Does Mailwasher really Bounce EMails?

Forum for MailWasher Pro 7 and/or older 2011/2012 versions.
DavenTX
Mystified Moa
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:46 pm

Does Mailwasher really Bounce EMails?

Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:48 am

Ever since I've been using this program, MW7, more and more Spam have been coming my way. 95% are "newslettters" at some domain now in which I was not receiving before using this program.

:shock:
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rusticdog
Firetrust Monkey
Posts: 15864
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:27 pm

Re: Does Mailwasher really Bounce EMails?

Thu Sep 16, 2021 4:06 pm

DavenTX wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:48 am
Ever since I've been using this program, MW7, more and more Spam have been coming my way. 95% are "newslettters" at some domain now in which I was not receiving before using this program.

:shock:
Sorry for the delay, that won't be us, we don't provide user data to anybody else.
Are these legitimate domains that you've dealt with in the past ? I have noticed with Covid, old companies I dealt with years ago are finding their way back into my inbox, I assume trying to boost sales.
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Digerati
Microsoft MVP
Location: Nebraska, USA
Posts: 1916
Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:16 pm

Re: Does Mailwasher really Bounce EMails?

Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:00 am

To answer your question, yes, MailWasher bounces emails - or at least it tries. But I recommend you don't do it.

For starters, many email providers don't allow bounces so they block them before they go anywhere. In fact, there have been reports of ISPs closing accounts for folks who bounce a lot of emails.

The problem is, bouncing rarely, if ever, works and IMO, that option should be removed from MailWasher altogether.

Spammers never, as in NEVER EVER use a legitimate return address. It is either fictitious, or worse, it is a legitimate address that belongs to some innocent person. The spammer has stolen that address and "spoofed" it into the spam. :mad:

And most newsletters and other unsolicited emails are sent from an "unmonitored" address. The [more or less] legitimate newsletters will tell you it is an automated and/or unmonitored email and will say, "do not reply". The result is, no one will pay attention to it anyway, or your bounce cannot be delivered.

So what happens when you reply or bounce an email back to the spammer is that bounce bounces - causing an "invalid address" or "undeliverable" message to be sent back. All that does is compound the unwanted email problem.

And should the spammer use a stolen address, that poor innocent person either gets flooded with bounce messages, or they get angry emails from the spam recipient accusing that poor innocent person of sending them spam. In some cases, that innocent person could have their email address blacklisted and that can be a major inconvenience. :(

So bouncing spam is just wasting your time, it adds to the deluge of unwanted emails flooding the Internet, it can hurt innocent users, and it does not work anyway.

So don't bounce! Just tag them as spam. If you get many from the same source, create a filter to block it. Depending on your email provider, you may even be able to create a filter through that account's webmail access to delete it before it can ever appear in MailWasher.

One exception. The ONLY time bounce might be effective is if your ex-spouse is hounding you for more alimony and you know for a fact the email address he or she is using is valid.
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