How XWall works
For incoming messages, XWall needs to get the message before your Exchange
server will get it so that it can perform it checks before passing the message
over to Exchange. Depending on whether you run XWall on the same machine as
Exchange or on a different machine, XWall either needs to hook up to port
25 or to act as a relay host (respectively).
For outgoing messages, Exchange server passes the message to XWall, which
performs its checks and then sends the message out in the Internet. From Exchange
Servers viewpoint, XWall is a normal relay host.
So the message flow for incoming messages would be
Internet -> XWall -> Exchange server
and for outgoing messages it would be Exchange server
-> XWall -> Internet
System Requirements
- Windows 2000/2003/2008/2012
- Linux with wine / wine-console
- Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes or any other SMTP server
Installation
Decide if XWall should be installed on the Exchange server or on a different
machine:
- Single Exchange server
If you have only one Exchange
server and you have less than 10.000 messages each day, then run XWall
on the Exchange server.
- More than one Exchange server in the organization
If
you have more than one Exchange server in your organization then you should
run XWall on a different machine or at least at a different ip address,
because the Exchange servers communicate internal states using Microsoft
propriety SMTP verbs on port 25 and third party gateways like XWALL
should not be inserted between internal Exchange servers traffic flow.
- Cluster
If you have a cluster then you must run XWall
on a different machine, because XWall doesn't support a cluster.
Once you decided on which machine you are installing XWall, perform the
following steps:
- Run Setup.exe or create a directory on your machine and copy all
the files into this directory
- Start XWall Admin (MBAdmin.exe) to configure XWall
- The first time you run XWall you will be prompted for the following
information:
- Postmaster's address
The
address of the person who is responsible for maintaining XWall. XWall
will send all error messages to this address.
- The name or IP address of the Exchange server
If XWall is running on the same machine as the Exchange server
than you can ( and should ) use localhost as the name.
- The port Exchange listens
If XWall is running on
the same machine as the Exchange server than use port 24, else
use port 25.
Screenshot:
XWall
on the same machine as Exchange ,
XWall
on a different machine
- The e-mail domain that your Exchange is responsible
XWall needs to know for which e-mail domain your Exchange is responsible,
so that if can forward messages for this domain to your Exchange.
Screenshot:
e-mail domain that your Exchange is responsible
- Running XWall on the same machine as Exchange server
Incoming Messages
If you run XWall on the same machine as the Exchange, then you must
tell Exchange to listen on a separate port; i.e. not port 25, because only
one application can listen to a specific port at one time and XWall needs
to be the first application that gets SMTP messages.
Then start MBAdmin, select Options->General->Exchange->Exchange
listens on port and type in the same port that you used in Exchange
( e.g. 24 ) .
Outgoing Messages (this step is optional and is not needed
for inbound spam blocking)
- Exchange 5.x
Start Exchange Administrator, select the IMS (Internet Mail Service)
and click on the tab labeled Connections.
Enable Forward all messages to host
and type in localhost. Close the dialog and restart the
IMS.
From then on the Exchange server will forward all messages
to the localhost, which basically means it sends them to XWall.
- Exchange 2000/2003
If you have no SMTP connector then start System Manager (Exchange Admin)
and select Servers->Your Server->Protocol->SMTP->Default
SMTP Virtual Server->Properties.
In this dialog
select the tab labeled Delivery and then
Advanced and in Smart host type in localhost.
Screenshot:
Exchange
forward
Close the dialog and restart the SMTP service of Exchange. From then
on the Exchange server will forward all messages to the localhost, which
basically means it sends them to XWall.
If you have a SMTP connector then start System Manager (Exchange
Admin) and select Routing Groups->Exchange->Connectors->Your
SMTP Connector->Properties->Forward all mail through this connector
to the following smart host and type in the name or IP address
of the machine where XWall is running.
Close the dialog and restart Exchange. From then on the Exchange
server will forward all messages to the name or IP address , which basically
means it sends them to XWall.
- Exchange 2007/2010/2013 and SBS 2008/2011
Start Exchange
Management Console and select Organization Configuration->Hub
Transport->Send Connectors
If there is no connector in
the list, then create one, else select the properties of the correct
outbound connector.
In this dialog select the labeled
Network and then select Route all mail though the following
smart host. Press the Add button and add localhost
as the smart host.
Screenshot:
Exchange outbound connector list,
Exchange smart host
Close the dialog and restart Exchange.
From then on the Exchange server will forward all messages to the name
or IP address , which basically means it sends them to XWall.
- Running XWall on a different machine than the Exchange server
Incoming Messages
Start MBAdmin, select Options->General->Exchange->Name
or IP address of the Exchange server and type in the name or
IP address of the Exchange server.
Screenshot:
XWall on
a different machine
Depending on your DNS configuration you
will need to change the MX record so that it points to the machine where
XWall is running or else XWall will not get the messages before Exchange.
Note: On Windows 2003/2008/2012 you need to open port 25 on
the firewall. So unless you open port 25, no mail will come in.
Outgoing Messages (this step is optional and is not needed for
inbound spam blocking)
- Exchange 5.x
Start Exchange Administrator, select
the IMS (Internet Mail Service) and click on the tab labeled
Connections. Enable
Forward all messages to host and type
in the name or IP address of the machine where XWall is running. Close
the dialog and restart the IMS. From then on the Exchange server will
forward all messages to XWall.
- Exchange 2000/2003
If you have no SMTP connector
start System Manager ( Exchange Admin) and select Servers->Your
Server->Protocol->SMTP->Default SMTP Virtual Server->Properties.
In this dialog select the tab labeled
Delivery and then Advanced.
In Smart host type in the name
or IP address of the machine where XWall is running.
Close the dialog and restart Exchange. From then on the Exchange server
will forward all messages to XWall.
If you have a SMTP connector then start System Manager (Exchange
Admin) and select Connectors->Your SMTP Connector->Properties->Forward
all mail through this connector to the following smart host and
type in the name or IP address of the machine where XWall is running.
Close the dialog and restart Exchange. From then on the Exchange
server will forward all messages to the name or IP address , which basically
means it sends them to XWall.
- Exchange 2007/2010/2013 and SBS 2008/2011
Start Exchange
Management Console and select Organization Configuration->Hub
Transport->Send Connectors
If there is no connector in
the list, then create one, else select the properties of the correct
outbound connector.
In this dialog select the labeled
Network and then select Route all mail though the following
smart host. Press the Add button and add type in the name
or IP address of the machine where XWall is running as the smart host.
Screenshot:
Exchange outbound connector list,
Exchange smart host
Close the dialog and restart Exchange.
From then on the Exchange server will forward all messages to the name
or IP address , which basically means it sends them to XWall.
Once you have done this you can start MBServer and check if all messages
are properly routed.
Run XWall as a service
Once you run XWall as a service, errors will only be visible in the
logfile or in the main window of MBAdmin. Consequently, before running it
as a service you must first ensure that XWall is running properly with no
errors by launching it in Console Mode (i.e. starting it from an icon).
In general, installing XWall as a service should be your last task and
not your first.
Note: Keep in mind that XWall needs to reside on a local disk or
the service controller will not be able to start it. Also make sure MBAdmin.exe
and MBServer.exe are in the same directory.
- Install the service using the GUI
Start
MBAdmin, select View->Service and here you can install, remove,
start and stop the service. By default it is an AutoStart service
and any time your computer is started, XWall will start.
Note:After you have started XWall as a service,
verify that XWall has no errors. You need to take a look into
the logfile to do this or start MBAdmin and in the main window you
see the logfile.
- Install the service from the command line
Open
a DOS box and change to the directory where XWall is installed (
usually C:\XWall or C:\Program Files\XWall )
- Installing XWall as a service
Start MBServer.exe with the argument of install, by
typing MBServer install at the command prompt and XWall
will create the service.
By default it is an AutoStart service and any time your computer
is started, XWall will start. You can start and stop XWall at
any time via Control Panel
Note: After you have started
XWall as a service, verify that XWall has no errors. You
need to take a look into the logfile to do this or start MBAdmin
and in the and in the main window you see the logfile.
- Removing XWall as a service
Start MBServer.exe
with the argument of remove, by typing MBServer remove
at the command prompt and XWall will delete the service.
How to Stop XWall
- XWall runs as a console application
- Press ESCAPE
- Select Close from the system menu (works only on Windows
NT®)
- Press Alt-F4 (works only on Windows NT)
- XWall runs as a service
- Open Control Panel, select Services, locate XWall
and press the button labeled Stop
- Type Net Stop XWall at the command prompt
Upgrade to the latest Version
You will find the latest version of XWall in the
Download Area
setup_xwall_??.exe searches for a previously installed XWall and updates
only the executable files. The settings, which are stored in xwall.ini and
*.dat, are not touched.
If the XWall service is running, it is stopped
and restarted after the update. In the unlikely event that a executable is
locked, the setup program asks for a reboot to change the file. If you refuse
the reboot, you need to manually reboot later to bring the new executable
into affect.
Note: If you are upgrading from a very old version then you must
reapply your registration number.
Tighten Security
To tighten your email security as much as possible enable the following
setting:
Fight Spam
There are two ways to fight against spam and both have advantages and disadvantages:
- Block all messages as early as possible
The advantage is that the messages do not reach your server and are blocked
as early as possible, most of them at the SMTP protocol level. The drawback
is that the administrator needs to handle all the exceptions.
For example, if you enable the
Spam Lookup Service
(SLS) and you tell XWall to block all messages that are on the spamcop.net
list, then this will catch a lot of spam mails ( usually around 50% ).
However, your best customer/supplier/friend/relative will also be blocked
because he/she is using a mail server which is on the list. So you need
to exclude this mail server and you need to adjust it any time the IP address
changes.
What makes the task really time consuming is the fact that the customer/supplier/friend/relative
does not simply tell you that your server does not accept mail because
it is on a spam list. They will call you and say something like
I can not send to you and you have to figure out what the problem might
be.
- Let all messages come in and mark the subject
The advantage of this is that the administrator has absolute no work and
it give the most flexibility, because XWall only marks the subject ( it
adds a small text like [sls] at the end of the subject ).
The final recipient can then simply setup a rule in his/her email client
that deletes all messages where the subject contains [sls]. He/she can
maintain a local exception list and do not need to call the administrator
for handling an exception. Another option would be to color code the message
rather then deleting it.
In practice this this has been proven to be the best way to fight spam.
Note: On Exchange 2003/2007/2010 then you can use Mark
subject and move to Junk-E-Mail folder. However,
XWALLFilter , which
is an add-on even sink, needs to be installed on your Exchange. For more
info on XWALLFilter
at click here.
Operations Guide
- Enable Automatic White
List - Options->Global Exclude->Exclude - White List
This allows you to use a more aggressive spam catching strategy,
because everyone to whom you send a e-mail is automatically excluded
from spam checking.
Helper Programs
- Signal
is a command line program
that allows you to perform the same commands as from the Signal menu of
MBAdmin. You can force the download of POP3 messages by simply clicking
on a link rather than starting MBAdmin.
- LogView
allows you to view
the logfile in real time from any machine on your network. This is
especially useful if MBServer runs as a service.
- TestMX is a command line program to
resolve the MX record for a give domain and then connect to the mail server.
The main purpose is to troubleshoot MX related problems or to check if
a domain can accept messages.
- ExchImp is a command line program to
import Exchange E-mail addresses into datauser.dat for verification of
the recipients e-mail address.
- LDAPImp is VBScript to import AD E-mail
addresses into datauser.dat for verification of the recipients e-mail address.
- CSVToEnv is a command line program
to recreate the envelope from the statistic file. CSVToEnv is needed to
resend messages from the history folder.
- TLS/SSL Toolkit contains a generic
certificate that you may use for a quick start. Download
TLS/SSL Toolkit and extract cert.pem
and cacert.pem into the XWall directory and then turn on TLS/SSL.
- Approve-Toolkit contains
ApproveAction.vbs UDM.vbs and some sample data that you may use as a starting
point for your own script that is used in the user defined method or approves
the spam method and/or action that XWall triggers.
- SerializeLog by Softec Integrations
AG is a command line program to serialize the
XWall logfile to facilitate troubleshooting.
- UniqueLog
extracts the part from a logfile that belong to an unique id
- XWALLFilter
is an add-on even sink to XWall, which automatically routes any XWall
marked message into the Junk-E-Mail folder of Exchange 2003/2007/2010.
- ESATStatus
a utility to show the status of the XWall queues and more wherever you
are. Set your warning and alert levels for each individual queue. A quick
glance at the screen and you know what's going on.
- ESATInformer designed for XWall
virtually eliminates the "false positive" problem. Daily reports
are sent to the email system administrator and all selected users. These
reports summarize the spam problem and list each users blocked messages.
Using these reports, users can request delivery of any false positives.
The request is handled automatically with a summary report sent to the
email administrator. With the "false positive" problem out of
the way, the XWall spam filters can be tightened to all but completely
eliminate spam.
Troubleshooting
Click here to view the troubleshooting section
Licensing Agreement
XWall ® is copyrighted 1993-2012 by DataEnter GmbH
This product and its documentation may not, in whole or in part, be copied,
rent, leased, loaned, resold, assigned, sublicensed, modified, reproduced,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into
any other natural or computer language, in any form or by any means whatsoever,
be it electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise, without
the prior written consent of DataEnter.
DataEnter makes no warranty or representation, either expressed or implied,
with respect to the product XWall and its documentation, their quality, performance,
merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. DataEnter reserves the
right to revise the user's guide and make changes to the content without obligation
to notify any person or organization of such change. In no event will DataEnter
be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages,
real or imagined, resulting from the use or purchase of this software. Under
no circumstances shall DataEnter's liability for damages exceed the price
paid for the software license. Should any remedy hereunder be determined to
have failed, all limitations of liability and exclusion of damages set forth
above shall remain in full force and effect. The extent of the DataEnter's
warranty for the software and its documentation is limited to physical defects
of the distribution media containing the software. Contact DataEnter to obtain
return authorization for the replacement diskette within 30 days of the original
date of purchase. Any further statement made by agents, employees, distributors
or dealers of DataEnter do not constitute warranties and are not binding.
No employee of DataEnter has the authority to modify any portion of this warranty.
All brand and product names we refer to in the documentation are used solely
for identification purposes and may be trademarks of other companies.
XWall Standard Edition: DataEnter, (the licensor) grants the buyer
(the licensee) the right to use this copy of XWall Standard Edition (the program)
on a single computer at a single location running a single instance and servicing
a single Exchange server as long as the licensee complies with the terms of
this license.
XWall ISP Edition: DataEnter, (the licensor) grants the buyer (the
licensee) the right to use this copy of XWall ISP Edition (the program) on
a single computer at a single location running a single instance as long as
the licensee complies with the terms of this license.
The licensor reserves the right to terminate this license if the licensee
violates any part of the agreement. The licensee agrees to make copies of
the program only for backup purposes. The licensee agrees not to copy the
documentation and to take all necessary precautions to ensure that the backup
copies of the software are not distributed to or acquired by other parties.
Support: Support is by e-mail
Upgrades, Updates: Updates are free, as long as the major version
number does not change. ( at present the major version number is v3.x
)
Add-On: Add-on are additional or optional parts of XWall that enhance
the capability of the core XWall program. The add-on have their own licensing
schema, especially when they are provided by a third-party company.
Central Checksum Service ( CCS ):
CCS is an additional optional part of XWall and
is licensed on a yearly subscription. CCS
uses a lot of hardware and maintenances for the central CCS servers and to
cover the cost, the CCS requires a yearly subscription.
Trademarks,
OpenSSL Credit
History
v3.48 2012-08-06
- New: Compiled with ASLR (address space randomization) and NX (no execution)
- New: Support status query using Nagios
- New: Verify a certificate using the CommonName and the subjectAltName
- New: Connection cache to Exchange (OutboundExchConnectionCache=True)
- New: Global exclusion for TLS required sender (InboundExclTLSRequired=True)
- New: Enhanced TLS peer certificate verification (OutboundSMTPTLSVerify=True)
- New: Prevent test for On-Access scanner at startup (VirusScannerOnAccessStartupCheck=False)
- New: SPF reject during the SMTP session only on FAIL, even when SOFTFAIL
or NEUTRAL is enabled (InboundBlockSPFSMTPLevelOnlyFail=True)
- New: Drop connection based on blocked host name
- New: Support for Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
- New: Heuristic scans for word with upper chars like ThereAreHugeDiscountOnTheseDrugs
- New: Zip archive with an unsupported compression method is handled
like a password protected zip archive
- New: The Format column in the statistic file indicates a IPv6 connection
- Chg: Outbound TLS connection use TLSv1, omit SSLv2, and reconnect with
SSLv3 when TLSv1 fails
- Chg: Removed announcement for NTLM AUTH for SMTP clients
- Chg: No longer checking a Backup MX for SLS/RBL and other methods during
the SMTP session
- Chg: Senderbase and Country skip the backup MX
- Chg: Heuristic value for tags in a html page
- Chg: IPv6 DNS query using ALL and fall back to A/AAAA for server that
don't support it
- Chg: SPF favors spf1 over spf2.0
- Chg: Removed unnecessary information from block statistic file to make
it smaller
- Chg: Caching of SLS/RBL positive answers
- Chg: Avoid SLS/RBL queries for excluded senders
- Chg: Optimized text scan and email compare with wildcards
- Chg: Persistent cache for SLS, SURBL, SPF and Senderbase
- Chg: Default Greylisting exclusions removed
- Chh: SPF detect useless record "v=spf1 ?all"
- Fix: Checking for an exploit in a zip file
- Fix: Reject internal From: address during the SMTP session was not
working
- Fix: Inbound connection manager stopped when out of resources
- Fix: Binding to a IPv6 address erroneously enabled inbound IPv6
- Fix: MBAdmin crashed in Options->Global Exclude
- Fix: Message-id was not unique when created within one tick
- Fix: SMIME certificates with an e-mail only in subjectAltName
- Fix: On-Access virus scanning with file extensions enabled resulted
in a false positive when the extension was very long with non-ASCII characters
- Fix: Heuristic failed to proper scan HTML source
- Fix: Unnecessary restart when timezone changes
- Fix: Very large attachment filled with ASCII zeros takes a long time
to decode
- Fix: SPF for IPv6
- Fix: SPF exists method with a macro
- Fix: FQDN on a machine with more than one IP address
- Fix: SMIME encryption with missing cert file failed with wrong error
- Fix: Write blocking statistic when the connection is dropped because
of a blocked IP address
v3.49 2012-01-15
- New: Add inbound header based on sender or recipient
(InboundHeader=)
- New: Support for Exchange 2010 Importance header line
- New: SMIME sign and encryption of pre-signed and/or pre-encrypted
messages
- New: Reassemble of SMIME signed, detach signed and encrypted
messages
- New: Support for DANE TLSA certificate verification
(OutboundSMTPTLSVerifyDANE=True)
- New: Support for DomainKeys Identified Mail Signatures (DKIM)
- New: DKIM verification using Author Domain Signing Practices (ADSP)
- New: Heuristic checks for identical URL
- New: Phishing method uses DKIM
- New: Added additional DKIM error messages
- New: Terminate connection after a client tried two messages without
any valid sender or recipient address
- Chg: Accept an E-Mail address with a user part longer than 64 bytes
- Chg: SPF reject during the SMTP session is immediately after the
MAIL FROM
- Chg: Country blocking is for IPv4 addresses only and ignores IPv6
addresses
- Chg: SLS/RBL IPv4 lists are only used for IPv4 addresses, IPv6
lists only for IPv6 addresses
- Chg: Removed support for Domain-Based Email Authentication Using
Public Keys Advertised in the DNS (DomainKeys)
- Chg: MX query for inbound domains uses old cached IP addresses in
the case the DNS server is not available
- Chg: Protect SLS and SPF global exclusion against faked header
lines
- Chg: Updated domains in Options->Global Exclude->DKIM->Add common
- Chg: Exploit method handles RAR archives like ZIP archives
- Fix: SMIME remove signature for outgoing messages
- Fix: Disable TLS/SSL cipher DES-CBC-SHA
- Fix: Virus scanner in a directory with an Umlaut
- Fix: DNS server that can not handle EDSN records
- Fix: History added non-delivery reports even then outbound history
was disabled
- Fix: no DKIM check for messages using an inbound domain as the
sender
- Fix: Domain in global SPF exclusion
- Fix: UnRAR DLL v4.20 with a RAR volume
- Fix: TLS with more than one intermediate certificate shows wrong
status
Click here to view the complete History
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