Catch-All

As a catch-all (including catch-all forwarding) an address forwarding by any string in the first part of an e -mail or WWW address is referred to a mailbox or a website.

Catch-all e -mails

As a catch-all email forwarding or an associated mailbox for e-mails referred to in the run together all e -mails ( local-part ) are addressed within a domain at any local part.

For example, for the domain example.com is your e- mail address [email protected] is only set up. In addition, a catch-all forwarding to [email protected] is set for example.com. Go now an e- mail to [email protected] on the server, so this email goes directly to the mailbox of [email protected], although this e -mail address is the server / MTA not previously set up.

The catch-all forwarding causes all emails converge at destination addresses of the form ' any valid string ' @ domain in the same mailbox. This can serve as backscatter protection, as an e -mail is not sent to an unknown recipient on at the spam, phishing or the spread of malicious software often forged sender email address ( back ), so that the harassment of holders the fake addresses is excluded by backscatter. However, it is more useful to configure the accepting mail host so that he does not even accept the incoming to non-existent addresses or recognized as spam, phishing or infected mails, so that no backscatter can be caused by later still taking place rejections.

Accepting emails to any address also turns out to be a disadvantage at the same time. The delivery attempts from spam / phishing / malware with invented recipient addresses or backscatter mails with fictitious sender addresses from its own domain ( which are in turn used as the recipient addresses of the bounces) so can not at an early stage after the test (mostly non-existent ) recipient's address will be rejected. For the acceptance and thereby any liability to further testing for spam, phishing or malicious software and storing the unwanted mails more resources are used so much. Catch-All is therefore hardly suitable for the efficient operation of a mail server. The so additionally received mails should be seen by a human, otherwise, for example, also lead typo in the address to unnoticed Fehl-/Nichtzustellungen. This leads to a further considerable allocation of resources.

Catch-All for Web pages (also called " domain wildcards " )

If a catch-all function for an Internet domain set, this has the consequence that any string entered as Sublevel domain to a specific host, such as the second-level domain is forwarded. The special feature of the catch-all function is that, although the Sublevel domain is not physically existent, takes place a redirect to a created host, regardless of which string is entered as a subdomain.

For example, for the domain example.com, a catch-all function is set up. The user is xyz.example.com into his browser. There is a redirect to example.com, although there is not the subdomain xyz.

However, caution is advised when using a catch-all function. It can trademark rights be violated by the forwarding. This will be assumed in the event that the second-level domain is purely descriptive ( warenhaus.de for example) and for entry of a protected name of a redirect to the page of the domain owner takes place (for example quelle.warenhaus.de ). Because Internet users do not know that any string is passed, it will assume that the company source comes from under the domain warenhaus.de products or at least economically connected. This may already be sufficient to accept a trade mark infringement. According to German courts have decided in view of a naming violation. In Austria, the Supreme Court has not considered the catch-all function as trademark infringement, however, believed the anti-competitive under the standpoint of improper channeling of customer flows. An overview of the trademark law assessment can be found at Maassen / Psczolla in MarkenR 07/ 08 2006, pp. 304-309.

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