Shaw CloudFilter blocking IP when using a 3rd Party ISP

[rrutherford1]

I am trying to use my shaw email account(IMAP) while using a 3rd party ISP.  The connection logs show the following error:

READ Jul 11 20:29:08.850 [kCFStreamSocketSecurityLevelNone] -- host:mail.shaw.ca -- port:587 -- socket:0x600001c6cc60 -- thread:0x6000021504c0
421 shw-obgw-4003a.ext.cloudfilter.net cmsmtp 209.52.140.xx blocked. AUP#DNS

Who do I contact to unblock the IP address being blocked

[mdk]

@rrutherford1 - 209.52.140.xx blocked. AUP#DNS

AUP ==> Appropriate Usage Policy.  There seems to be something wrong with the DNS records not being supplied by TELUS:

52.209.in-addr.arpa     nameserver = dns1.cidc.telus.com
52.209.in-addr.arpa     nameserver = dns2.cidc.telus.com

>  209.52.140.7

*** can't find 209.52.140.7: Server failed

>  209.52.140.8

*** can't find 209.52.140.8: Server failed

and so on, for many "209.52.140.xxx" IP-addresses.

I would start with TELUS support, or maybe:

Full Name BURTON INTERNET SOCIETY
Address 125 Burton Main RD, Burton, BC, V0G 1E0

since that IP-address is within a range that apparently is sub-allocated by TELUS to B.I.S.

Burton is a settlement on the east shore of Lower Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia.

Just to the east of Burton is Valhalla Provincial Park.

It's about a 35 KM drive south on Highway 6 from Nakusp.

Although Rossland & Trail are "close" (as the crow flies) to Burton, you may have to find logging-roads to get from Burton to Rossland/Trail. Good luck!

[rrutherford1]

Thank you for this.  It helped solve the issue.  

Could I suggest Shaw's 1st level support or TSR be educated with CloudFilter and why it would block email or connections ?  It is very frustrating to hear check your connections, call Apple and use Webmail.

Thanks Again.

[mdk]

@rrutherford1 -- Could I suggest Shaw's 1st level support or TSR be educated 

Yes, by scrolling-down to the "Your Voice" hyperlink, and clicking on it, to submit your suggestion directly to Shaw.

Also, tell them that the first-level Shaw Agents should know their limits, and "escalate" any issue that they cannot resolve, other than just saying "check your connections" or "call Apple" or "use WebMail".

By the way, "check your connections" is a good suggestion, to see if a pet has disturbed the wiring (coaxial or Ethernet cables). Also, "try WebMail" is a good way to check that the correct E-mail ID & password are being submitted.  These are simple suggestions that are easy for the customer to try as the first steps in trouble-shooting.

[Kilroyno1]

I'm having the same trouble. I am on a Telus account at my office and I also have my Shaw Home account email addresses (4 of them) on my email client. The two Telus email addresses have no trouble sending or receiving, but as of a week ago I get an error when sending from my Shaw email addresses.

Sending of the message failed.
An error occurred while sending mail: Outgoing server (SMTP) error. The server responded: shw-obgw-4001a.ext.cloudfilter.net cmsmtp 75.155.127.*** blocked. AUP#DNS.

I've contacted Shaw Support and after successfully sending an email from Shaw Webmail, their suggested solution was to continue using Shaw Webmail or delete and re-enter the information for my Shaw accounts in to my email client so that they, hopefully, would work again. They had no idea what cloudfilter was and the server information for the Shaw emails are all correct.

Did you contact Shaw or Telus support to rectify your situation?

[rrutherford1]

The problem was the Internet Service Provider did not have their reverse DNS records set up correctly.   Shaw's cloud filter is used to prevent SPAM and performs a reverse lookup of your IP address to ensure it is a legitimate registered IP address.  You may want to contact your Internet Service Provider and ask them to perform a reverse DNS lookup of your IP address.  I suspect it is missing some or has incorrect information.  Hope this helps...  Once again Shaw should educate their 1st line support personnel about cloud filter and the difference in architectures between webmail and a local mail client.

[Matt_c]

I'm having this exact same problem. I'm getting AUP#DNS from Cloudfilter when trying to send Shaw email via authenticated SMTP. Is there a way I can perform a reverse DNS lookup on my IP address myself to confirm the above theory? I believe my ISP only assigns IPv6 IPs to each internet customer.

[rrutherford1]

You can enter your IP address into this web site https://dnslytics.com .  A report will show if a PTR record has been entered for this IP address.  If not, you can contact your ISP to verify.  In my case, the name servers for the IP address range assigned to the ISP were not entered correctly.  Hope this helps and good luck.

[jsainas]

Hi  the 3rd party ISP seems to be the culprit for me as well.  Never thought about that.  When my email is stalled in the outbox I get the following alarm message.

Error:Task  Sending' reported error (0x800CCC67) : ' The server responded: 421 shw-obgw-4004a.ext.cloudfilter.net cmsmtp 108.63.251.xx blocked. AUP#DNS'  

Our ISP is Prime and  the IP address  is a Prime domain.  I chatted with Shaw for 2 hours yesterday and all they could say was our webmail was fine so everything is good.   Surprising we missed the 3rd party ISP link.   Not at all happy with the experience of the Shaw support people.

For completeness Microsoft Outlook support also replied with the following response.   They were on the right track, but I missed the 3rd party ISP again.

Based on the error, you may please contact your Internet Service Provider and ask them to perform a reverse DNS lookup of your IP address. Since Shaw's cloud filter is used to prevent SPAM and performs a reverse lookup of your IP address to ensure it is a legitimate registered IP address. </p><p data-prewrap="true">   </p><p data-prewrap="true">In the meantime, I would also suggest you please contact your Shaw email service provider support for further assistance.

Time to call primus

[mdk]

@jsainas -- The server responded: 421 shw-obgw-4004a.ext.cloudfilter.net cmsmtp 108.63.251.xx blocked. AUP#DNS

From a command-line prompt in Windows:

nslookup

set type=ns

251.63.108.in-addr.arpa.

63.108.in-addr.arpa.

108.in-addr.arpa.

exit

You will see that the "inverse" DNS-records are missing for that range of IP-addresses assigned to PRIMUS.

If Shaw is verifying against those records, the verification will "fail", due to the lack of those "DNS" records.

Only the network-administrators at PRIMUS can add the "missing" information.

Note that when a PRIMUS customer is using Shaw WebMail, such "DNS" checks are not performed.

The IP-address of the PRIMUS customer is allowed to connect to Shaw WebMail's servers -- no "checking" is done.