Toolvox® x3, Administrator guide – Code Blue TOOLVOX X3 User Manual

Page 129

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Code Blue

259 Hedcor Street

Holland, MI 49423 USA

800.205.7186

www.codeblue.com

GU-154-F

page 129 of 132

ToolVox® X3

Administrator Guide

Debugging features

Postfix has two levels of logging. The first level is the normal maillog, which reports on all normal

mail activities, such as received and sent mail, server errors, shutdowns and startups. The second

level is more verbose and can be tuned to log activity relating to specific SMTP clients, host names

or addresses. This page contains the configuration for the second level of logging.

List of domain/network patterns for which verbose log is enabled

This is a list of patterns or addresses that match the clients, hosts or addresses whose activity you

would like to have more verbose logging for. Values could be an IP address like 192.168.1.1 or

a domain name like swelltech.com. This option correlates to the debug_peer_list directive and is

empty by default.

Verbose logging level when matching the above list

Specifies the level of verbosity of the logging for the activity that matches the above patterns. This

option correlates to the debug_peer_level directive and defaults to 2. The above field must have at

least one value for this debug level to have any impact.

Postfix, Unsolicited Commercial Email and Access Controls

Postfix offers an extremely flexible set of access controls, primarily targeted at preventing unsolicited

commercial email from being delivered through the server. In order to construct a suitable set of

controls, it is necessary to understand the order rules are checked and how they interact. By default,

Postfix will accept mail for delivery from or to any client on your local network and any domains that

are hosted by Postfix. So, by default, Postfix is not an open relay. This is a good beginning and all

that is needed in many environments. However, because UCE is such a nuisance for users and

network administrators, it may be worthwhile to implement more advanced filtering. This section will

address the basics of the Postfix UCE control features.

Access Control List Order

Every message that enters the smtpd delivery daemon will be processed by access control lists

and checked against rules to ensure that the message is one that the administrator actually wants

delivered. The goal for most administrators is to prevent unsolicited commercial email from passing

through these rules, yet allow legitimate emails to be delivered. This is a lofty goal, and a delicate

balance. No perfect solution exists as long as people are willing to steal resources for their own

commercial gain and go to great lengths to overcome the protections in place to prevent such

abuse. However, in most environments it is possible to develop a reasonable set of rules that

prevents most spam and allows most or all legitimate mail through unharmed.

It is important to understand the order of processing if complex sets or rules are to be used, as

attempting to use a rule too early in the chain can lead to subtle errors or strange mail client

behavior. Because not all clients react correctly to some types of refusals, and not all clients create

correctly formed SMTP requests, it is not unlikely that a misplaced rule will lock out some or all

of your clients from sending legitimate mail. It could also lead to opening a hole in your spam

protections early in the rule set, which would allow illicit mail to pass.

The Postfix UCE controls begin with a couple of simple yes or no checks, called smtpd_helo_

required and strict_rfc821_envelopes, both configured in the

SMTP Server Options page. The first,

if enabled, requires a connecting mail client to introduce itself fully by sending a HELO command.

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