SURBL (previously stood for Spam URI RBL) is a collection of URI DNSBL lists of
Uniform Resource Identifier
A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a unique sequence of characters that identifies a logical or physical resource used by web technologies. URIs may be used to identify anything, including real-world objects, such as people and places, conc ...
(URI) hosts, typically web site domains, that appear in unsolicited messages. SURBL can be used to search incoming
e-mail
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
message bodies for spam payload links to help evaluate whether the messages are unsolicited. For example, if ''
http://www.example.com'' is listed, then e-mail messages with a message body containing this
URI Uri may refer to:
Places
* Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland
* Úri, a village and commune in Hungary
* Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India
* Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...
may be classified as unsolicited. URI DNSBLs differ from prior
DNSBL
A Domain Name System blocklist, Domain Name System-based blackhole list, Domain Name System blacklist (DNSBL) or real-time blackhole list (RBL) is a service for operation of mail servers to perform a check via a Domain Name System (DNS) query whe ...
s, which commonly list mail sending IP addresses. SURBL is a specific instance of the general URI DNSBL list type.
Lists
SURBL provides lists of different types:
* ABUSE - spam and abuse sites
* PH - phishing sites
* MW - malware sites
* CR - cracked sites
All lists are gathered into ''multi.surbl.org''.
Usage
A DNS query of a domain or
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
taken from a URI can be sent in the form of ''spamdomain.example.multi.surbl.org'' or ''4.3.2.1.multi.surbl.org''. The multi
DNS zone
A DNS zone is a specific portion of the DNS namespace in the Domain Name System (DNS), which is managed by a specific organization or administrator. A DNS zone is an administrative space that allows for more granular control of the DNS componen ...
return records contain codes that indicate which list contains the queried for domain or IP address. Many spam filters support use of SURBL. Small sites can use SURBL through public
DNS
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to ...
queries, and an
rsync
rsync is a utility for efficiently transferring and synchronizing files between a computer and a storage drive and across networked computers by comparing the modification times and sizes of files. It is commonly found on Unix-like operat ...
data feed is available to professional users. SURBL data are also available in
Response Policy Zone
A response policy zone (RPZ) is a mechanism to introduce a customized policy in Domain Name System servers, so that recursive resolvers return possibly modified results. By modifying a result, access to the corresponding host can be blocked.
U ...
and
CSV formats.
History
SURBL was created in 2004 to replace formatted text-based lists such as sa-blacklist that were previously used in
SpamAssassin
Apache SpamAssassin is a computer program used for e-mail spam filtering. It uses a variety of spam-detection techniques, including DNS and fuzzy checksum techniques, Bayesian filtering, external programs, blacklists and online databases. It i ...
and distributed through web sites. The announcement of SURBL as a URI DNSBL was made April 8, 2004 to the
SpamAssassin
Apache SpamAssassin is a computer program used for e-mail spam filtering. It uses a variety of spam-detection techniques, including DNS and fuzzy checksum techniques, Bayesian filtering, external programs, blacklists and online databases. It i ...
user community. SURBL is the first major list of the URI DNSBL type, later followed by uribl.com, IvmURI and Spamhaus DBL.
See also
*
DNSBL
A Domain Name System blocklist, Domain Name System-based blackhole list, Domain Name System blacklist (DNSBL) or real-time blackhole list (RBL) is a service for operation of mail servers to perform a check via a Domain Name System (DNS) query whe ...
, a spam prevention method in which e-mail messages are accepted or rejected depending on the
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
of the
mail server
Within the Internet email system, a message transfer agent (MTA), or mail transfer agent, or mail relay is software that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another using SMTP. The terms mail server, mail exchanger, and MX host ...
from which the message is received.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surbl
Spamming