I’m going to get my opinion out of the way right up front – do not use UCEPRotect ( http://www.uceprotect.net ) as part of your blacklist / anti spam protection process. Their business is unethical, their services incompetent and their processes deeply deeply flawed. Wow that’s quite an opinion right there. Why would I think this?
I run multiple mail servers for a range of companies. I have been running mail services for over 30 years as both an individual, business and employee at various times. I run solid mail services and have only once had a spam problem (client got virused, sent out 15 emails before we shut it down) many many years ago. Despite this UCE PRotect have black listed my mail server. I tried to get unlisted and discovered they charge money to be removed. I was underwhelmed to say the least. Here is the contact form I tried to send them – and failed.
—–8<—— BEGIN SNIP —–
I am writing a reasonable email to express my anger and disgust that an organisation feels charging a monthly fee to not list an IP address as part of a larger block of IP addresses is a reasonable action to take.
You are responsible for adding a black mark to my reputation, as part of a larger block of over 55k IP addresses. You freely admit I am not a level 1 or 2 spammer (Fig 1) , my IP is clean, my reputation is clean, my PTR etc are in order but you want to charge me CHF25 a month to not have you black mark me. There is no other way to look at this but as extortion. You are effectively saying, “Pay us money or we will funk you up.”
I would also note your spiel around Microsoft being a large ISP not sending spam is laughable. I am a a small company and a small server and we get dozens of emails from Microsoft accounts offering all sorts of cruft, including Nigerian scams, goods we don’t want and services we would never pay for. If I receive dozens I am pretty sure others also receive a fair truck load. That makes a mockery of your claim if MS can do it so can others.
Microsoft’s failure to comply RFCs is legendary and their current practice of quarantining legitimate emails with no warning or notice, then suggesting we pay money or take on their services is akin to yours – extortion of the rankest kind.
As for your form above – it breaks so many principals, demanding information not required for this contact. A breach o f European laws , Singaporean laws and USA laws.
If you want to black list people for free , you have a responsibility to delist them for free too.
Offering paid services that enhance a clients experience, not one that avoids pain is a far more ethical action to take.
Below (in red) you threaten to black list my home IP address for a further 7 days … so I am black listed already? What a load of snot munching cruft. You black list me for no reason from a valid and good ip address from a countries largest ISP? Wow – I seriously hope you mis-spoke otherwise this really takes the cake.
Oh yeah – checking my browser bar I see you have failed to provide security. I think it was Jesus who said something about checking the log in your own eye before accusing others of a speck.
I started this form reasonably but in the process I have now been poked in the eye so often by your offensive practices I am now good and steamed. Good job UCEProtect <slow clap x lots />
I look forward to hearing your response.
Shane
PS wow – denied the form because of your bollocks combo box then have a link, to explain why , going to a defunct cpanel page. Your services just become increasingly inane and incompetent. Yup – I have now descended to personal abuse. <slower clap />
PPS Oh wow – you half wits then give the same error message when having chosen a different drop down option and submitting. Same response when starting from scratch again. Waste my time why don’t you. Infinite incompetence is rapidly approaching.
—— END SNIP —->8——
In my opinion any organisation that uses its position in the market place to extort money from businesses so that business can function is unethical. I am not interested in doing business with unethical and under handed organisations as such am recommending to others that they also avoid using UCEProtects.nets services.
I would recomend trying to reach out to them – but I wouldn’t waste your time. Their contact forms are unencrypted and fail. Truly , truly truly a dark-pattern design. website and process.
