Spam Blacklist tool

DNS blacklists or spam blacklists are popular tools used by email administrators to help block unsolicited emails. A DNS blacklist server maintains a database of IP addresses that are known sources of spam. The idea is, if an IP address has sent spam in the past, it will be likely to send more spam in the future. By configuring email servers to consult DNS blacklists before accepting an email message, administrators can block a large percentage of incoming spam.

With the Spam Blacklist tool in ETS for the Desktop, you can test the IP addresses of your email servers, and verify that the servers have not been blacklisted. By verifying your blacklist status, you can be sure other email systems which also use blacklist servers will not be blocking email from your system.

One problem that could be detected by monitoring blacklist servers would be when one of your end users receives a Trojan Horse virus which uses the corporate servers to send spam or copies of itself on to other email systems. As a result of the mass mailing caused by the virus, your corporate email server becomes blacklisted. Other business partners begin to block your email because of your blacklist status. You need to know that you have been blacklisted so you can track down the reason why, fix the problem, and then send a request to the blacklist administrator that your address range be removed from the blacklist.

Another use for the Spam Blacklist tool is to determine which blacklist servers would work best on your corporate email server. You can test the source IP addresses of recently received spam and determine which DNS blacklist servers most effectively block the spam. You could also see which blacklist servers are needlessly blocking IP addresses of email servers you need to receive email from.

Open the Spam Blacklist tool

• To launch the tool from the Toolset Launch Pad, locate the Spam Blacklist tool and click Launch.

• You can also add the tool to a tab in the Workspace Studio, and access it from there.

Scan DNS blacklist servers

1. Click File > New Address List.

2. Click Edit > Add Address.

3. Enter the IP address or host name of the servers you want to add to the list.

   To add more servers, press Enter after each new server.

   You can enter domain names (xyz.com), host names, and IP addresses.

4. Click OK.

5. Click Address > Start Blacklist Scan.

Remove servers from a blacklist

If your servers have been added to a blacklist, contact the blacklist administrator for instructions about getting your addresses removed from the list. Many times there are instructions for doing this on the blacklist server website.

Report a server that is sending spam

You can forward the email to a blacklist server to be added to their list. Most blacklist servers post reporting instructions on their websites. You can also create your own blacklist and add the IP address to this list.

Modify Spam Blacklist settings

Several settings can be adjusted to ensure Spam Blacklist operates the way you want.

1. Click File > Settings.

2. Select the address tree level you want, and then adjust the Maximum Concurrent Queries slider to fit your computer and network capabilities.

3. Click the Blacklist Servers tab, and then select the servers you want to use during a scan.

4. To add servers to the list, click Add, provide the required server information, and then click OK.

Export Spam Blacklist results

The Spam Blacklist tool includes a powerful export engine for exporting the results into different file formats.

1. Perform a blacklist scan.

2. Click File > Export, and then select a format.

3. Select which fields to include in the export.

4. Specify a path and a file name, and then click Save.

Tips for using Spam Blacklist

Color-Coded Addresses

When you add addresses to the list, addresses that cannot be resolved will be highlighted in red. Addresses that are successfully resolved show in green.

Right-click Functionality

When you right-click a server in the Blacklist Servers tab of the Settings dialog, you see additional options to add, edit, or delete servers.

Expand/Collapse All at the Same Level

If you press and hold the CTRL button while clicking on the + or - buttons, everything at that same level expands or collapses.