DNS

The secret to secure DNS? It’s all in the policies

Following our recent investigations into the dangers of subdomain hijacking, we caught up with Prudence Malinki, Head of Industry Relations at Markmonitor, for some wise words of advice on the role policy can play in ensuring your DNS is secure.

10 DNS best practices to keep your Domain Reputation in check

Poor DNS hygiene can leave your organization vulnerable to threats like subDoMailing, DNS spoofing, domain hijacking and other threats. In addition to putting domain security at risk, these vulnerabilities can have long-term effects on domain reputation. Here are ten DNS best practices businesses can implement to protect their domains and their entire business.

Spamhaus Deliverability Live (Ep9) - Five essential steps for every ESP to avoid blocklists

It's time for the Spamhaus Deliverability Live ep9: "Blockbusters: Five essential steps for every ESP to avoid blocklists." Lauren and Mel share all in this 15-minute deliverability fix, packed with expert insights to keep your customers on track and stay out of blocklists!

Markmonitor webinar | League Table Talk: Ranking ccTLDs on DNS Abuse

In this Markmonitor webinar, Spamhaus' Carel Bitter, joins Georgia Osborn, Senior Research Analyst at the DNS Research Federation, and Chris Niemi, Manager of Strategic Initiatives at Markmonitor, to discuss ccTLDs in the larger context of DNS Abuse.

A misuse of Spamhaus blocklists: PART 2 - How to limit outbound spam

If you’ve skipped the first part of this series, we strongly recommend you go and read this blog first (link below), to understand the misuse of Spamhaus blocklists to block outbound mail. However, if you provide a mail service and want to learn specifically how to limit your outbound spam, read on.

A misuse of Spamhaus blocklists: PART 1 - blocking outbound email

One issue our folks handling tickets submitted by blocked users experience are messages like: Help! My IP is listed by Spamhaus and now I can’t send emails! My provider is rejecting all my emails! You may be asking “Is this not exactly what is supposed to happen in case of a listing?”. Surprising, the answer is “No, it is not!” This is a misuse of our blocklists

If you query the legacy DNSBLs via GoDaddy move to Spamhaus Technology’s free Data Query Service

Currently accessing the free legacy DNS Blocklists (DNSBLs) via the Public Mirrors, and using GoDaddy's network? You'll need to make some minor changes to your email infrastructure. The changes are simple to implement, but if you fail to do so, you could find that at some point post-September 26th 2024, all or none of your email is blocked!

Dangling DNS and the dangers of subdomain hijacking

DNS attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent, with 90% of organizations experiencing them, as per the IDC Threat Intelligence Report 2023. Due to its critical function, DNS is a frequent target for cybercrimes, including DDOS attacks, DNS spoofing and DNS hijacking. However, a lesser-known but significant threat is the dangling DNS record - read on to learn more.

The Policy Blocklist: what is it, and why should you be on it?

It’s not always "bad" to be listed on one of Spamhaus' DNS Blocklists. Despite what you may think, there is one list you may want to be on: the Policy Blocklist (PBL). Want to know more? Let's dive into the PBL, what it is, how it works, and how it affects users. Whether you're an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or an end user, find out everything you need to know.

If you query the legacy DNSBLs via Vultr move to Spamhaus Technology’s free Data Query Service

If you are currently accessing the free legacy DNS Blocklists (DNSBLs) via the Public Mirrors, and you’re using Vultr infrastructure - you'll need to make some minor changes to your email infrastructure. The changes are easy to implement, but if you fail to do so, you could find that at some point post-May 22nd 2024, all or none of your email is blocked!

A website to effect change

We're thrilled to share our brand-new Spamhaus Project website with you! It was high time for an overhaul, but now we have a website that reflects who and what Spamhaus is today. The new site offers a wealth of education, support, and free data to the community covering topics such as IP and domain reputation, malware, DNS Blocklists, threat intelligence, service providers, and more.

Spamhaus Blocklist (SBL) listings are moving

Any abuse desk worker or Trust and Safety team member who has received a Spamhaus Blocklist (SBL) email notification, can view the full details of the listing on www.spamhaus.org. However, change is coming soon. Please read on, otherwise, you may think you've been phished, when the URL in one of these notifications is different and directs you to a different place!

If you query the legacy DNSBLs via DigitalOcean move to Spamhaus Technology's free Data Query Service

If you are currently accessing the free DNS Blocklists (DNSBLs) via the Public Mirrors, and you’re using DigitalOcean infrastructure - you'll need to make some minor changes to your email infrastructure. The changes are easy to implement, but if you fail to do so, you could find that at some point post-February 14th 2024, all or none of your email is blocked!

The conundrum that is the modern use of NAT at a carrier grade level

Modern NAT, including Carrier Grade NAT (CGNAT), complicates tracking by hiding multiple devices behind one IP, akin to a circus full of clowns. This anonymity facilitates spamming and malware distribution. ISPs can mitigate this by clarifying CGNAT usage and filtering outbound port 25, reducing support costs and spam.

QNAME Minimization and Spamhaus DNSBLs

On October 4th the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) issued an article highlighting a problem with Spamhaus’ RBLDNS servers incorrectly answering partial queries that are sent due to QNAME minimization. Our technical team has deployed an initial patch for this issue, and we are in open dialogue with the ISC as...