Hide server IP from mail header

[Mammon]

Hey,

I want to hide the IP address of my server in the mail header for security and DDOS protection reasons.

I tried an SMTP but the server is the sender, so the IP of the server is visible on the header of the mail.

The IP is visible with mail() and SMTP too. I found this trick to use a second IP but I would prefer not to see an ip in the header so that we can not identify my host, and it is preferable that I use an external solution if it's possible (in the event of an server ip blacklist, my host will close my vps).

Is it possible to hide this IP or use another external method ?

I am not really experienced in vps configuration, all I learned is by browsing on internet but on this one I do not find much that can inform me.

I hope to be in the right section,
Thanks for your help !

Edited February 15, 2020 by Mammon

[Makoto]

You need to use a third-party mailing service, or a relay service.

Sending mail locally will always expose your IP.

I assume you're also using a CDN service like Cloudflare on your server, right? Since your servers IP is already exposed to everyone on the internet otherwise.

[Mammon]

1 minute ago, Makoto said:

You need to use a third-party mailing service, or a relay service.

Sending mail locally will always expose your IP.

I assume you're also using a CDN service like Cloudflare on your server, right? Since your servers IP is already exposed to everyone on the internet otherwise.

Thanks for your reply,

Yes I use cloudflare, that why it's useless if my server IP is on the mail header 🙃

Can you give more informations about the third-party mailing service operation ? Because I tried a external SMTP from another server, and configure it on the mailing settings from adminCP of IPB but the IP server stay the "sender".

my knowledge ends there (...for now)

[Makoto]

Mmh, if you're using a custom setup that probably has to do with your Postfix/etc. configuration. They may keep and relay your original IP by default, but you can change that. Mail server configuration are complex though, and today I'd really say it's not worth the hassle of trying to run your own mail server.

I use Google Suite via SMTP to handle e-mail delivery on my servers. They have a limit of around 2,000-10,000 e-mails per day (depending on how you have it set up), which is fine for the vast majority of people, but if you send more than that you'll need something like Sendgrid.

GSuite is wonderful though and my recommendation, even with its more tricky setup. If you want something easy, Sendgrid is basically plug-and-play, but I dropped Sendgrid because they were having deliverability issues for me. Google has had absolutely zero.

Edited February 15, 2020 by Makoto

[Mammon]

Thanks for your reply.

You pay +/- 10$ monthly for Gsuite, right ?

[Mammon]

Oh you maybe use gmail directly with smtp.gmail.com ?

I tried it but I have ever the same problem :

 

Received: from smtp.gmail.com ([MY.SERVER.IP])

I configure the smtp details in the IPS settings : 

https://prnt.sc/rldi85 

I need to configure anything in WHM too ? 

 

Thanks for your help 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Mammon

[Zhana]

I am using elasticemail at the moment, but if you find a solution for this then please let me know, would be nice to save some $$ and use phpmail.

[Mammon]

10 hours ago, Zhana said:

I am using elasticemail at the moment, but if you find a solution for this then please let me know, would be nice to save some $$ and use phpmail.

I can send mails with smtp of gmail for free, but the server IP is always visible.

You can hide your server IP with elasticemail ? 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Mammon

[Lucas James]

On 2/15/2020 at 9:14 PM, Mammon said:

Is it possible to hide this IP or use another external method ?

AFAIK, no third-party SMTP (or API based) mail service provider, via web-integration tools, gives the feature to mask/hide the origin server's IP due to anti-spam regulations and in violation of RFC 5321. Even the third-party email relay services also tend to inject the originating IP in headers.

On 2/15/2020 at 9:14 PM, Mammon said:

I found this trick to use a second IP but I would prefer not to see an ip in the header so that we can not identify my host

That may be the only way possible for you to send outgoing emails through your local server. However, your email IP should be warmed up and must be kept at a good reputation to ensure that your emails arrive to the recipient's Inbox instead of Spam or being rejected.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Lucas James

[Mammon]

3 hours ago, Lucas James said:

AFAIK, no third-party SMTP (or API based) mail service provider, via web-integration tools, gives the feature to mask/hide the origin server's IP due to anti-spam regulations and in violation of RFC 5321. Even the third-party email relay services also tend to inject the originating IP in headers.

That may be the only way possible for you to send outgoing emails through your local server. However, your email IP should be warmed up and must be kept at a good reputation to ensure that your emails arrive to the recipient's Inbox instead of Spam or being rejected.

Thanks for your reply, so you say that is impossible to hide the server IP for protect from DDOS if I send mails ? 😐

[Lucas James]

For DDoS protection, you would need a good security mechanism in place to guard your server. Its almost impossible to hide server's IP in this era of technology.

[Mammon]

I can't believe that an infrastructure like cloudflare is useless...more than 90% of cloudflare's users are there to hide their ip 🤔