tracking the reputation of Mail eXchangers

Glossary

blacklist

Generally, a blacklist is a list of people or things that have incurred disapproval or suspicion or are to be boycotted or otherwise penalized. Related to e-mail, blacklisted IP addresses will not be allowed to send mail to someone trusting the blacklist. Blacklisted e-mail addresses will not be allowed to send mail to a user or organization.
See: DNS-based Spam Databases

DNS

The Domain Name System is a system of mapping names to IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic, they're easier for humans to remember. The Internet, however, is really based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, DNS translates the name into the corresponding IP address. It is similar to a phonebook for the Internet.
See: Domain Name System

IP address

Internet Protocol is the standard that allows dissimilar machines to connect to each other through the Internet. An IP address is a unique identifier assigned to a computer connected to the internet, and is usually expressed as four numbers seperated by dots.
See: Internet Address

ISP

An Internet Service Provider is a company which provides other companies or individuals with access to, or presence on, the Internet.

Mail eXchanger (MX)

A server used to send or receive Internet mail. Specifically, MX refers to a type of DNS record that specifies the server handling the mail for a given host or domain.

spam

Spam is e-mail sent indiscriminately to a large number of recipients, usually promoting a product or service. As e-mail costs close to nothing to send, many people have taken this as an invitation to send as much as they can to as many people as they can find. Spam in this sense is sort of like the electronic equivalent of junk mail sent to "Occupant", except that the recipient pays the vast majority of the cost receiving the unwanted mail.
See: spam

spammer

One who sends spam. In the 1990s, with the rise in commercial awareness of the net, spammers began offering bulk e-mail services to companies wishing to advertise. They pay little or nothing to send each message; though annoying to the vast majority of recipients of this advertising, even a a few sales per million messages sent are profitable for the spammer, offering them economic incentive to continue.