Blacklisted IP Address Allocations

[LivingWise]

I am a full fibre 150 customer. Recently my IP keeps changing and for some reason the one I get allocated is always blacklisted (I use MXTool box to check). This has the effect of locking out my incoming email via my domain servers and I have to contact my domain host to whitelist the new IP to get my email to pull through. The frequency of these changes is becoming worse - the last four dates were 30.10.24, 22.11.24, 26.12.24 and now today. Luckily my host is excellent and very responsive, but I need to find a way of stopping this happening as it is causing issues when I need to be able to receive incoming mail outside working hours. Does anyone have any suggestions please? 

[LivingWise]

Yes I agree... but it is not I who is spamming! As explained, the last time my IP changed I became aware of it because my email would not pull through when I turned my PC on, so I had not sent any email. On checking, my IP had changed again and was showing blacklisted on MXToolbox. I will send you a DM. 

[Ady-TalkTalk]

That is in keeping with what the team have already advised. Which is that the IP is being blocked for spamming. Send me a personal message with the mail host you're using.

Ady

[LivingWise]

Hi @Ady-TalkTalk  Yes. As explained previously, my current IP is still showing as blacklisted with Spamhaus ZEN and Barracuda but I am using this forum! The blacklisting only seems to effect my email. The email issue is solved by my host whitelisting the new IP I have been allocated by TalkTalk on their server which then enables me to access webmail, control panels and stops the block on my incoming mail to Outlook on my PC. 

[Ady-TalkTalk]

Are you able to access the internet for other webpages? 

Ady

[LivingWise]

Hi @Ady-TalkTalk  When the IP is blacklisted I cannot access webmail until my host whitelists it. Likewise I cannot access my control panel for my domains which are all held on the same server with my host. 

[Ady-TalkTalk]

I think to shorten my colleagues answer. A blocked ip doesn't block incoming email. Are you able to use the internet when your IP is blocked? If you can what happens when you access webmail?

Oh I should add that he was adamant that blocked ips can never be reused for security reasons. 

Ady

[LivingWise]

Hi @Ady-TalkTalk Thank you for your input. 

Sorry to be ignorant, but I am quite confused by the feedback from your colleague.

I own three domains (the first since 2002) and each have email accounts that I use. I use the settings provided by my host (who I have been with since 2002) for the incoming and outgoing servers. This is how it has always worked. It is only recently that the issue of repeated blacklisted IP addresses has occurred whereby every allocation has come to me from TalkTalk ALREADY blacklisted. Most of the IP changes follow power outages, some of many hours, hence a UPS will not solve the problem 100%. I become aware of a change in IP when my incoming mail stops coming through - I then check to see if the IP has changed and then check if it is blacklisted with MXToolbox. I then alert my host of the new IP and they whitelist it their end and this resolves the issue. The last four IP changes since 30.10.24 have all been blacklisted. I know for certain that with the last one, I had not sent any email out before I'd noticed the issue with the incoming email so I cannot understand how my email settings could be the cause of a new IP being blacklisted when I have just turned on my PC and discovered the IP change. 

Do you still wish me to send you my domain and email settings privately?

[Divsec]

Thanks for this info Ady, checking back to the op it looks like the issue is with incoming mail, showing my deep ignorance can I assume incoming email is covered by the response. 

D

[Ady-TalkTalk]

I've got an update from a colleague who is better able to explain and rationalise what's happening to you. 

"We cannot allow broadband customers free reign to directly send emails from any domain they like. As any of the broadband customers could end up with any of the dynamic IPs in the future.

You are sending mail from a dynamic IP. Which most receiving mail servers wont like

Plus you will be sending mails that don't pass SPF or DMARC, which will also be a quick route to blacklisting"

Your mail provider should be able to provide you with the correct SMTP settings to use. 

Ady

[Ady-TalkTalk]

Hi Livingwise, can you send me a personal message including your sending email address the client/webmail details and settings you are using?

Ady

[KeithFrench]

Hi @LivingWise 

I have just chased TalkTalk again for you & I will let you know when @Ady-TalkTalk can pick this up & advise you.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @LivingWise 

@Michelle-TalkTalk has asked @Ady-TalkTalk to pick this up now.

[LivingWise]

Hi @KeithFrench , I think there are more ISPs offering static IP options nowadays, but I'm aware from research several years ago they were only available for business broadband accounts and costly, otherwise I'd happily opt for a static IP!

I very much appreciate your help with escalating to TalkTalk Keith 🙂

Would be nice to get to the bottom of why this is happening 🤞

[KeithFrench]

Hi @LivingWise 

@Michelle-TalkTalk is going to pick this up in a moment.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @LivingWise 

I was only wondering, because there are only a few people this happens to. For diagnostic purposes, I often end up with new WAN IP addresses & have never been allocated a banned one (hope I am not speaking too soon).

You will only ever get a dynamic IP address, static IP addresses are never allocated to residential customers. TalkTalk Business provided them, but the last I heard TalkTalk were going to be offloading TTB.

Let me contact TalkTalk another way for you & see if I can't get an answer for yu this afternoon.

[LivingWise]

Hi @KeithFrench, This is really the same issue as turning the router off to obtain a new IP in the hope it isn't blacklisted. Yes, I could spend my time contacting each of the organisations that has blacklisted an IP, but by the time that's been sorted (and from past experience it isn't always quick or straight forward), I could have been allocated another IP that's blacklisted and I'm back to square one.  The issue is that I'm being frequently allocated blacklisted IPs by TalkTalk. 

For example, the last 3 IPs I've had since 30.10.24 were 80.46.247.234 (block by Spamhaus ZEN), 78.150.173.38 (RATS NoPtr & Spamhaus ZEN) and 92.30.164.129 (RATS Dyna, Spamhaus ZEN & BARRACUDA). My current IP is blacklisted with Spamhaus ZEN & BARRACUDA. This is why my IPs keep getting blocked by my domain host and won't work till they are whitelisted. I would really like to understand why every IP I'm allocated from TalkTalk is blacklisted and I would have thought that TalkTalk would like to know this also!

I'm aware that I'm not the only one this happens to, and if it was only once in a while it wouldn't be an issue, but when EVERY IP I've had recently is blacklisted, I felt it was time to raise the question of why and how to stop it because it is not my devices or email usage habits that are causing my IP to get blacklisted, they are coming to me already blacklisted. 

Is there a process by which a dynamic IP cannot be allocated to a TalkTalk customer if it is on a blacklist?

[KeithFrench]

Just out of interest @LivingWise, don't you get any recourse with the organisation that has blocked your IP address to get it unblocked?

[LivingWise]

Many thanks @KeithFrench 😉

[KeithFrench]

I have asked one of TalkTalk's support to pick your thread up and investigate it for you.

They aim to respond within 48 hours (Monday - Friday) excluding Bank Holidays, but if more urgent you can always try the Service Centre on 0345 172 0088. The posts are responded to in time/date order, oldest first.

[LivingWise]

Hi @KeithFrench 

My issue is that I keep getting blacklisted IPs from TalkTalk. Turning my router on and off isn't going to make any difference to my issue if the IP I obtain from the refresh is also blacklisted. I've had four back-to-back black listed IPs, so I've rather lost hope that the next one won't be. I also cannot afford to keep turning my router off just to refresh in the hope of getting a non-blacklisted IP, that's just not practical. Moreover, as already explained, we do get power outages fairly frequently here - and often for longer than the time a UPS would run, so I've no idea how long my next IP will last even if I am lucky enough to get a non-blacklisted one upon a refresh. 

A static IP, as suggested by @Divsec could well solve the issue but that's at a cost.

Surely TalkTalk would like to know that the IPs they are using are blacklisted and want to try to do something about that?