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The default address controls what happens when someone sends email to an address that does not exist on your domain. For example, if someone emails typo@yourdomain.com and that account does not exist, the default address setting decides whether the message is forwarded somewhere, bounced back, or silently discarded. Set the default address to discard with an error message. This bounces undeliverable mail back to the sender with a clear “no such address” notice and prevents spam from piling up in your mailbox. If you leave the default address set to forward to your system account (the default out of the box), you will receive every message sent to a nonexistent address. Spammers often target random addresses on a domain, which can fill your inbox quickly.

Configure the default address

1

Open Default Address

Log in to cPanel through your client area or at yourdomain.com/cpanel. Go to Email and click Default Address.
2

Select the domain

Choose the domain from the Send all unrouted email for the following domain menu.
3

Choose how to handle unrouted mail

Select one of the following:
  • Discard the email while your server processes it by SMTP time with an error message — bounces the message back to the sender. You can customise the error text in the Failure Message field. The default message is “No such person at this address.”
  • Forward to Email Address — sends unrouted mail to a specific address.
4

Save

Click Change.
Under Advanced Options you can also:
  • Forward to your system account — sends unrouted mail to your cPanel default email account
  • Pipe to a Program — passes the message to a script at a path you specify
  • Discard — silently deletes the message without notifying the sender (not recommended, since the sender has no way to know the delivery failed)
If spammers target your domain and you have the default address set to forward to a real mailbox, that mailbox can fill up fast. Discarding with an error message avoids this problem.
The default address is not the same as the system default email account. The default address controls where undeliverable mail goes. The system default email account is the cpanelusername@yourdomain.com account created with your hosting. They are configured separately.
Domain forwarders override the default address. If you have both set up, the domain forwarder takes priority.