Reading your results
Every job’s results page opens on Overview, which answers one question: who do I mail? Every address lands in one of three groups.
| Group | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Safe to send | The receiving mail server, or Microsoft’s own directory, confirmed this mailbox exists. | Mail these. |
| Risky | Accepted, but nothing could confirm the individual mailbox — accept-all (catch-all) domains, shared role inboxes, full inboxes and addresses that never gave an answer. | Your call. Leave them out, or send to them separately at a lower volume. |
| Invalid | No mailbox at all, or a real one that would cost you reputation (spam trap, disposable). | Don’t mail. |
What’s in each group
Section titled “What’s in each group”| Group | Categories |
|---|---|
| Safe to send | Valid, Valid (MS365) |
| Risky | Catch-All, Role, Inbox Full, Unknown, Not Verified, Still Resolving |
| Invalid | Invalid, Disabled, No Mail Server, Spam Trap, Disposable |
The Breakdown tab shows each category on its own. Every status explained →
A healthy result
Section titled “A healthy result”There’s no “normal” result: it depends entirely on where the list came from. As a rough guide:
- A fresh list from a good source is mostly safe to send, with a few percent invalid.
- A lot of risky usually means a lot of catch-all domains (common with companies that use security gateways) — see Catch-all addresses.
- A lot of invalid means the list is old or the source is poor. Check where it came from before you buy more from the same place.
Changing how groups are counted
Section titled “Changing how groups are counted”Two options under Views & Export move addresses between groups, on the page and in the export:
- Count good catch-all addresses as safe to send — catch-alls that EmailShield rates likely move into Safe to send.
- Treat spam traps and disposable addresses as risky instead of invalid.
Both are off by default. They change only how results are grouped, never the verdicts themselves.
While a job is still running
Section titled “While a job is still running”Addresses waiting on their domain’s catch-all check show as Still resolving. They aren’t a verdict yet: they become Valid or Catch-All before the job finishes, and the page’s percentages only count settled answers.