Email hosting

SteveDallas · 11-10-2006, 11:42 AM

We've had a couple threads about web hosting... but not, I think, recently. And now I'm finding myself looking for something else besides Dreamhost.

I've been with them a number of years and I've been happy till recently. They definitely satisfied my very modest web hosting needs. (How modest? My biggest traffic comes when I like to a picture from here!) But my problem is with email. Their spam protection is just not cutting it. They use spamassassin, which is theoretically fine. But Dreamhost is about a year behind in their updates, and they don't implement any of the Bayesian functionality. I don't fault them for not automatically putting out every upgrade that comes down the pike--a practice that I frown on myself--but the state of the spam war has changed a lot in the last year.

Some customers have taken to forwarding all their email to gmail, and then forwarding it back, so it passes through Google's filter. Others have installed the latest version of spamassassin in their own accounts, and while this has a certain attraction, it's just way too much like work.

So, any thoughts on places with good spam filtering?

BigV · 11-10-2006, 12:58 PM

Ugh.

We have SpamAssassin here at work. It's like having another teenager. Very energetic when it's something they want to do, a lot of maintenance otherwise. I haven't found the sweetspot yet.

SteveDallas · 11-10-2006, 01:09 PM

Well my experience is that it's actually OK... if you have the Bayesian features turned on. The problem is it's not easy to run that in a shared hosting environment.

Undertoad · 11-10-2006, 01:45 PM

I have that problem and I am going to implement an interesting solution -- I'm going to use accounts that are dead, and are huge spam magnets, as input to the filter.

SteveDallas · 11-10-2006, 02:34 PM

Say more? what exactly are you trying?

Undertoad · 11-10-2006, 03:36 PM

I don't remember how to put things back into the filter, but I'm going to all email from spam magnet accounts into it. I have a few accounts that get a ton of spam and 0% possibility of false positives. If they all going nito the bayesian filter as examples of guaranteed spam, won't that help its ability to detect what is and isn't spam?

Flint · 11-10-2006, 03:40 PM

Garbage in... . . .

SteveDallas · 11-10-2006, 05:12 PM

Oh, I see... it will help, but my understanding it that for really good performance it also needs a significant number of examples of non-spam as well.

BigV · 11-10-2006, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveDallas

Oh, I see... it will help, but my understanding it that for really good performance it also needs a significant number of examples of non-spam as well.

This is correct. It is called Ham.

xoxoxoBruce · 11-11-2006, 12:31 AM

Spampal.

SteveDallas · 11-25-2006, 10:36 PM

After reading some good reviews, I tried bananahosting.com. The spam filtering (also spamassassin based, no surprise in a low-rent host) seemed somewhat better than dreamhost. But they don't support SSL/TLS for sending & receiving email!! Forget that.

Next stop: webmail.us. Mostly this was a good operation, but the spam setup was inflexible. (A lot of spam got through in the 3-6 score range--and even the most aggressive setting was 6 and above. Bzzz.)

You know, that gmail thing looks good. But I don't want to give up my own domain & addresses... and of course if I just put in that I want 5 or 6 addresses for my family domain, their "google apps for your domain" program is going to laugh at me, right?

Wrong. So that's what we're doing... I'm migrating the MX record later this week after making sure all is in order. I'm already testing it on a "spare" domain, and it works very well.

xoxoxoBruce · 12-11-2006, 04:45 PM

How is Gmail working for you, Steve?

SteveDallas · 12-11-2006, 06:08 PM

Just dandy. I like the gmail web interface. Mrs. Dallas continues to use Thunderbird with it like she did with Dreamhost. The spam filtering is far superior to that for any other budget-priced hosting I examined. We still have our modest web site and all our DNS at Dreamhost--we haven't had problems in those areas.

xoxoxoBruce · 12-11-2006, 08:15 PM

Cool, thanks.

11-10-2006, 11:42 AM	#1
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Email hosting We've had a couple threads about web hosting... but not, I think, recently. And now I'm finding myself looking for something else besides Dreamhost. I've been with them a number of years and I've been happy till recently. They definitely satisfied my very modest web hosting needs. (How modest? My biggest traffic comes when I like to a picture from here!) But my problem is with email. Their spam protection is just not cutting it. They use spamassassin, which is theoretically fine. But Dreamhost is about a year behind in their updates, and they don't implement any of the Bayesian functionality. I don't fault them for not automatically putting out every upgrade that comes down the pike--a practice that I frown on myself--but the state of the spam war has changed a lot in the last year. Some customers have taken to forwarding all their email to gmail, and then forwarding it back, so it passes through Google's filter. Others have installed the latest version of spamassassin in their own accounts, and while this has a certain attraction, it's just way too much like work. So, any thoughts on places with good spam filtering?

11-10-2006, 12:58 PM	#2
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	Ugh. We have SpamAssassin here at work. It's like having another teenager. Very energetic when it's something they want to do, a lot of maintenance otherwise. I haven't found the sweetspot yet. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

11-10-2006, 03:40 PM	#7
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Garbage in... . . . __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

11-11-2006, 12:31 AM	#10
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Spampal. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

12-11-2006, 04:45 PM	#12
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	How is Gmail working for you, Steve? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

11-10-2006, 01:09 PM	#3
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Well my experience is that it's actually OK... if you have the Bayesian features turned on. The problem is it's not easy to run that in a shared hosting environment.

11-10-2006, 01:45 PM	#4
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	I have that problem and I am going to implement an interesting solution -- I'm going to use accounts that are dead, and are huge spam magnets, as input to the filter.

11-10-2006, 02:34 PM	#5
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Say more? what exactly are you trying?

11-10-2006, 03:36 PM	#6
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	I don't remember how to put things back into the filter, but I'm going to all email from spam magnet accounts into it. I have a few accounts that get a ton of spam and 0% possibility of false positives. If they all going nito the bayesian filter as examples of guaranteed spam, won't that help its ability to detect what is and isn't spam?

11-10-2006, 05:12 PM	#8
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Oh, I see... it will help, but my understanding it that for really good performance it also needs a significant number of examples of non-spam as well.

11-25-2006, 10:36 PM	#11
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	After reading some good reviews, I tried bananahosting.com. The spam filtering (also spamassassin based, no surprise in a low-rent host) seemed somewhat better than dreamhost. But they don't support SSL/TLS for sending & receiving email!! Forget that. Next stop: webmail.us. Mostly this was a good operation, but the spam setup was inflexible. (A lot of spam got through in the 3-6 score range--and even the most aggressive setting was 6 and above. Bzzz.) You know, that gmail thing looks good. But I don't want to give up my own domain & addresses... and of course if I just put in that I want 5 or 6 addresses for my family domain, their "google apps for your domain" program is going to laugh at me, right? Wrong. So that's what we're doing... I'm migrating the MX record later this week after making sure all is in order. I'm already testing it on a "spare" domain, and it works very well.

12-11-2006, 06:08 PM	#13
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Just dandy. I like the gmail web interface. Mrs. Dallas continues to use Thunderbird with it like she did with Dreamhost. The spam filtering is far superior to that for any other budget-priced hosting I examined. We still have our modest web site and all our DNS at Dreamhost--we haven't had problems in those areas.

12-11-2006, 08:15 PM	#14
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Cool, thanks. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)