IP/Domain lookup & delist blocklists (formerly known as blacklists) have played a significant role in Internet history, with their primary function being to block spam emails and educate ISPs and website operators about spam-related issues.
Over the past 20 years, hundreds of blocklists have been created. Each has its own criteria for inclusion, delisting rules, and standards. While some focus on individual domains, others may list entire ISPs due to a history of harboring spammers.
However, most blocklists suffer from a lack of transparency. Entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large corporations may never be notified when they appear on a blocklist. If they do find out, it may take weeks or even months to discover and resolve the issue—until now.
With Abusix’s lookup & delist service, you can quickly identify and remove your IP/domain from any of our Abusix Mail Intelligence blocklists.
Why Blocklists Are Essential
Originally, spam was just junk email, but it quickly became overwhelming as millions of people believed others wanted their products or information. Email users often received dozens, or even hundreds, of spam messages every day, making it difficult to identify legitimate emails.
As technology advanced, spammers became more sophisticated. Today, botnets can send spam, malware, and other scams by taking over computers and networks. These botnets send billions of disruptive emails and can even launch denial-of-service attacks (DDoS).
For example, in February 2010, the Cutwail botnet was responsible for DDoS attacks on over 300 websites, including the FBI, PayPal, the CIA, and Twitter, according to ITBusiness.ca.
How Blocklisting Affects Legitimate Businesses
Email remains one of the most profitable marketing channels, with a return of around $40 for every dollar spent. But if emails end up in spam folders or are blocked entirely, ROI decreases significantly.
It’s easy for a company to end up on a blocklist. Employees can unknowingly introduce a virus, customers may violate use policies, or hackers can hijack systems to disguise illegal activities. Even nonprofits can find themselves on blocklists which is why it’s important to lookup & delist.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, over 12% of emails sent by nonprofit organizations never reach their recipients’ inboxes. This leads to a 14% drop in fundraising efforts, as many recipients mark these emails as spam, triggering blocklisting if ISPs notice the emails are consistently ignored or deleted without being opened.
How To Resolve Blocklisting Issues – Lookup & Delist
Identifying the cause of blocklisting is complex, and securing removal adds even more challenges.
Companies managing their own email services can use Abusix Mail Intelligence as an additional email spam filter to protect their customers from spam, malware, and other email-related threats.
Our lookup & delist service allows you to check if your IP/domain has been listed on any of our Abusix Mail Intelligence blocklists. You will also have the ability to delist your IP/domain manually.
Once you’ve checked the reported IP/domain via the lookup & delist service page, you’ll be asked to log in to your Abusix account or sign up for a new (free) account.
