Removal Instructions

How to get your site removed
from the RSS list,
in four easy steps.

1
Why is my mail server on your list?
Sites are added to our list because they are insecure 'open relays' that have been utilized to spam our users. This means that spammers are using your mail server to relay spam to our users.

For a copy of the spam, and other information about the listing, click here.

Please note that we are not calling you spammers. We are not alleging that you are the source of the spam in question.

2
What is third party relay? What is an open relay?
RSS uses the terms "open relay, insecure relay, third-party relay" interchangeably. All of these terms refer to the fact that your mailserver is capable of routing mail from nonusers to other nonusers. For example, if you have a server in Minnesota, and somebody in Kentucky can use your server to relay mail to people in Mexico, without your knowledge or consent, then you have a third-party relay problem. Spammers regularly hunt for and exploit these types of servers in order to try to disguise the true origin of their unwanted email advertising. If your server is on our RSS list, then it's likely that spammers have indeed located and exploited your insecure server, for this very reason.

For more information about third-party relay, click here.

3
Fixing the server to stop relaying spam.
We'd ask that you please secure your mail server to stop relaying spam. After you do so, we'll be happy to remove it from our list. In most cases, this is very easy -- it probably only involves a checkmark on a preferences screen or replacing an old, outdated configuration file.

Information on how to secure your server can be found at http://www.mail-abuse.org/tsi/, or from your software/support vendor, your internet service provider, or your upstream.

Any information we have on how to fix your server is going to be found on the TSI site. If you can't find any helpful information on that site, then it's probably time for you to contact your software or support vendor for assistance.

If you contact RSS for configuration assistance, we're probably going to give you the same information contained here in step number three. It's not that we don't want to help you, it's just that there are too many mail server packages in the world for RSS volunteers to be experts at all (or any) of them.

4
After the server is fixed, fill out a remove request form.
After you've fixed your server to stop third-party relay, please click here to reach our remove request form. After you fill out that form, we'll promptly retest and remove your server from our list, assuming that it is no longer able to relay third-party mail.

The remove request form is located at http://www.mail-abuse.org/cgi-bin/nph-rss-remove

If the server's not fixed, it really won't do you a lot of good to fill out the form. You'll just get a reply back that says "Sorry, the server still appears open, so we can't remove it from our list." We can't remove sites from our list until they are fixed to stop relaying spam. The RSS is a quarantine list used to keep spam-relaying mailservers from relaying more spam to our users until they're secured. See the FAQ page for more information.

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[ MAPS LLC | RSS | RBL | DUL | TSI ] [ Contact Us ] Updated 8/9/2000.

1	Why is my mail server on your list? Sites are added to our list because they are insecure 'open relays' that have been utilized to spam our users. This means that spammers are using your mail server to relay spam to our users. For a copy of the spam, and other information about the listing, click here. Please note that we are not calling you spammers. We are not alleging that you are the source of the spam in question.
2	What is third party relay? What is an open relay? RSS uses the terms "open relay, insecure relay, third-party relay" interchangeably. All of these terms refer to the fact that your mailserver is capable of routing mail from nonusers to other nonusers. For example, if you have a server in Minnesota, and somebody in Kentucky can use your server to relay mail to people in Mexico, without your knowledge or consent, then you have a third-party relay problem. Spammers regularly hunt for and exploit these types of servers in order to try to disguise the true origin of their unwanted email advertising. If your server is on our RSS list, then it's likely that spammers have indeed located and exploited your insecure server, for this very reason. For more information about third-party relay, click here.
3	Fixing the server to stop relaying spam. We'd ask that you please secure your mail server to stop relaying spam. After you do so, we'll be happy to remove it from our list. In most cases, this is very easy -- it probably only involves a checkmark on a preferences screen or replacing an old, outdated configuration file. Information on how to secure your server can be found at http://www.mail-abuse.org/tsi/, or from your software/support vendor, your internet service provider, or your upstream. Any information we have on how to fix your server is going to be found on the TSI site. If you can't find any helpful information on that site, then it's probably time for you to contact your software or support vendor for assistance. If you contact RSS for configuration assistance, we're probably going to give you the same information contained here in step number three. It's not that we don't want to help you, it's just that there are too many mail server packages in the world for RSS volunteers to be experts at all (or any) of them.
4	After the server is fixed, fill out a remove request form. After you've fixed your server to stop third-party relay, please click here to reach our remove request form. After you fill out that form, we'll promptly retest and remove your server from our list, assuming that it is no longer able to relay third-party mail. The remove request form is located at http://www.mail-abuse.org/cgi-bin/nph-rss-remove If the server's not fixed, it really won't do you a lot of good to fill out the form. You'll just get a reply back that says "Sorry, the server still appears open, so we can't remove it from our list." We can't remove sites from our list until they are fixed to stop relaying spam. The RSS is a quarantine list used to keep spam-relaying mailservers from relaying more spam to our users until they're secured. See the FAQ page for more information.