Email advice and testing

Our spam-relay tester and notification system will test your mail server and report unauthorised relays.

Since this service was introduced over a decade ago, we have seen a steady decline in the number of unauthorised mail relays on the Janet network - a positive step towards reducing unsolicited email. As a result, the email advice and testing service will be discontinued on 31 July 2023, allowing Jisc to prioritise resources to meet the needs of the sector.

If you have any questions regarding the closure of this service, please contact securityservices@jisc.ac.uk or talk to your Jisc relationship manager.

The test involves connecting to a mailer and relaying a series of individual messages through it, just as the bulk mailers do in preparation for a spam run.

The system will scan your servers on request, however, we can also systematically run the test on Janet-connected systems which have been reported as relaying spam.

Key features

  • General advice on how to test your email servers
  • Advance scheduling of testing to best suit you
  • Vulnerabilities detected and reported quickly
  • Peace of mind through tests that confirm whether anti-relay arrangements remain after a network upgrade
  • Operational checks to ensure your email systems are secure against unauthorised message relaying
  • Request tests on an ad hoc basis when required

ISO certification

This service is included within the scope of our ISO9001 and ISO27001 certificates.

Read more about International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards and view Jisc certificates.

ISO 9001 UKAS logo

ISO/IEC 27001 UKAS logo