Caution - access to Spamhaus data-feed may be improperly configured

[edge]

Today I received the following message from Spamhaus.
The server they are talking about does only do a "low" volume of emails, so I've got no clue why they are emailing me about this.

Anyone else here who got this email?

Dear Spamhaus user,

We are writing to you on behalf of Spamhaus. Our automated server monitoring tools have detected that your organization is querying Spamhaus public servers with an unusually high volume from the following IP address: hostname removed .

Many users are unaware that the public service is provided free of charge only for low volume mail servers (non-commercial) or for small organizations with no other means to protect themselves against spam (non-profits, charities). This usage policy is well explained at: http://www.spamhaus.org/organization/dnsblusage.html.

Since millions of users across organizations of all sizes now depend on Spamhaus to keep email flowing, they encourage high volume users and other commercial services to move to our sponsored service. This prevents overloading of the public mirrors and keeps response times snappy. Pricing for the sponsored data-feed is under $1/user (much less for Service Providers & Schools) - which is clearly the most affordable way to protect your organization against spam and malware. As a full subscriber you are also entitled to unlimited free technical support and free pro-active monitoring of your email server.

Thank you for using the DNSBL data-feed to protect your users from the daily deluge of spam. Through your continued use of the sponsored service, Spamhaus can ensure sustained funding of the free public mirrors that are used by millions of home users and non-commercial or charitable organizations. Your contribution also helps support our research efforts to fight spammers and other cyber-miscreants.

Please consider registering now using this link: http://www.spamhaustech.com/registration/ma <http://www.spamhaustech.com/registration/ma>

Sincerely, Spamhaus Technology & MXTools

Melanie Smith
info@mxtools.com
+1-866-931-9228 x 217
+1-778-330-1074 x 217

http://www.mxtools.com <http://www.mxtools.com/Spamhaus/Datafeed/tabid/95/Default.aspx>
http://www.spamhaustech.com <http://www.spamhaustech.com/registration/ma>

PS If you are already a Spamhaus Datafeed client, Thank You - we truly appreciate your support! It does appear that one of your servers (perhaps forgotten from the trial period) needs to be re-configured. Please contact us - support@mxtools.com – so we can help make the required changes and avoid any service interruptions.

[zigzag]

I've just received one of these too, slightly different and asking me to pay. (I'm a low volume user):

I am writing to you from MXTools.com, the authorised Spamhaus reseller. Our automated server monitoring tools have detected that your organisation is querying Spamhaus public servers with an unusually high volume from the following IP address: xxxxxxx .

Many users are unaware that the public service is provided free of charge only for low volume mail servers (non-commercial) or for small organisations with no other means to protect themselves against spam (non-profits, charities). This usage policy is well explained at: http://www.spamhaus.org/organization/dnsblusage.html.
Since millions of users across organisations of all sizes now depend on Spamhaus to keep email flowing, they encourage high volume users and other commercial services to move to our sponsored service. This prevents overloading of the public mirrors and keeps response times snappy. Pricing for the sponsored data-feed is under $1 USD/user (much less for Service Providers & Schools) - which is clearly the most affordable way to protect your organisation against spam and malware. As a full subscriber you are also entitled to unlimited free technical support and free pro-active monitoring of your email server.

Thank you for using the DNSBL data-feed to protect your users from the daily deluge of spam. Through your continued use of the sponsored service, Spamhaus can ensure sustained funding of the free public mirrors that are used by millions of home users and non-commercial or charitable organisations. Your contribution also helps support our research efforts to fight spammers and other cyber-miscreants.

Please consider registering now using this link: http://www.spamhaustech.com/registration/ma If you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to contact me at the address or telephone number below.

Sincerely, Spamhaus Technology & MXTools

Gary Lessels
Manager, MXTools UK

[luckyshot]

Same happening to me but I'm not sure how do I use it in my website... does any Wordpress plugin use Spamhaus in any way?

Mine comes from Gary Lessers and I have up to 4 emails from them, sent to abuse@mydomain.com, support@, postmaster@ and my gmail.

[zigzag]

Hmmm, I'm wondering if it's some sort of scam.

[falko]

Got one of these (in German) as well about four weeks ago. I have taken no action so far.