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MXTOOLBOX BLOG




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THE ECONOMICS OF BLACKLISTS

Blacklists have been around for over two decades, meaning that blacklists
(blocklists or deny lists) existed before most humans were on the Internet. The
goal of blacklists is to remove Spam email from the Internet, however, the
implementations and algorithms vary dramatically. A few of examples:

 * Spamhaus ZEN CBL reports the IP address of sources of email that have been
   infected with Viruses or Malware. Even if your email was not used for spam,
   your computer could be.
 * NoSolicitado reports sources of Spanish language spam. There are many other
   language-based blocklists.
 * CASA CBL reports source of spam received by the China Anti-Spam Alliance.
 * FABELSOURCES reports entire networks that are the source of spam. There are
   several similar lists, including UCLPROTECTL2 and L3.
 * Open-Relays Verifying Engine Database List (ORVEDB) lists IP numbers of hosts
   that the Open-Relays Verifying Engine (ORVE) verified that are Open-Relays
   machines. Open relays are basically a purposeful or accidental email server
   misconfiguration that promotes spamming.
 * The Abusix Domain Blacklist contains domain names that have been identified
   being used in spam, phishing, or malware. Note: There are very few actual
   domain blacklists so the MxToolbox SuperTool also checks the IP address in
   the A record for the domain to see if the server has been compromised.

The Topic of Coin – How do Blacklists Make Money?

Early on Blocklists were free subscriptions for anyone to use to help reduce
spam email to their servers. Since the lists were small, these were setup to be
shared via FTP and then as the lists grew bigger via Realtime DNS. Many smaller
blacklists are still free to query.

Eventually, security companies started to develop their own proprietary
Blocklists or Deny Lists and integrate these into network appliances like
firewalls, routers or email gateways. The primary economic model for blacklists
is to sell their data to security-focused companies and automatically maintain
the lists through remote syncing data feeds. Security services then update their
hardware and software email filtering to include these lists. Often, weighing
each blacklist differently but sometimes using them as a binary filter – if the
sending IP is listed, deny the email.

Do blacklists charge for delisting?

MxToolbox recommends that you should never, ever pay to be delisted. All
legitimate blocklists have a free method of delisting, that while sometimes
slow, is still free. Fix the problem that caused you to be listed and wait it
out. Delisting usually takes a week or so depending on the blocklist.

There are both for-profit and non-profit blacklists. For-profit blacklists make
money by selling their lists to security companies or security minded companies
for use in their products. For example, MxToolbox purchases subscriptions to
some blacklists to enable our customers to lookup their blacklist status in the
SuperTool.

Non-profit blacklists offer the option to donate to support them. This should
never be conditional on the delisting of the IP address.

Some blacklists may offer an expedited delisting option for a fee. Sometimes
this might seem like an enticing option, but, remember, MxToolbox does not
recommend paying for delisting. It is your decision to pay, however, we have a
few considerations:

 * Have you fixed the issue causing you to be classed as spam? If you have not
   fixed the issue causing you to be listed, you will be re-listed almost
   immediately. Paying doesn’t fix your systems or cause you to be whitelisted.
 * Do you do own the network? If you don’t own the entire network, in the case
   of a network or ASN listing, then you can’t stop your network or ASN
   neighbors from getting the entire network re-listed. It’s best to contact the
   network owner, ISP, datacenter provider, etc.
 * Has being blacklisted affected your email deliverability? If not, then you
   can wait it out. If so, then how many emails were affected? Is a small email
   delivery problem worth the expense?
 * Are you ready to be treated like a spammer? Blocklists with expedited pay
   setups sometimes assume that anyone willing to pay is a spammer. Spammers
   make all their money from email, so a block is potentially fatal. Legitimate
   businesses have other methods of customer communication. Paying could get you
   additional scrutiny in the future.
 * Is your IP address on multiple blacklists? If you are listed on multiple
   blacklists, do you want to pay multiple times or wait it out? Can you even
   pay to delist from all of the blocklists? Multiple listings means a serious
   problem, so we recommend taking care of the issue and waiting for delisting.

How do you prevent being blacklisted?

There is no one simple way to prevent blacklisting. Owning your own email
servers requires constant adjustment and maintenance to prevent your systems
from being used for spam or perceived as spam. Outbound email filters can help,
but many companies, large and small are abandoning the idea of hosting their own
email and adopting 3rd party email senders to improve email delivery. Google
Workspace, Microsoft Office365, Yahoo!, Mailgun, Constant Contact, MailChimps,
etc. all offer reduced risk of blacklisting by spreading email out over a large
network of sending IP addresses and providing outbound email filtering.

New Technologies – DMARC, DKIM, SPF

Email delivery technologies are rapidly changing and the key to good email
deliverability is actively managing your online reputation. Blacklisting is just
one piece of the puzzle. SPF, DKIM and DMARC are now the most important factors
at getting your email to the inbox. These technologies help identify you as the
owner of the email and enable you to elicit feedback from Inbox Providers about
problems with your email.

To maintain the highest levels of email deliverability using DMARC, businesses
like yours need a proven Email Delivery management system like MxToolbox
Delivery Center.  Delivery Center provides you with valuable insight into your
email delivery posture and the ongoing maintenance necessary to maintain peak
performance:

 * Manage SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (and BIMI) to improve compliance and reduce the
   threat of fraud and phishing using your domain.
 * Review daily volume and SPF, DKIM, and DMARC compliance rates to ensure the
   best email deliverability.
 * Implement Feedback Loops to gain unique information on how your recipients
   view your emails and when they mark you as spam.
 * Gradually move your DMARC policy to Reject to enable better inbox placement
   opportunities and reduce the risk of Phishing and Fraud using your domain.
 * Manage the on-going requirements of maintaining high levels of email
   deliverability


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This entry was posted in Uncategorized on April 16, 2021 by stephenmxtoolbox.


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