IP blacklist test

What is an IP blacklist?

There is a lot of public blacklist databases in the Internet. The most famouse dabatases are spamhaus.org, spamcop.net, barracudacentral.org, abuse.ch and other. All these databases contain IP addresses blacklisted for spam or other suspicious activity. The IPs are added and removed automatically by special software called bots or spiders. So if your PC is compromised or it is infected by viruses or whatever bad things happen – your IP probably will be added in these blacklists.

Why should I take it into account?

The blacklist databases are source of trust in the Internet. If the IP is blacklisted – this is a serious issue and it should be fixed as fast as possible by the IP owner or the IP owner will be fixed by the law (i.e. you will get claim, court, then police or vice versa). Spam, blackmail, hijacking, copyright infirgerment – this is a crime in most of countries. So if your IP is blacklisted – consider to check why the IP is blacklisted. All the blacklist databases have clear rules about how and why IPs are adding to the database and how it can be removed. Not every reason is so dangerous, as some databases list the IP only by the fact it is dynamic. At the end of the day the "completely green badge" is eventually easy to get, just check your IP and take appropriate action.

How does the blacklist test work?

All the blacklist databases have special API to share the data between firewalls or whatever software. The API is simple enough and it is based on DNS. When you click on start test button the bash.ws generates nslookup requests to the most famouse blacklist databases. You will get a warning if your IP is listed.

What blacklists are included in the test?

The test consists of several blacklists.

1. spamhaus.org - The spamhaus project founded in 1998 to track spammers and spam related activity.
2. b.barracudacentral.org - the Barracuda Reputation Block List is operating since 2008.
3. bl.spamcop.net - the SpamCop Block List was founded in 1998.
4. blackholes.mail-abuse.org - Mail Abuse Prevention System.
5. access.redhawk.org - spamhawk blacklist database.