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Email Integration

Configure email notifications for ban alerts and daily summaries.

Setup

1. Configure SMTP

  1. Go to SettingsEmail / SMTP
  2. Enter your SMTP settings:
    • Host
    • Port
    • Username
    • Password
    • From Address
    • TLS settings
  3. Click Test Connection
  4. Click Save

Or via environment variables:

SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=notifications@example.com
SMTP_PASS=your_password
SMTP_FROM=Bloqd <notifications@example.com>
SMTP_TLS=true

SMTP Configuration

Common Providers

ProviderHostPortTLS
Gmailsmtp.gmail.com587Yes
Office 365smtp.office365.com587Yes
Mailgunsmtp.mailgun.org587Yes
SendGridsmtp.sendgrid.net587Yes
Amazon SESemail-smtp.region.amazonaws.com587Yes

Gmail Setup

For Gmail, you need an App Password:

  1. Enable 2-Step Verification on Google Account
  2. Go to Security → App passwords
  3. Generate password for "Mail"
  4. Use this password in Bloqd SMTP settings

Self-Hosted Mail

host: localhost
port: 25
username: ""
password: ""
tls: false

Notification Types

Daily Summary

Sent once per day with aggregated statistics.

Contents:

  • Total bans (24h)
  • Unique IPs banned
  • Top attacking countries
  • Top targeted jails
  • Server health status
  • Notable events

Alert Emails

Sent for specific events:

  • Server goes offline
  • Critical health issues
  • License expiration warnings
  • Security events

Configuration Options

SettingDescriptionDefault
Daily SummaryEnable daily reportOn
Summary TimeWhen to send (UTC)08:00
RecipientsEmail addressesAdmin email
Alert EmailsSend critical alertsOn

Recipients

Single Recipient

recipients: admin@example.com

Multiple Recipients

recipients: admin@example.com,security@example.com

Email Format

Daily Summary

Subject: Bloqd Daily Summary - 2024-01-15

=============================================
BLOQD SECURITY SUMMARY
2024-01-15
=============================================

OVERVIEW
--------
• Total Bans: 247
• Unique IPs: 89
• Servers Monitored: 5

TOP ATTACKING COUNTRIES
-----------------------
1. China (45%) - 112 bans
2. Russia (23%) - 57 bans
3. United States (12%) - 30 bans

TOP JAILS
---------
1. sshd - 156 bans
2. nginx-botsearch - 52 bans
3. postfix-sasl - 39 bans

SERVER STATUS
-------------
✓ web-server-01 - Healthy
✓ mail-server-01 - Healthy
✓ db-server-01 - Healthy

Alert Email

Subject: [ALERT] Server Offline - web-server-01

=============================================
BLOQD ALERT
=============================================

Server: web-server-01
Status: OFFLINE
Last Seen: 2024-01-15 10:25:00 UTC
Duration: 5 minutes

The server has not sent a heartbeat for 5 minutes.
Please investigate immediately.

Testing

Test SMTP Connection

  1. Go to SettingsEmail / SMTP
  2. Click Test Connection
  3. Enter test recipient
  4. Check inbox for test email

Manual Test

curl -X POST "https://bloqd.example.com/api/v1/settings/smtp/test" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"recipient": "test@example.com"}'

Troubleshooting

Connection Failed

SMTP Error: Connection refused
  1. Verify host and port
  2. Check firewall allows outbound SMTP
  3. Verify TLS settings match server

Authentication Failed

SMTP Error: Authentication failed
  1. Verify username/password
  2. For Gmail, use App Password
  3. Check account isn't locked

TLS Error

SMTP Error: SSL/TLS handshake failed
  1. Try different port (465 vs 587)
  2. Enable/disable STARTTLS
  3. Verify certificate is valid

Email in Spam

  1. Set up SPF record for sending domain
  2. Configure DKIM if available
  3. Use reputable SMTP provider
  4. Ensure FROM address is valid

Security

  • Store SMTP credentials securely
  • Use TLS for all connections
  • Consider dedicated email for notifications
  • Don't expose SMTP credentials in logs