBI! does not offer this, for one simple reason... simplicity.
Instead of blacklisting an address, simply remove the offending e-mail address from your whitelist. That person will need to manually verify his or her address again to reach you.
SVBI! Automatically Builds and Maintains the Whitelist
SVBI! automatically adds to/updates your whitelist in many ways (and you can manually fine-tune it, too). And here's an extremely important point...
SVBI! continuously updates your whitelist even if you have not imported your own list of addresses (see above) and even if you have elected to turn off whitelist filtering (click here for more information on turning off whitelist filtering).
A few important points about turning off whitelist filtering...
- E-mail Account Management remains the same -- all e-mail sent to any address at your domain that is NOT an existing e-mail account is always refused.
- The option to redirect e-mail to an outside address is severely curtailed.
- SVBI! continuously and automatically updates your whitelist even if you have turned it off. It's ready for you, awaiting the day that you decide to turn it on to eliminate spam. When you're ready, simply add your lists of personal and business contacts, as outlined above, and turn whitelist filtering on for a spam-free environment!
Here is how SVBI! continuously keeps your whitelist up-to-date (whether you have turned off whitelist filtering or not!)...
1) Address Book
SVBI! automatically adds all addresses in your WebMail Address Book to your whitelist.
Let's say that you send an e-mail to someone (in the "Create Message" section of WebMail). SVBI! automatically adds the e-mail address of that person, if it is not already on the whitelist. If the "To" address is on the whitelist (ex., you are replying to a whitelisted address), the default is to keep its whitelisted status. However, you do have the option to delete/not add it (ex., you do not want to receive a reply).
All e-mail that reaches your INBOX has survived SVBI!'s protection. So it is already on your whitelist. You most likely want to keep it that way, so you'll notice that the default radio button on INbound e-mail keeps the sender's address on your whitelist. If that is correct, do not change this default selection and you will continue receiving e-mail from this person. Of course, you can change the radio button to "Delete" -- you won't hear from him/her again.
Many of the functions described here only apply if you're using SBI!'s WebMail. You can still send and receive e-mail via Outlook or other client-side e-mail software and benefit from many of SVBI!'s benefits. But some are integrally built right into the WebMail software.
Our recommendation is to use WebMail to receive and send your e-mail, for many reasons...
- The added functionality
- Ease -- your entire business is under one roof
- You won't spread viruses -- Outlook is a virus magnet
- More and more, your ISP is likely to make things more difficult, not less. WebMail and SVBI! are made to work with "everything else SBI!."
3) Opt-in E-zine
SVBI! adds the addresses of all subscribers to your opt-in e-zine to your whitelist. The address is only added after that person confirms the opt-in (whether s/he subscribes via the e-zine form on the Web site or if you add the address via the MailOut Manager).
4) Form Build It!
SVBI! automatically adds the e-mail addresses of all visitors who have submitted their e-mail addresses through a form built with Form Build It!. Since they have indicated an interest in your business, and took the time to enter the Captcha challenge word, they can mail you (as long as they know one of your e-mail accounts, of course).
There is another (less common but important) way that Form Build It! can add addresses to your whitelist. Those special addresses come from the Send To and/or CC addresses in Notification E-mails. Here's how it works...
When you create a Notification E-mail, you can send it to a "primary" Send to address and up to two CC addresses. You will likely send these to one or more outside e-mail addresses (i.e., not your own SBI! domain). If so, SVBI! adds each such address to your whitelist. This permits the recipient of the Notification E-mail to reply to you because SVBI! also adds your Reply-to address to your list of e-mail accounts, which means that your newly whitelisted "friends" can e-mail your FBI!-generated e-mail account.
And finally, SVBI! also adds the Reply-to address of a Notification e-mail to your whitelist so that, yes, you can receive your own Notifications!
P.S. If this all seems very complicated to you, don't worry about it. Shorten it all to this...
SVBI! takes care of your whitelist automatically.
5) Content 2.0
Any visitor to your site who contributes to one of your C2 invitations and asks to be notified of certain events has his/her e-mail address whitelisted.
This method allows any human being (i.e., non-spambot) to manually add his/her address to your whitelist. To do so, they proceed to the following URL...
http://whitelist.sitesell.com/
If you click on the above link, you'll see that they must enter...
- their e-mail address (which they want to add to your whitelist)
- your specific e-mail account (proves they know one of your e-mail accounts)
- a graphic-challenge (which requires human action, foiling bots).
Successful completion of this challenge allows humans who know one of your e-mail accounts to whitelist. Successful completion automatically whitelists and that person can now e-mail you from his or her specific whitelisted e-mail address.
How do people find out about this "special back door?"
Either you tell them about it, or SVBI! does...
Anyone who is not on your whitelist or whose address is not on your whitelist will receive a refusal (AKA "bounceback") from SVBI!. Basically, our mail server tells the sender's mail server that we don't know this person. We include instructions, in that bounce-back message, for that user to go to the above URL (whitelist.sitesell.com) in order to whitelist with you.
Once at whitelist.sitesell.com, they enter their e-mail address and also your e-mail address that they're trying to reach. The page reassures them that it's a one-time-only event. A graphic-challenge ensures that no automated process can circumvent its intent.
The message is short, polite and explains the spam issue and that they only ever have to whitelist once. After that, the person's address is on your whitelist.
This is a foolproof way of ensuring the only e-mails you receive are sent by a real human. And there's a "special bonus" here for you...
After someone uses the form at whitelist.sitesell.com to get onto your whitelist, they receive a Web page that confirms their addition to your Whitelist. This page also displays an in-context, promotional message about Site Build It!. If that person clicks on the link to SiteSell...
We write your affiliate cookie to that visitor. If s/he later buys SBI!, you earn a commission if you're a 5 Pillar Affiliate. If you aren't, you can join at...
http://affiliates.sitesell.com/
You have nothing to lose, and a commission to gain! (You can turn this promo off -- click here for more information.)
A Wormhole is a very special address. It solves the problem of how to deal with a party that will send you automated replies that you want. This problem plagues other Challenge-Response systems -- as a result, they need to offer a clumsy "pending" folder which forces you to review what the system should be deleting. That kind of defeats the purpose.
Click here for detailed information about how to create and manage Wormholes.
For example, you buy something at Amazon or you subscribe to an e-zine. They're going to send you an automated reply, confirmation, request for you to confirm opt-in, etc. But you don't know what address(es) they'll send post-order e-mails from, so there's no way for you to whitelist (unless you whitelist the whole domain, which opens you up to spam forgeries). So other systems either falsely reject this wanted e-mail, or they keep it in a "pending" folder for you to approve. But a good system should not require you to do that.
A Wormhole drills through this mess.
Create a Wormhole E-mail Account. Enter that Wormhole address when you subscribe or buy. Bingo!
For a certain number of days (set by you), SVBI! automatically whitelists the "From" e-mail address of all e-mail sent to the Wormhole account. After that, the Wormhole closes and it behaves like a "regular" e-mail account...
That means that any mail (from non-whitelisted addresses) to an ex-Wormhole address will be refused (with the usual whitelist.sitesell.com graphic-challenge message included in the refusal). You may delete an ex-Wormhole account -- it's best, though, to leave it open as a regular e-mail account, since those who whitelisted through this address may not know any other address for you. However...
If you manage a Wormhole address badly, you may have no choice but to close it down. (More on the nuts and bolts of how to create Wormhole addresses, along with strategies for best results, in Create New Accounts).
Tip
Most mailing/discussion lists work by sending a message from a certain address, for example, mygroup@yahoogroups.com. Add that address to your whitelist and subscribe to the "digest" version of the list... unless you want to receive the messages one-by-one, which requires that every individual on the list be whitelisted!
Special Note
Regardless of how an e-mail address makes it onto your whitelist, that address is "good to go" at all e-mail accounts created by you. In other words, an address that is whitelisted on aa@abc.com will also be whitelisted for zz@abc.com.
With SVBI!, you have only one INBOX. Most SBIers are sole proprietors or are in partnerships. So a single INBOX that receives e-mail addressed to an unlimited number of e-mail accounts works well.
If you need multiple INBOXes, with separate logins for employees (or family members), MX It! allows you to switch your mail over to Google Apps, where you can create up to 100 separate accounts.
SVBI! adds the e-mail addresses of sites that meet the requirements for a potential exchange partner, and that either indicate that they are interested in exchanging with you, or vice-versa.
If you ever decide that you no longer want to hear from that site again, remove that address from your whitelist. There are two ways to do that...
- on the inbound e-mail -- click for details.
- the general way -- click for details.
Summary
Spam 'n Virus Blast It! is the most comprehensive, sensitive and specific spam and virus management system available. It automates the bulk of the startup and maintenance work, while allowing you to upload a "starting list" of friends and associates. It also automates the rest of what would otherwise be a very tedious process, while still permitting you to micro-manage both your e-mail accounts and your whitelist to your heart's content.
The combination of E-mail Account-and-Whitelist verification is a powerful, accurate mixture. And graphic-challenge refusals are stronger than replies for several reasons, as discussed earlier. Stronger still, they are merely used as the final resort, should all else fail.
Other Challenge-Response systems use graphic-challenges without first eliminating 99%+ of inbound mail. The results? Tons of replies to spam, worsening the overload on the Internet and even threatening your reputation.
Special Note
A refusal (i.e., a bounce-back by our mail server to the sending mail server) does have one weakness you should know... the sender may not read it as carefully and may miss the message for two reasons...
1) People may ignore bounce-backs. Generally, though, if someone expects to reach you and gets a bounce-back, they check it out to see what went wrong. At that time, they'll see the "whitelist at whitelist.sitesell.com" message.
2) The display of the "whitelist at whitelist.sitesell.com" message is not under our control. It is under the control of the receiving mail server.
What does that mean, from a practical point of view?
Very little, for several reasons...
-
First, SVBI! only uses the graphic-challenge refusal as a last resort. Friends and associates are on your whitelist and know your e-mail accounts. And SVBI! constantly updates your whitelist with the addresses of new subscribers to your e-zine, people who complete your forms, etc., etc.
So the most likely people affected are those who miss the links to your Contact Us page and "guess" at an e-mail address. Not the best of candidates.
- The very few serious senders (or friends, associates, etc.) who might mail you and receive a bounce-back would wonder about why mail to you bounced. They would very likely notice the whitelist.sitesell.com message and proceed to whitelist themselves.
- That leaves people with Hotmail addresses who guess at an address from your site, having missed links to your Contact Us page. Hotmail is the only mail server that does not offer the universal courtesy of including a refusing mail server's "bounce message." So Hotmail senders won't know why it bounced. They'll just delete.
Bottom line? Serious inquiries will find their way to you. The occasional Hotmail user who misses links to your Contact Us page will be lost. Given all the upside, this is a minuscule cost of managing your e-mail to what is otherwise perfection.
SVBI! blasts all spam and most viruses upfront. Why "most viruses" and not "all"? Because of the nature of viruses vs. spam...
You receive spam from people you do not know. So if spammers bombard you with mail to a zillion e-mail addresses at your domain (called an "alphabet or dictionary attack"), they may guess a couple of your e-mail accounts. But they won't be sending from an e-mail address that is on your whitelist (unless you fail to practice "safe list" and indiscriminately add all sorts of addresses to your whitelist, or are very sloppy with your Wormhole addresses).
So spammers are 100% blocked.
Viruses, though, come from friends, not strangers. Viruses grab control of your friend's Outlook e-mail software and send themselves to your e-mail account through your friend's Outlook Address Book, and they get through SVBI! since your friend's e-mail address is whitelisted.
So what does SVBI! do about this?
Any e-mail with an attachment that passes through SVBI! is virus-scanned. If the attachment is a virus, SVBI! deletes it. It wastes no time -- there is no message to you or to the sender about this....
No replies. No alerts. No messages. All that reaction congests the Net and ego-strokes those virus-creators (who crave that attention). Instead, SVBI! simply deletes the virus.
This virus-scan is the final step of SVBI!. If an e-mail with an attachment passes this final test (and if your quota of 25MB of storage space is not exceeded), you receive the e-mail in your INBOX. (If your total storage exceeds 25 MB, WebMail refuses the e-mail with a "Recipient's mail box is full" message back to the sender. You will have received a warning message before reaching 25 MB, however, giving you time to clear out your accounts.)
Despite this extremely high level of security, nothing is 100% fool-proof. So we leave you with this final cautious recommendation...
If you receive an e-mail with an attachment, ask yourself if you were expecting that attachment for a very precise reason, and does the body of the e-mail provide that very clear reason? Let's say that a friend's e-mail comes with an attachment that says...
"As discussed, our next step"...
Reply to your friend and ask if he sent you an attachment.
Never open an unexpected attachment.