Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about
the abuse.net contact database.
About the abuse.net contact database
How big is the database?
It has contact addresses for over 200,000 domains. That may seem like a lot, but it's far less than 1% of the millions of domains in .COM alone.Does a database entry mean that a domain is a ``spam haven''?
Absolutely not. The majority of the entries in the database were volunteered by responsible system managers who want to know right away in the event that one of their users misbehaves.Does an abuse.net listing mean that people are blocking my mail?
No. Abuse.net is not a blacklist. For reasons we can only begin to imagine, various third parties sometimes claim that ``abuse.net blocked your mail.'' They are at best misinformed, and frequently just lying, because abuse.net blocks nothing.How often is the database updated?
Most updates are handled automatically, and are added to the database within an hour of receipt. Others are handled manually, as time permits, which may take days or weeks.Where do the entries in the database come from?
From a variety of sources. The largest source is from domain managers who provide information about their own domains. Other sources include:How does abuse.net use the contact database?
- WHOIS contact addresses, from registries, registrars, ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC, and AfrNIC.
- Contact addresses listed in domains' web pages.
- Mail server tests, to see if common addresses like abuse or support work.
- Traceroute and WHOIS, to locate upstream providers of unresponsive domains.
When we have contact information sent by a responsible party for a domain, we publish the listed address. If there's more than one address listed, we forward message to all of the listed addresses. When we have information for a domain from other sources, publish the listed address(es) as well as to postmaster@domain, on the theory that postmaster remains the standard contact address unless the domain owner tells us otherwise.Can I send in updates for the database?
Please do send in updated contact information for domains that you know about. But please do not send abuse reports or copies of spam, since there's nothing we can do with them. See our update page for details on submitting new and updated contact info.Can I get a copy of the database?
Probably not. There are four ways to query the database, by mailing to (the name of the domain you wish to report to)@abuse.net, by using the DNS lookup at contacts.abuse.net, the WHOIS server at whois.abuse.net, and by using the contact look-up page. The database is specifically not available to build into spam reporting tools, since any copy of the database would rapidly get out of date. You can easily make your tool use the DNS server to extract the addresses as you're creating your report. See Using abuse.net from programs. If there's some other reason you want a copy of the database, drop a note to postmaster@abuse.net explaining why and we'll consider it.
