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All posts

  1. Status of dnsbl.net.au: DEAD

    The blocking list at dnsbl.net.au has announced it is winding down. As noted in a February 25, 2009 posting on its website , "Please no...

  2. Status of DSBL: DEAD

    The DNSBL called "DSBL" is no more. As of March 11, 2009, their website reports : "DSBL is GONE and highly unlikely to return...

  3. Shutting Down Blocklists

    As I often do, today I'm receiving reports about a DNSBL (which I've previously warned was dead) is returning false positive entrie...

  4. Security Sage Update

    It seems today as though the Security Sage domains have expired and/or replaced by "placeholder" pages by their registrar. Net res...

  5. DSBL Current Status: DEAD

    DSBL, the Distributed Sender Blackhole List, seems to have gone missing. The list appears to have been in operation since at least May, 2002...

  6. Help, we're listed on ORDB!

    I've received multiple queries about this today, so I figured it would be wise to put up a quick message about this. ORDB is a long de...

  7. Status of rbl.spamhaus.org: NOT A BLOCKING LIST

    My friend Mickey Chandler pointed out recently that he's been seeing some unusual bounces that look like this: Host blacklisted - Fou...

  8. Status of blackhole.securitysage.com: DOWN

    The RHSBL ( right hand side blocking list ) blackhole.securitysage.com appears to have been created by Jeffrey Posluns and appears to have ...

  9. PSBL: Easy On, Easy Off

    The Passive Spam Block List , or PSBL (psbl.surriel.com) is a spamtrap-driven anti-spam blocklist that has been around since at least June, ...

  10. Spamhaus ZEN: The DNSBL Resource Review

    Spamhaus ZEN is a composite blocking list run by the Spamhaus Project . This UK-based organization was created in 1998 by Steve Linford, and...

  11. Status of completewhois.com: IN FLUX

    Update 9/30/2007: The website www.completewhois.com is operational again, but some links appear to be broken. My attempts to query their DN...

  12. APEWS: Doing the Math

    I'm guilty. I admit it. I've called APEWS listings "random," which isn't quite right. Arbitrary would be a better wor...

  13. What to do if you are listed on APEWS

    If you are listed on the APEWS blocking list, as confirmed by checking their website , here's how I would recommend that you handle the ...

  14. APEWS News and Commentary Roundup

    APEWS, the Anonymous Postmasters Early Warning System , is an “anonymous” blocking list that claims to run in the style of SPEWS. That is t...

  15. SORBS: Accuracy Rates and False Positives

    The blocking list SORBS (aka the “Spam and Open Relay Blocking System”) was created in 2002 by Australian Matthew Sullivan. SORBS publishes...

  16. Status of dnsbl.radparker.com: NOT A DNSBL

    For a time, SORBS was found to be inaccurately referring to “dnsbl.radparker.com” on the mail server configuration pages over on the SORBS...

  17. SORBS: Changes?

    This thread on the news.admin.net-abuse.email newsgroup suggests that changes are afoot at SORBS. Apparently the entire spam.dnsbl.sorbs.ne...

  18. Changes at UCEPROTECT

    Whatever your opinion of UCEPROTECT , hold on to your hat, as things are apparently about to change. This posting to the USENET newsgroup n...

  19. Status of dnsbl.tqmcube.com: DEAD

    The DNSBL TQMCUBE was created by David Cary Hart sometime in 2004 or 2005. The front page of the website www.tqmcube.com was modified to sp...

  20. Status of blackholes.intersil.net: DEAD

    I've recently received a few requests regarding blackholes.intersil.net. According to this message to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting...

  21. Status of blacklist.spambag.org: DEAD

    As of Sunday, May 27th, 2007, the blocking list Spambag, with the DNSBL zone blacklist.spambag.org , is no longer available. The website www...

  22. Spamcop BL: Take Another Look (It’s Accurate!)

    If you know me, you know that in the past, I’ve made no secret of my disdain for the Spamcop DNSBL, aka the SCBL. I’ve worked in spam preve...

  23. Status of relays.orbs.org: Shut down, legal troubles in 2001

    Remember ORBS? Short for “Open Relay Behavior Modification System,” it was a blocking list run by Alan Brown from New Zealand. (Mr. Brown ra...

  24. Status of rbl.cluecentral.net: ALIVE

    The DNSBL “ rbl.cluecentral.net ” has been revived. Its maintainer, Sabri Berisha, had previously shut it down in November 2005. ...

  25. Which DNSBLs work well?

    This is a question I get quite often and it’s a tough one to answer. I don’t really bother with running my own mail system any more, as I’m ...