A
DNS-based Blackhole List (DNSBL) or
Real-time Blackhole List (RBL) is an effort to stop
email spamming. It is a
"blacklist" of locations on the Internet reputed to send email spam. The locations consist of
IP addresses which are most often used to publish the addresses of computers or networks linked to
spamming; most
mail server software can be configured to reject or flag messages which have been sent from a site listed on one or more such lists. The term "Blackhole List" is sometimes interchanged with the term "blacklist" and "blocklist".