For the longest time, it’s been a convenience to use email forwarders to send messages to free, online services. However, that ability is coming to an end. The evolution of the Internet often prompts change, and this is merely one of them.
The Problem
Like most other shared hosting providers, GreenGeeks has offered email forwarders within cPanel. This lets customers automatically forward email from one address to another.
Oftentimes, forwarders are created to forward email to external providers, such as Gmail. This would allow users to collect all of their messages in one location. But that’s not where the problem lies.
This labels GreenGeeks as the server sending spam and inadvertently causes our IP addresses to get blacklisted. In turn, this causes normal mail to be rejected by other providers and damages our overall network reputation.
If you’ve ever had an email or IP address blacklisted, it can cause all kinds of trouble. Especially from a professional or business standpoint.
It can result in your email interactions coming to a screeching halt.
The Solution
GreenGeeks is always trying to improve the service we provide to our customers. As the world’s #1 Green hosting provider, our goal is to not only be the best but provide the best service we possibly can.
Sometimes, this requires us to “go against the grain” in our approach to reach this goal.
To help stop forwarded spam from causing more problems with mail delivery, GreenGeeks will soon begin blocking the ability to add new forwarders to known free providers.
This includes, but is not limited to, Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.
How You Can Help Improve Your GreenGeeks Email Experience (And still get your emails)
Thankfully, there is an easy solution to this, and that’s to set your Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook account to connect directly to your GreenGeeks email account and transfer the emails via a POP3 or IMAP connection.
This stops any spam you may receive from being forwarded and damaging your IP reputation, while still allowing your emails to be sent to another account.
Gmail, Yahooand Outlook all provide easy methods to connect your account(s). Customers who wish to keep a copy of the original message on the server when forwarding can still continue to do so if configured properly.
Essentially, this provides the same functionality as a standard email forwarder. Only in this case, it’s done from your Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook accounts.
Conclusion
cPanel email forwarders are not a suitable solution for forwarding mail to an external email account on another server. While this appears to be a quick and simple solution up front, this can lead to severe consequences for your mail reputation and overall email deliverability.
Customers who require assistance with configuring their GreenGeeks email with another provider are encouraged to open a Support ticket via their GreenGeeks dashboard.
Our friendly staff is available 24/7 to assist you with making the necessary changes.
The post External Email Forwarders: The End of an Era appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.
