DNS-Based Blackhole Lists (DNSBL)
DNSBLs are distributed blacklists that contain IP addresses where malicious activity such as spam, phishing, botnets, or open proxies has been detected. Mail servers, web services, and firewalls check incoming traffic against these lists to make automated decisions.
Categories
- Spam — IPs reported for sending spam directly (Spamhaus SBL, SpamCop, Barracuda).
- Exploits — bot/zombie/open proxy behavior (Spamhaus XBL, SORBS Zombie).
- Policy — end-user/dynamic IPs not permitted to send mail (Spamhaus PBL, SORBS DUL, NoPtr).
- Proxy — open SMTP relay or HTTP/SOCKS proxy.
- Abuse — backscatter, bounce-back spam.
- Reputation — reputation-based (Mailspike Z, HostKarma).
Am I blacklisted on one or two lists?
Appearing on authoritative lists like Spamhaus, SpamCop, or Barracuda will cause mail delivery issues. Aggressive policy lists such as UCEPROTECT L2/L3 and s5h.net can block an entire ASN, so being on one of them alone is not cause for panic. To get delisted, follow the relevant "Delist" link.