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Fortunately I set my ISP to forward all mail to Cesmail so I can always just stop it there and read the mail on my ISP's webmail servers instead.

The overnight mail from before I learned about it is in limbo though.

Same with me, and my spouse is not pleased about the missing messages. The use of "catastrophic failure" on the news page is a little disconcerting...

DT

Not for me. I resisted assimilation.

You can view it without having a Twitter account. :-)

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I take back what I said earlier and also would say no. I believe SC/Cisco needs to drop the current mail provider ASAP based on past performance of customer communications alone.

When I say "improve security" -- moving to a different server-host would be a prominent option.

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Just to be fair, I want to point out that SpamCop email is NOT owned in any way, shape or form by Cisco/SpamCop. It was an arrangement that CESmail made with the originator of the SpamCop reporting service years ago.

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Fortunately I set my ISP to forward all mail to Cesmail so I can always just stop it there and read the mail on my ISP's webmail servers instead.

The overnight mail from before I learned about it is in limbo though.

I have exactly the same configuration -- and exactly the same problem.

In Canada it's fairly common (and fairly simple) to use the banking system to send small sums (up to $1,500) via e-mail -- the recipient logs into their own account with a bank generate-code, and makes the deposit. I've got funds inj limbo.

Just to be fair, I want to point out that SpamCop email is NOT owned in any way, shape or form by Cisco/SpamCop. It was an arrangement that CESmail made with the originator of the SpamCop reporting service years ago.

Cisco owns Spamcop?

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Well I changed passwords on the accounts spamcop was popping. So at least I get emails going forward. The catastrophic makes me think this could be a day plus event.

So with CESMAIL and spamcop being separate, I assume it is the CESMail that pops my external server and runs it through the spamcop system then delivers it to my inbox. Is that correct? And if it is, if the email delivery end is down, why would you also just not shut down the system that is popping external servers? It would make me much happier knowing in a catastrophic failure that I would still be able to view my emails through the various email abilities of my providers? That way hours of email don't end up in limbo.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IronPort

IronPort acquired SpamCop in 2003, Cisco acquired IronPort in 2007.

(but neither of these included the email service we're all using)

I thought it was still Julian!

You would think with all the big brains at Cisco they would no how to

.

a) configure a better-defended e-mail server and

.

B) fire Cesmail

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With all this talk of dumping SpamCop (and I am certainly one of the ones saying "this cannot go on") I do not want the spammers to win! If this is indeed a DDoS I want to give the bad guys the middle finger, not a white flag.

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With all this talk of dumping SpamCop (and I am certainly one of the ones saying "this cannot go on") I do not want the spammers to win! If this is indeed a DDoS I want to give the bad guys the middle finger, not a white flag.

I doubt this has anything to do with spammers--a couple of people have made that speculation, but the real cause could be something as simple as failed hardware on the CESMail-owned colocated server(s).

DT

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I thought it was still Julian!

You would think with all the big brains at Cisco they would no how to

.

a) configure a better-defended e-mail server and

.

B) fire Cesmail

Julien left Spamcop a year after Cisco took over. ( Maybe it was Ironport - I know it was over four years ago at least)

Again www.Spamcop.net has no influence over cesmail.net.

Cesmail should not be allowed to use the Spamcop name in any way as Spamcop as no control/bearing in cesmail operations. When Julien sold Spamcop to Ironport it did not include cesmail.net part of the business.

Don of Spamcop.net (West Coast) sometimes tries to help us users by making contact with Cesmail.net (East Coast). Again Don has no influence over Cesmail operations. Sometimes we get more info from Don then we do from Cesmail.

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Julien left Spamcop a year after Cisco took over. ( Maybe it was Ironport - I know it was over four years ago at least)

Again www.Spamcop.net has no influence over cesmail.net.

Cesmail should not be allowed to use the Spamcop name in any way as Spamcop as no control/bearing in cesmail operations. When Julien sold Spamcop to Ironport it did not include cesmail.net part of the business.

Don of Spamcop.net (West Coast) sometimes tries to help us users by making contact with Cesmail.net (East Coast). Again Don has no influence over Cesmail operations. Sometimes we get more info from Don then we do from Cesmail.

Well the only reason I use CESMail because Spamcop put me there.

Are you saying I can go to Spamcop and tell them "after you finish filtering my e-mail, sent it to a special pop address I've set up at my local ISP?"

What do we pay or $30 for -- access to Spamcop or access to CESmail -- or is it a "take-it-or-leave-it" unseverable package?

A partnership 'made in hell' obviously.

I come into this forum when CESmail crashes and usually just lurk -- looking for updates & new info.

It seems that Cesmail's failure to construct defenses in proportion to threats has crossed a tipping point this time around, or am I misreading the situation?

I doubt this has anything to do with spammers--a couple of people have made that speculation, but the real cause could be something as simple as failed hardware on the CESMail-owned colocated server(s).

DT

I'm not a server expert -- but would it be more accurate to say "failed hardware... combined with a failure to create redundancy..." ??

It seems like we just went through this. I'm rather busy these days, but I cannot afford to be without email. It looks like I'm going to need to spend time migrating off of SC. :angry:

MY e-mail goes to my ISP first (using several aliases) and then is redirected to SpamCop, where it is filtered and then sent to CesMail for popping. I'm setting up a redundant alia at my ISP that gets a copy of every e-mail forwarded to spamcop -- and holds these e-mails for a week before auto-deleting anything that hasn't been popped.

If CESmail goes down again, I can simply use webmail to access the one-week buffer... or re-configure my e-mail client to pop the ISP -- in either way I'm going to make the switch as required by "catastrophe" without losing a single e-mail.

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MY e-mail goes to my ISP first (using several aliases) and then is redirected to SpamCop, where it is filtered and then sent to CesMail for popping.

I think you have an extra hop listed that doesn't exist. IIUC, our mail doesn't ever traverse the SpamCop/IronPort/Cisco system--the filtering is done by the CESMail servers. We can view our CESMail-based Held mail folders in the SpamCop reporting interface, but SpamCop (the reporting system) doesn't filter our mail--the filtering is done as per the settings in your CESMail account. Anyone disagree?

DT

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Is there ANYONE in this forum who would not be willing to stand behind their belief in Spamcop by paying a bit more if that rate increase was plowed into increased security/reliability? AND they promised to communicate properly when there were problems

Would CESmail actually stick to their word? In concept I would pay more. But right now I don't have confidence that they could achieve such a level of service.

I've been meaning to switch providers for a while now, but so far I've been too lazy to do it (I would need to keep Spamcop.net for a while regardless so that I don't lose access to any services I've forgotten about). I think this will be the event that finally motivates me to switch.

Cisco has nothing to do with the email service--wasn't that clear?

Most people here know the difference, but since the email hosting service is also called Spamcop, that's where the rub lies.

Spamcop and CESmail need a divorce. Regardless of the other problems currently occurring, it's becoming increasingly clear that the email hosting service should not be called Spamcop, seeing as how it's no longer related to the Spamcop blacklist (the Spamcop that most people are familiar with).

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So there is no way to utilize SpamCop without utilizing CESmail?

There are several ways to use SpamCop for reporting and even filtering mail without having a CESMail email account. For example, with a reporting-only account at SpamCop.net, you can use their web interface to report spam, or you can forward spam to a secret reporting address they give you when you sign up for a reporting account, or if you're an email system admin, you can configure your filtering recipe to check the IP addresses of incoming email delivery connections against the SCBL. All of this is described on this site in the FAQ, and let me politely point you in that direction for a little homework:

http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2238

Besides unlimited (I think) reporting of your spam to SpamCop through convenient connections between the two, there are some filtering choices available in the mail config of a CESMail account, but besides the SCBL and server-based SpamAssassin filtering, the rest are third-party blocklists likely used by other providers in their filtering recipes as well. By paying for a CESMail account, I think you're also indirectly subsidizing the continuation of these forums, which operate on a server connected with CESMail, not IronPort.

DT

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Cisco has nothing to do with the email service--wasn't that clear?

Yes -- and my point was that Cisco should divorce CESmail and use its capacity to set up a replacement that is reliable. It DOES have the capacity to analyse and solve this problem. Julian didn't -- so he outsourced it to CESmail. Cisco should take it back in-house so their SpamCop brand is not destroyed by CESmail's unreliability.

If it doesn't -- if Spamcop customers are stuck with unreliable CESmail -- Cisco's spamcop will lose customers and eventually die away.

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I've remained with Spamcop email (CESmail) since its inception, for 1) privacy, 2) ISP independence, 3) SMTP server, 4) webmail, 5) IMAP access, 6) pop mail from players like yahoo etc.

After each Spamcop email outage I've had a look around, but come up short. For my needs Spamcop email is still the best game out there. Just wish they had better failover so outages weren't so long. Right now I have confirmation emails (for various things) waiting for my acknowledgement. Can't move on without them. As some are related to applying for jobs I'm rather nervous about the length of this outage.

Every provider experiences outages. If they are managed properly (HA failover, etc.) they are never visible to customers. This is what's important. I too would pay more per year if that ensured I never saw a break or significant slowdown in service.

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Cisco has nothing to do with the email service--wasn't that clear?

Cisco owns the SpamCop name. That makes them responsiblie for what they allow to happen - and market - under that banner. Cisco claims that these are "professional-grade SpamCop email accounts" - they need to take steps to make that true.
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Cisco owns the SpamCop name. That makes them responsiblie for what they allow to happen - and market - under that banner. Cisco claims that these are "professional-grade SpamCop email accounts" - they need to take steps to make that true.

I agree! Cisco needs to step up and make sure CESMail isn't abusing the trademark and tell them to either shape up or stop using the SpamCop name.

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