MxValid uses the following capabilities to determine whether an email address is valid or not.
Address syntax check
MxValid verifies that the email address conforms with Internet standards such as RFC 822 and 2822 and known limitations of mail servers. It will recognize and parse all of the following valid addresses:
test@towerdata.com
"Address, Test"
test((my) email address)@towerdata(call us!).com
"Test Address"@towerdata.com
test@[123.32.0.48]
Domain specific syntax check
For a number of popular domains, MxValid can verify that the local-part of the address (i.e. the portion to the left of the '@' sign) conforms to the rules of that domain.
E.g. The following addresses have a valid email syntax but are invalid for their domains:
test.address@aol.com
3test@yahoo.com
test#ing@hotmail.com
Address suppression
MxValid identifies usernames, domains, and entire email addresses that are illegitimate or can cause problems and that you may wish to suppress on your list. For example:
Addresses with a local-part of "abuse"
Addresses with a domain of "asdf.com"
Addresses such as "president@whitehouse.gov"
Domain existence check
Tests whether the domain of the address exists and has proper domain name server (DNS) records.
Domain receives email check
Verifies whether the domain has a mail server that is alive and able to receive mail. This test is valuable because there are many domains that have been registered and exist but are not being used and cannot receive mail.
Accurate domain database
MxValid provides the fastest and most accurate domain validation available by maintaining up-to-date domain information in a local database.
Checking domain validity in real-time is a time consuming and inherently unreliable process. The fact is one can not conclusively verify the status of a domain based on a single check because of possible machine or network failures. MxValid checks the status of a domain multiple times over a period of several days to determine its true status, and it re-validates the domain's status once a month.
Address receives email check
All of the checks up to this point will tell you with increasing levels of confidence if the address appears deliverable or not. However, the only real way to test this is by probing the mailbox or sending an email to it. TowerData's MxValid service can frequently determine whether a mailbox exists at a domain without even sending an email.
We recommend this service if you want to test or audit the validity of email addresses in your database. By using MxValid, you can safely remove addresses that no longer receive mail and recover addresses that were incorrectly considered undeliverable.
