DNS - Spamhaus Project Improves Email Spam Filtering with Release of Domain Block List

The Spamhaus Project, an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to track the Internet's spam operations, has reportedly released its newest spam-blocking advisory list. Unlike previous offerings this list is focused on the domain side of email filtering.

According to an article on the company’s Web site, the new Domain Block List, or DBL, has been in beta testing with ISPs and on corporate networks in Europe, Asia and North America for much of 2009.

The company claims the new list, geared for use in production spam filter systems, offers “extremely high spam detection” with “virtually no false positives.” What makes this offering unique is that it is designed to work specifically in conjunction with Spamhaus’ IP address-based lists.

“The DBL system has been built to process an enormous input of spam data arriving at Spamhaus' spamtraps in order to detect and list spam domains in real time,” the article states. “Spamhaus' robust DNS infrastructure enables the DBL to be rebuilt and republished every 120 seconds. What this will mean is that DBL users will be able to block spam containing DBL-listed domains within just minutes of a spam being seen by the Spamhaus detectors.”

According to the article the DBL, published at dbl.spamhaus.org, is currently available to users with mail servers capable of using domain URI blocklists or Right Hand Side Block Lists (RHSBLs) and who wish to use it via DNS query. It is also available immediately to Spamhaus Datafeed users.