URI blocklist
A blocklist of domains found in message bodies, mainly link domains. Filters look up each link and score or block the message, whatever IP sent it.
What it means
RFC 5782 covers domain lists, sometimes called RHSBLs (right-hand-side blacklists), which work like IP lists with the domain name in place of the reversed IP. SURBL describes its Multi list as domains of malicious or abused websites, usable to filter messages by the links in their body regardless of sender IP. Spamhaus publishes the Domain Blocklist (DBL), and URIBL runs multi.uribl.com.
URI lists catch senders who rotate IPs but keep pointing at the same sites. They also catch legitimate senders through shared domains: a listed link shortener, a click-tracking domain shared with other customers, or a compromised site you link to. Spamhaus DBL lists hostnames only, not full URLs, and has a return code for abused redirector domains.
Check every domain in your messages, not only the sending domain.
Related terms
On this site
Sources
What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.
- RFC 5782: DNS blacklists and whitelistsrfc-editor.org
- SURBLsurbl.org
- Spamhaus FAQ: Domain Blocklistspamhaus.org
- URIBL: Abouturibl.com
All 432 terms in the glossaryThe wiki: blocklists and bounce codes