Document information

Document ID:	4621
Subject:	Email Challenge Response
Creation date:	12/14/15 4:35 PM
Last modified on:	8/15/18 2:33 PM

Email Challenge/Response

Challenge/Response filtering, also known as auto-white-listing, or permission based email is increasingly popular and controversial mechanism to prevent spam. Though it can be extremely effective, it has drawbacks.

Consider the following scenario that explains this mechanism.

• Bob sends an email message to Mary
• Mary's email server accepts the message but before transferring it to her Inbox, the server sends a message back to Bob, confirming if he actually sent a message. Bob must reply to this automatically generated message which confirms his original message.
  
• Since spammers almost always either forge the sender or send from invalid address. Therefore, Mary will never get the message is someone else pretends to be Bob.
  

Enabling Challenge/Response in Xeams

Follow the steps below to enable Challenge/Response in Xeams.

• Log in to Admin Console
• Click Server Configuration
• Select the Challenge Response tab
• Check Enable Challenge Response, specify an email for processing and a threshold value. Check the help in Admin Console for the exact description of each field.
• Click the Save button

Disadvantages of using Challenge/Response

• It is considered rude by many users
• It is not a viable option if you receive emails from unknown individuals, such as potential clients
• Slows down email delivery
• Will never work if both parties use a Challenge/Response system
  

Customizing Challenge Email

The template for the email message sent during challenge/response comes from $INSTALL_DIR\config\CResponse.txt. Modify the contents of this file to change the text for this email.

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