Question concerning Anti-Spam not working

[darbwr]

Yesterday, I had an email to a friend bounced back to me from:  Mail Delivery Subsystem <Mailer-Daemon@imta-everyone.net.       and it read as follows:

The original message was received at Fri, 26, Aug 2011 11:43:16 -0700 from omta002 [127.0.0.1]

------The following addresses had permanent fatal errors ------ <email address of friend@fuse.net>

(reason: 550 Your host, 216.200.145.36 is in our RBL database) 

------Transcript of session follows----....while talking to mx4.fuse.net.:

<<<550 Your host, 216.200.145.365 is in our RBL database ... while talking to mx3.fuse.net.:

<<<550 Your host, 216.200.145.365 is in our RBL database ... while talking to mx1.fuse.net.:

<<<550 Your host, 216.200.145.365 is in our RBL database ... while talking to mx2.fuse.net.:

554.4.0.0 Service unavailable

I am using Microsoft Outook 2010 with McAfee Anti-Spam installed.  I am using Windows 7 - 64 bit.   I had emailed this friend just the day before with no problems. 

When I opened McAfee Security Center and tried to open the Anti-Spam section, a notification came up that Anti-Spam had stopped working and the

Security Center needed to be closed. 

I did run all the other scans with the Security Center I could today and everything worked except can't open Anti-Spam from Outlook or from the McAfee program on desktop.

I did send an email to my brother today after running all the scans telling him not to open the email if it came through - just in case there was some sort of problem with it.  He is uses Quest and it went through to him and didn't bounce back.  But I still can't use Anti-Spam.  I am assuming the bounced email and the Anti-Spam not working are related.  Can anyone tell me how to proceed?  Thanks. 

[Hayton]

Check that the IP address in the message is indeed your own IP address. If it is, you may have a bit of a problem. The RBL is a blacklist of spammers. Read the following, taken from the suprbay forum :

What is this "RBL" and why can't I upload? [database 27 error]
Many people have been wondering why they can't either register or upload to the site, and the main reason is "RBL" or "Real-time Blackhole List".

WTF is an "RBL"?
It is basically a DNS Blacklist. These are mainly used to publish lists of addresses linked to spamming. Other related lists include: DNSWL (DNS White List), RHSBL (Right Hand Side Blacklist), and URIBL (Uniform Resource Identifier Blacklist), none of which will effect you probably, except the RBL. So I won't explain them.

Well why does this even exist??
"The purpose of the RBL was not simply to block spam—it was to educate Internet service providers and other Internet sites about spam and related problems, such as open SMTP relays, spamvertising, etc." blah blah blah more @ Google...it eventually grew over time, and is now used on sites for spam prevention, such as The Pirate Bay.

Why is my IP Address on there?
Your IP Address has been identified at one point or another for sending out spam. The RBL identifies these machines by their internet address and adds them to a list that can be checked in real time by an e-mail server. If a server has been listed as a spam host the mail will be refused immediately. This means less overhead on e-mail systems and a lot less spam for end users.

Ok, well why am I on the list if I'm not the spammer??[/b]
Several reasons could be...
1. Perhaps you have aquired an IP Address from your ISP, that was previously used by a spammer and is now on the list.
2. You may have aquired a virus at some point, and not realised it. Your machine may seem to be running fine, but in fact it may be sending spam out to the Internet at large after being fed a list of addresses/spam e-mail from a remote operator.
3. You're a spammer, and just wasting our time.

If the IP is not you, you need to find out who it belongs to and why it's in the return-message information.

If it's you, update all your programs starting with Microsoft and McAfee and when you're finished run a Full Scan. Then scan your system with Malwarebytes or SuperAntispyware, and delete anything that these & McAfee find and quarantine. Only when you are absolutely sure that your machine does not have any kind of malware on it should you contact your ISP and ask them to help get you off the blacklist.

[darbwr]

I am not intentionally spamming but this is a bit unsettling.  I will work on what you said to do as soon as I can.  Thank you and I will let you know what is happening..  As far as I know, I have been keeping all programs up to date as I have settings for automatic updates on Microsoft and McAfee.  But I will check each one again and do the other scan you suggest. 

[darbwr]

After seeing your email, I knew I was going to have a long day.  And I don't know how you do this kind of stuff all day long as I'd sure rather be doing other things on the computer.  But thanks for being around to try to help me figure this thing out. 

I updated Windows first thing - didn't have any critical updates but several others which I installed and restarted the computer.  I then tried to update McAfee and it came up with the screen that "an error occurred" and then after I closed that screen, the program told me I had updated and a green check markup said I was protected.  That was the first time since installation that I had actually watched the update and I had been getting little notices down in the right hand corner of the computer previously that the program was updating.   So now I don't know how long it hasn't really updated. 

Before I ran the two anti-spyware programs you told me about, I did check that IP address 216.200.145.36.  It belongs to AboveNet communications in San Jose, California.  Above Net is the server for Wyoming.com which is my ISP, so I know how to get more information about my possible blacklisting.  But I didn't call anyone about that yet as it was a Sunday, anyway. 

Then I ran the Malwarebytes program with a full scan which took hours and everything came back with 0's.  Nothing - not even cookies they didn't like. 

Then I ran the SuperAntiSpyware program which took over three hours for the full scan.  I was including my backup hard drive in both scans, and it picked up a lot of adware cookies backed up on that Seagate drive.  Plus several instances of a Norton program I had downloaded previously for an older computer.  That is the antispyware program listed in each instance on both the hard drive, and my regular drive and it didn't tell me I needed to delete it and I want to keep the file anyway because I might need it for the other computer.  I deleted all the adware cookies  - only three on my regular hard drive  like Doubleclick - I usually clean them fairly regularly,  and the others on the backup that got saved when I did my backups and they included lots from FindAGrave and places I use when I work on the family tree.  I guess I need to clean the backup, too when I clean cookies and such.  Anyway, absolutely nothing else came up and I was a bit disappointed because I was actually wishing I could find something to deal with. 

I did run the Virtual Technician program after that last scan and it came back that everything was okay but a blank page opened on the browser.  I could read the logs and saved them.  But I still can't run Anti-Spam without the message coming up about the program needing to close and I am not sure now, after watching it several times, with the error occurred message appearing, if it really is backing up.  I am really suspecting something has gone wrong with the installation but don't want to uninstall unless you think there is something else that needs to be done.  After deleting all the cookies, do I need to run the scans again?  What is my to-do-list for tomorrow?  What other information do you need?  And keep in mind, you are talking to a great-grandmother, so go easy with the technical stuff. I am trying. 

[Hayton]

Well, one good thing. Two, actually. First, all those scans you ran came back clean, so your machine is okay. Delete the cookies, keep any of the other stuff you want to keep, and relax a bit. The problem with the bouncing mail is evidently something to do with your ISP, and probably means that another of their customers has been infected by a spam-sending trojan (which unfortunately drags in you, and a lot of others). The ISP will undoubtedly be aware of this by now, but you could contact them anyway to find out if it's been cleared up (and complain to them about being affected by their problem).

As for Anti-Spam not opening, if MVT doesn't find anything amiss with your McAfee installation then I'm not sure what would be causing the problem. The usual response in these situations is "oh, well, uninstall and reinstall" (sorry). It works in about half the cases I've seen, but don't ask me why. If you do decide to do that, you'll need to run the MCPR utility to clean up all the traces before you reinstall.

Before I (or one of the other mods) ask you try anything though, it would be helpful to know a few things -

1. What is the McAfee product you've got installed?

2. What versions of the program have you got? (Open the Security Center and look for the versions - on mine, it's listed under Navigation-->About).  The relevant items will be Security Center and Anti-Spam. I was going to suggest changing settings in Anti-Spam but you say it won't open, so that's a non-starter.

3.What's your PC operating system (XP, Vista, Windows 7)?

[darbwr]

I am running Windows 7 64bit version. 

As to the McAfee versions, the following is what McAfee had listed under About:

About McAfee Secutiy Center

McAfee Security Center

     Version 10.5

     Build 10.5.221

     Affld 676-4

     Language en-US

     Last Update 2/2/2011

McAfee Virus Scan

     Version 14.5

     Build 14.5.130

     Last Update 8/28/2011

     DAT Version 6452

     DAT Creation 8/28/2011

McAfee Personal Firewall

     Version 11.5

     Build 11.5.141

     Last Update 12/15/2010

McAfee Site Advisor

     Version 3.3

     Build 3.3.1.133

     Affld 676-4

     Language en-US

     Last Update 5/2/2011

McAfee Anti-Spam

     Version 11.5

     Build 11.5.141

     Last Update 1/15/2011

     Content Version 3963

     Content Update 8/28/2011 9:18:55 PM

     Engine Version 2.2.0.9149

McAfee Parental Control

     Version 12.5

     Build 12.5.113

     Last Update 12/15/2010

McAfee Quick Clean and Shredder

     Version 10.5

     Build 10.5.11

     Last Update 12/15/2010

This seems to indicate that I am updating but I still am getting error messages and can't see the settings of the Anti-Spam since it won't open. 

I don't use Parental Controls.  I notice that there is a new Site Advisor version I can install for Firefox and I will if everything else is okay and I don't have make a new install.  Thanks again for your help   

Message was edited by: darbwr on 8/29/11 8:56:04 AM CDT

[okv]

Your problem is most probably same as here: https://community.mcafee.com/thread/33812?start=0&tstart=0. This means you need to get McAfee Anti-Spam 11.5.145 to resolve it. Try to get an update or reinstall from web.

[darbwr]

So, if my program isn't updating, as the thread you referred to was much earlier this year, and we don't have a link to this particular version of Anti-Spam we can download ourselves, we have to do a reinstall the whole Security Center?  That means I have to run that MCPR utility and then do a reinstall?  I guess I wouldn't have known about my issues with McAfee without temporarily being put on a Blacklist but hopefully I can get this straightened out.  My email problem has been corrected evidently by my ISP but not McAfee.  

[okv]

Update mechanism depends on your GEO location and installation type, your Affid suggests your installation comes from McAfee partner. I'll try to check if build 11.5.145 is available for you.

[okv]

I did check, and you should be able to upgrade to 11.5.145 with valid subscription. In Security center go to Home/Updates/Check for updates and try to run an update.

If this won't work you can try to reinstall from web and this should solve your problem.