IP Blacklist Checker

DNSBL means Domain Name BlackList, and RBL means RealTime BlackList is a service used by mail servers to check through a (DNS) query whether a sending host's IP address is blacklisted for email spam or not. Both are spam-blocking lists.

More than 100+ organizations worldwide utilize various criteria for listing and delisting IP addresses to their blacklist databases. Most email services use these blacklist databases to prevent any incoming spam emails from the listed IP address.

One of the common reasons IP addresses are blacklisted is spammy activities, either they are performed knowingly or unknowingly.

You might face a situation where your server sends spam emails using the server's IP address.

Also, you should not use any third-party email list. That may contain spammy email addresses. Sending emails to such email addresses returns in high bounce rate. Due to this, your IP address might be included in IP blacklist databases.

If your IP address is in blacklist database(s), do not be panic. You can submit a delisting request to that blacklist database(s). But before submitting that request, you must ensure that you have fulfilled all the requirements required for delisting.

Each database has its criteria for listing and delisting the IP address. But some general actions to be considered before submitting a delisting request. These actions are

• Reset all the passwords for all Email/FTP accounts. Please refer to the Password Generator tool for generating a strong password.
• Set the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for all the domains added to your server.
• Update your CMS and make sure that you are using the latest version of your website's plugins/themes. Use the trusted resource for that purpose.
• Remove all the vulnerable plugins/themes from your website.
• Remove the unnecessary files/folders from your website's root directory.

There is no precise time frame to delist the IP address from a blacklist database. Because all organizations have different rules and regulations to delist the IP address, usually, it may take 3-7 days, depending on their criteria.

Submitting the delisting request does not give a guarantee that your IP address will be removed from that particular database. You can submit a request at your end, but it does not mean that blacklist database management will always honor that request.

After submitting the request, there should be no more spammy activities from your end. Otherwise, these databases will take a pretty long time to delist the IP, or they can even refuse your delist request.

Some blacklist databases automatically remove your IP from their database after a specific period, subject to the condition that no spammy activity will be performed by your end during that period.

The process is quite simple.

• Open the tool: IP Blacklist Checker - Email Blacklist Checker tool.
• The tool gives you two options. Either enter the domain's IP (A record) or Email-IP to check its status.
• It checks in the 50+ blacklist databases to identify either it is blacklisted or not.
• It will take 20 to 40 seconds to perform the IP blacklist lookup. If your provided IP is listed in the particular blacklist, it will show "Yes" in front of that blacklist or vice-versa.

If your IP or domain is already in a blacklisted database, your message will most likely land in the user's spam folder without being scanned. Or maybe the user to whom you are sending the emails already spammed you.

But if your IP or domain is in a repetitive spam sender list. The ISP's spam filters will reject that message, that it will not allow that message to reach the user's spam folder.

Not all the blacklist matters. But it would be best if you cared about the following blacklists. These are the most used and most trusted ones.

• Spamhaus
• SpamCop
• Invaluement
• Barracuda
• Lashback
• PSBL