The Complete Guide to the Barracuda Blacklist: Removal, Prevention, and Everything Else You Need to Know

Have you ever pressed send on an important email only to hear crickets in response? Annoying, isn’t it?

Even worse is when your recipients call you raging about not receiving your emails. Not a great look.

While your email campaigns are totally legitimate, overzealous spam filters don’t always seem to care.

One minute you’re flawlessly building your subscriber list and designing compelling email copy.

The next, your IP address lands on a blacklist and your deliverability takes a nosedive off a cliff. 📉

Enter the infamous Barracuda blacklist. Run by top email security provider Barracuda Networks, it uses sophisticated algorithms and extensive threat data to ferret out shady senders.

But sometimes perfectly well-meaning senders like you and me get caught in its web.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll demystify everything you need to know about the powerful Barracuda blacklist—from its inner workings to avoiding and removing listings.

You’ll learn how to:

• Check if your IP is on Barracuda’s radar 👀
• Remove blacklistings limiting your deliverability ✂️
• Discover what triggered the blocking in the first place 🕵️
• Fortify your reputation to sidestep future issues 🛡

By the end, you’ll be equipped to avoid both real email threats AND erroneous blockings so your mail reliably reaches the inbox every time. 🎯

Ready to get out of Barracuda Blacklist? Let’s dive in!

What is the Barracuda Blacklist and How Does it Work?

Overview of the Barracuda Blacklist

The Barracuda Blacklist, also known as the Barracuda Reputation Block List (BRBL), is a real-time blacklist maintained by leading security provider Barracuda Networks. Acting as a DNSBL (domain name system-based blacklist), it provides a database of IP addresses linked to malicious sending practices like spamming, phishing, and spreading malware.

The BRBL dates back to 2008 and is offered completely free as a public service for email administrators. However, you do need to register any IP addresses you plan to query against the blacklist.

If your own IP address shows up on the Barracuda Blacklist, it signals potential email infrastructure issues on your end. Email servers that utilize the BRBL will block messages coming from your blacklisted IP or tag them as high-risk spam.

This can hamper your email deliverability and lead to messages never reaching inboxes. Fortunately, understanding how the blacklist works provides the knowledge to avoid and remove listings.

How Barracuda Compiles the Blacklist

So how does Barracuda determine which IPs to include on its blacklist?

The company uses extensive spam traps and data from its security appliances to identify sources of malicious emails. Here are some of the key signals that can land an IP address on the BRBL:

• Sending large volumes of spam: An IP detected to be the origin of mass spam email blasts will get blacklisted. Even if you’re just sending marketing emails, sloppy practices like purchased lists can be seen as spamming.
• Hosting malicious content: If malicious URLs or attachments are traced back to a website or resource hosted on your IP, that IP can end up on the blacklist.
• Infected devices: Laptops, servers, and other devices compromised by malware that sends spam will lead to the device’s IP being blocked.
• Open relays and proxies: IPs running insecure open mail relays or proxy servers are magnets for spammers, inevitably ending up blacklisted.

In essence, Barracuda automatically detects sources of clear malicious emails and backgrounds used by spammers to add them to the BRBL rapidly. Humans don’t manually review before blacklisting, allowing aggressive blocking of emerging threats.

When Does Barracuda Block Emails?

When an email server uses the Barracuda Blacklist, at what point will it actually block messages or mark them as spam because of a listing?

There are two stages:

1. IP reputation check: The receiving server first checks the sending IP against the BRBL. If listed, it’s a red flag.
2. Content scanning: Even if blacklisted, the message goes through Barracuda’s content scanners. If scored as likely spam, it will be blocked or flagged.

So blacklisting doesn’t lead to outright message rejection but rather designates high-risk IPs. This system avoids false positives by combining IP reputation with real-time content analysis.

For example, an email from a blacklisted IP may still get delivered if the content, such as the sender domain or links included, shows no obvious signs of spamminess.

How the Barracuda Reputation System Works

The Barracuda Blacklist is powered behind the scenes by the Barracuda Reputation System. This aggregates data from multiple sources to generate reputations for both IP addresses and domains:

• Contributing networks: Billions of data points are logged by Barracuda security appliances installed at customer networks. Admins can opt-in to share anonymous analytics.
• Email honeypots: Barracuda operates spam traps that attract spam emails, tracing them back to IP sources.
• Threat research: Barracuda’s security teams research emerging threats like botnets and malware sources.
• Public data: Helpful open data on phishing, malware, and spam is incorporated from trusted community sources.

All this data gets funneled into the Barracuda Reputation System which evaluates IPs, domains, URLs and other signals using advanced algorithms and assigns a reputation score.

IP addresses determined to be clearly malicious receive a “poor” reputation. This has the effect of adding them to the BRBL since blacklisted IPs show up labeled as poor reputation.

So in short, the BRBL itself is just the output interface showing all IPs with poor Barracuda Reputation scores based on comprehensive email threat data.

By leveraging rich data and linkage analysis, the Barracuda Reputation System provides the intelligence to make their blacklist uniquely accurate and responsive.

Checking if You’re on the Barracuda Blacklist

Wondering if your IP address or domain has ended up on the Barracuda blacklist? Let’s go over how you can easily check your reputation status.

Using Barracuda’s IP/Domain Lookup Tool

Barracuda provides an IP and domain reputation lookup tool right on their website for free public use:

IP/Domain Lookup Tool

To check your standing, just head to the page and enter your IP address or domain name in the appropriate field. Then click “Lookup”.

Within seconds, you’ll see if your IP/domain is currently listed as “poor” reputation in Barracuda’s system.

A “poor” label means you are on the active BRBL blacklist. Any email servers that utilize the BRBL will be automatically blocking messages coming from your IP or tagging them as high-risk spam.

So a poor rating from the lookup tool means your email deliverability is likely hampered at recipient servers leveraging the Barracuda blacklist.

Here are examples of the positive and negative lookup results:

Clean Reputation

Blacklisted Reputation

Checking your own reputation regularly is a best practice to stay on top of deliverability. You want to catch any blacklisting issues early before they significantly impact your sending.

What to Do If You’re Listed as “Poor” Reputation

Seeing that “poor” label next to your IP or domain is disheartening but don’t panic! Here are the next steps:

1. Investigate the potential cause

Think back on recent changes or incidents that may have triggered the blacklisting:

• Did you drastically increase your email volume?
• Are there any indications your infrastructure is compromised, like suspicious outbound spam?
• Did you make IP or domain configuration changes?
• Has your web hosting IP been flagged for malware or other issues?

Finding the root cause will give you direction on correcting the problem for good.

2. Check other major blacklists

See if the same IP/domain is listed on other notable blacklists like Spamhaus or SURBL. This helps determine the scope of the reputation damage.

3. Consider contacting Barracuda support

You can open a support ticket with Barracuda Central to get additional insight into what caused your blacklisting. Their team may be able to share useful details.

4. Initiate the removal request process

Once you identify and resolve the underlying issue, submit a blacklist removal request to Barracuda as covered in the next section.

Remember that blacklisting is not a permanent life sentence! Proactively checking your status and taking the right steps upon finding a listing can get you back to good standing.

Getting Removed from the Barracuda Blacklist

Finding yourself on the Barracuda blacklist can be frustrating, but the good news is that you can request removal by following the proper delisting process. Let’s go over how to submit a removal request, what info you need to provide, and how long the process takes.

Submitting a Barracuda Blacklist Removal Request

If you verify that your IP or domain is labeled as “poor” reputation in Barracuda’s system, you can request removal through their automated form:

Barracuda Blacklist Removal Request Form

Here are the steps to complete the form:

1. Enter your email server IP address – The specific IP you want removed that shows up poorly rated in the lookup tool.
2. Provide your email address – This is where they will send updates on the request status. Use an address you can regularly access.
3. Input your phone number – In case they need to contact you directly about the request, it’s recommended to include your phone number.
4. Share details on why you deserve delisting – The form has a field asking “Why should this IP address be delisted?” Explain why you believe the IP was wrongly listed and any evidence backing up your claim. Providing as much context as possible helps build your case.
5. Click Submit Request – That’s it! The form will process the removal request automatically.

Within 24 hours, you should receive a confirmation email that your request was received successfully.

Barracuda notes that removal is not guaranteed automatically. Their team will manually review your request and make a determination based on their policies. But providing a compelling explanation of why your IP should not be blacklisted can increase your odds of success.

What Information You Need to Provide

Let’s quickly recap the key information you need to supply in the removal request form:

• Email server IP address requested for removal
• Your contact email address
• Phone number
• Explanation of why IP should be delisted

Having the following additional details handy can also help strengthen your case if Barracuda contacts you for more info:

• Headers from a blocked email (helps isolate sending issue)
• Server IP configurations (may assist troubleshooting)
• Email or website content moderation policies (demonstrates compliance best practices)
• Recent email sending volumes and lists (shows typical activity)

The more evidence you can provide on running a clean email program, the better chances of getting approval for deletion from their blacklist.

How Long Removal Takes and Success Rates

Once you submit the form, how long does it take to get removed from the Barracuda blacklist?

The company states that most requests are processed within 24 hours of submission. However, it can occasionally take up to 72 hours depending on request volume.

If you haven’t received a status update email from Barracuda within 3 days, it’s recommended to contact their support for an update. Their team can provide visibility into any holdups.

Regarding success rate, anecdotal reports indicate 60-70% of well-evidenced removal requests do get approved. But there are never any guarantees with blacklists.

Factors impacting your approval odds include:

• How clearly you can demonstrate resolving the underlying issue that led to blacklisting
• Providing strong evidence of clean email operations
• How long your IP was listed prior to requesting removal
• Overall server/network reputation beyond just Barracuda

With a compelling, fact-based request and a little patience, you have a solid chance of getting your IP removed from one of the most popular email blacklists.

Why You May Have Gotten Blocked by Barracuda

Seeing your IP or domain blacklisted by Barracuda can be a gut punch. But understanding the potential reasons behind your blocking is key to preventing repeat issues in the future.

Let’s explore the common triggers that can land you in Barracuda’s crosshairs:

Sending Large Volumes of Emails

One of the most frequent reasons legitimate senders get blocked is dramatically increasing email volume without proper warmup and reputation protection.

While you know your large batch of emails is perfectly valid outreach, Barracuda and other blacklist systems can’t tell the difference between clean bulk sending and spam blasts.

Their algorithms look for sudden spikes in volume from a given IP as a spam signal. Some things that can accidentally trigger this:

• Onboarding new email campaigns: If you instantly launch large new email initiatives, the uptick in volume may resemble malicious activity.
• Switching to a new ESP: Quickly shifting or adding large volumes via a new email provider you’ve never sent mail through before can also appear suspicious.
• Bringing email sending in-house: Building your own SMTP servers to handle volumes previously outsourced through an ESP can get your new IPs overzealously flagged as spam sources.

The root of the issue is that your domain and IP lack sufficient positive sending reputation to withstand spikes in volume without blacklisting.

Solutions include:

• Slowly warming up new IPs by gradually increasing volumes sent
• Using an advanced email warmup service to protect your domain reputation
• Leveraging whitlisting to ensure major receivers always accept your mail during growth phases

With cautious, reputation-focused growth, you can avoid overly-eager blocking when expanding email campaigns.

Having an Open Relay or Proxy Server

Another email infrastructure misconfiguration that often inadvertently leads to blacklisting is running an open email relay or proxy.

Open relays allow anyone on the internet to route mail through your servers. Spammers heavily exploit this to mask the true origin of their email blasts.

Similarly, open proxies forward all traffic through your IP address. These are perfect for abusing your IP for shady purposes without you ever knowing.

The problem is that although you aren’t purposely sending spam yourself, your IP gets associated with all the malicious mail passing through it.

Barracuda will spot the volumes of spam traced to your IP and add you to the blacklist with no idea you aren’t the actual source.

Preventing this is about locking down your configurations:

• If running your own email servers, ensure proper authentication is required for SMTP mail relaying through them. Don’t let unauthorized senders route mail.
• For web proxies, implement IP whitelisting so only designated IPs can forward traffic rather than the whole internet.
• Use firewalls to block access to open relay/proxy ports like SMTP port 25, DNS port 53, and web ports 80 and 443.

With rigorous access controls on your servers, your infrastructure is far less likely to be exploited as an accidental spam haven.

Dynamic IP Previously Used for Spam

Most businesses use static IP addresses that don’t change. But if you use dynamic IPs that periodically rotate, you may end up with IPs previously used for shady purposes:

• Past spammers often take advantage of dynamic IP services to maintain anonymity. Once blacklisted, they simply ask for a new IP.
• Dynamic IPs routinely pass through residential proxies and other high-risk IP pools. These sources are magnets for malicious users.

So even if you send perfectly legitimate mail, a recycled dynamic IP already flagged for spam can lead to immediate blocking before you even get a chance to build your own reputation.

Thankfully, this is an easy problem to correct:

• Switch to using static IPs whenever possible – this gives you full control and consistency.
• If you must use dynamic IPs, request IP pools from your provider that are designated for business use rather than consumer proxies. Business pools typically have much cleaner reputations.
• When allocated new dynamic IPs, immediately check major blacklists and perform test sends to confirm the IPs are clean before use.

With extra diligence, dynamic IP services don’t have to tank your deliverability if the right precautions are taken.

Suspected Spam Content or Practices

Beyond just volume and technical factors, perceived spammy content or policies can also provoke blacklisting.

Barracuda and other filters leverage spam signature databases to detect emails with common scam patterns like:

• Viagra/pharmacy spam
• “Nigerian prince” and lottery scams
• Malware attachment tricks
• Phishing branding impersonation

If your emails contain any similarities to known spam templates, you’ll seem no different from an actual scammer.

In addition, not following best practices with your email campaigns can appear suspiciously spam-like:

• Purchased email lists – Buying databases of addresses instead of collecting opt-ins often raises red flags.
• Deceptive subject lines – Using misleading or disconnected subject lines undermines legitimacy.
• No physical address – Lacking a real business location and postal address looks sketchy.
• No unsubscribe option – Forgetting opt-out links goes against anti-spam laws.

While you have no ill intent, cutting corners that resemble scammers is risky. Proper list management, transparent sending, and respect for inboxes is key.

Best Practices to Avoid Being Blacklisted by Barracuda

Now that we’ve covered the various ways you can end up on Barracuda’s blacklist, let’s talk about proactive strategies to avoid blocking in the first place.

Monitoring Your Sender Reputation

The best defense is a good offense when it comes to maintaining positive deliverability and avoiding blacklists.

Proactively monitoring your sender reputation gives you early warning of issues before they result in blacklisting.

Here are key signals to watch:

• Complaint rates – Feedback loops from ISPs will alert you to any spikes in spam complaints. These identify possible deliverability problems before Barracuda spots them.
• Engagement metrics – Unusual drops in open/click rates may indicate deliverability issues like spam folder routing.
• List bounce rates – Higher hard bounces can reveal potential infra problems.
• Blacklist listings – Regularly check not just Barracuda but other major lists like Spamhaus and SURBL.

Using tools like return path analysis and abyss coaching reports can provide visibility into these vital reputation metrics.

At the first sign of trouble, you can quickly diagnose and resolve small problems before they become blacklist-worthy.

Warming Up New IP Addresses

Whenever you begin sending mail through a new IP address, proper email IP warming is a must to avoid being seen as a spammer.

The goal is to slowly build a positive sending reputation at major receiving domains like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.

Rather than blasting at full volume out the gate, gradually ramp up your:

• Daily sent volumes
• Number of recipient domains
• Email types and content

This conservative, metrics-based approach proves to receivers that you’re a legitimate sender they can trust.

Tools like Mystrika offer advanced warming with deliverability experts to protect your domain reputation. Mystrika also provides limited free warmup emails.

With disciplined, best practice warming processes, new IPs can avoid easy blacklist triggers.

Ensuring Proper Email Infrastructure

We covered previously how misconfigurations like open relays and proxies can lead to accidental blacklisting.

Avoiding these issues comes down to proper hardening of your core email infrastructure and servers.

Key steps include:

• Using authentication for SMTP mail relaying through your servers, such as SMTP Auth
• Implementing IP whitelisting for mail proxies and limiting forwarded ports
• Configuring firewalls to block outside access to SMTP ports
• Getting regular penetration testing done by security firms
• Using IP reputation monitoring to detect backscatter from exploited systems

Locking down your infrastructure and punching holes through your defenses is critical to prevent spammers from abusing your assets.

Following Anti-Spam Best Practices

Beyond technical protections, following compliance best practices with your email program shows good faith.

Tactics like:

• Double opt-in confirmations for subscribers
• Easy one-click unsubscribe links in emails
• Accurate FROM names matching your domain
• Real physical postal addresses
• Personalized content and segmentation

Signal to receivers that you take deliverability seriously and don’t cut spammy corners. That reputation distinction from actual scammers goes a long way.

Using Whitelisting Services

The ultimate deliverability insurance policy is getting your IP address or domain whitelisted with major ISPs and receivers.

Whitelisting ensures those receivers automatically accept your mail no matter what, bypassing any potential blacklisting issues.

Some paid services like IPQualityScore facilitate getting your IPs added to key recipient allow lists.

For the most security, pursuit whitelist placement with:

• Leading webmail/ISPs like Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft
• Your core customer segments and industries
• Any major past trouble domains

Whitelisting plus diligent sender reputation management offer reliable blacklist avoidance.

Should You Use the Barracuda Blacklist?

If your organization sends and receives large volumes of email, you likely already incorporate DNS blacklists as part of your filtering stack. Should the Barracuda blacklist be one of them?

Let’s explore the key pros, cons, and integration tips to consider.

Pros of Leveraging the Barracuda DNSBL

Reasons to add Barracuda to your blacklist filtering:

• Extensive threat intelligence: With access to data from millions of endpoints, Barracuda has incredible visibility into emerging spam and malware threats. Their BRBL stays on the cutting edge of new sources of malicious email.
• High accuracy: Their deep data resources combined with human security analysts reviewing correlations means their listings reliably identify truly malicious senders, not false positives.
• Responsive updates: New spam campaigns can be blacklisted within minutes or hours, not waiting on periodic list updates. This real-time nature limits the impact of new attacks.
• Easy integration: As a free DNSBL, Barracuda is simple for any email admin to add to their DNS blocklists. No cloud service signup or fees required.
• Product ecosystem integration: For organizations using Barracuda’s security offerings, the BRBL integrates seamlessly and amplifies the value of those products.

With spam volumes continuing to climb, leveraging all available threat intelligence can help your security stack stay resilient.

Cons to Consider

Factors to keep in mind before deploying Barracuda blocking:

• Potential false positives: Like all blacklists, false positives can inadvertently block legitimate mail. Their accuracy is excellent but not 100% perfect.
• Reacts to issues, doesn’t prevent them: The BRBL only flags issues after-the-fact, not proactively protect your own reputation.
• No whitelisting capabilities: You’ll need separate solutions to designate trusted senders and bypass aggressive filtering.
• Require registering your IPs first: TheirFREE access does require pre-registering your IP addresses before you can leverage the BRBL lookups and data.

For most large email receivers, the powerful threat insight Barracuda offers likely outweighs these limitations. But factor them into planning your filtering policies.

Tips for Integrating Barracuda into Your Filtering

If you decide to utilize Barracuda reputation data, here are tips for smart integration:

• Don’t make it the primary filter. Have it act as a secondary reputation check rather than the main criterion blocking mail. This avoids over-dependence.
• Combine multiple DNSBLs. Layer Barracuda on top of other lists like Spamhaus for more correlations. Different lists focus on different threats.
• Always check whitelists first. Process whitelist allowlists before you ever evaluate blocklists to protect approved senders.
• Use it mainly for tagging. Rather than outright blocking flagged mail, reroute it to quarantine or tag the subject line to retain visibility.
• Monitor effectiveness. Track metrics like your false positive rates and adjust filtering thresholds accordingly.
• Allow senders to appeal. Have an explicit process where legitimate senders that get blocked incorrectly can petition to have their listings revoked.

With smart policies built around it, the Barracuda blacklist can meaningfully bolster your email defenses without undermining deliverability.

What Else You Need to Know about Barracuda Central

Beyond just operating the Barracuda blacklist, there are some key facts about the broader Barracuda Central service that are useful for email admins and deliverability professionals.

Overview of Barracuda Central’s Role and Database

Barracuda Networks offers a suite of popular email and network security tools used by organizations worldwide.

Barracuda Central is the threat intelligence platform powering their products as well as services like the BRBL.

It maintains a massive global database of:

• Email sender reputations
• Known spam and phishing attacks
• Malware and botnet sources
• Compromised or exploited networks

This constantly updated intelligence powers Barracuda’s email security algorithms and informs product rule sets.

Barracuda contributes extensive real-world data back to Central gathered from their solutions deployed with customers.

This access to telemetry from their large installed appliance base gives Central unparalleled visibility into the email threat landscape.

How Reputation Data is Collected and Used

Barracuda gathers IP and domain reputation data through methods like:

• Honeypots: Sinkholes that attract and analyze spam.
• Customer reporting: Anonymized user submissions of unwanted mail.
• Threat research: Investigations into botnet operations, malware campaigns, and stolen databases sold on the dark web.
• 3rd party partners: Sharing key findings with industry partners and security firms.

All this data gets added to Central’s reputation database that categorizes IPs and domains based on their risk profiles.

Low-reputation IPs end up included in the BRBL. But Barracuda also uses reputation signals for content-based spam filtering in their products.

A seemingly clean message from a known-shady sender will get extra scrutiny before delivery.

Comparison to Other Leading Blacklists

How does Barracuda compare and contrast with other popular real-time blacklists like Spamhaus and SURBL?

Similarities:

• Free public DNSBL access.
• Algorithmically detect spamming/exploit IP patterns.
• Broad IP listings from across the internet.

Differences:

• Barracuda has unique visibility thanks to their large global sensor network.
• They combine IPs, domains, URLs, and other factors for reputation.
• Tighter integration possible within Barracuda ecosystem.
• Less susceptibility to spammers submitting removal requests.

With its vast threat visibility and multi-factor reputation modeling, the Barracuda blacklist offers distinct advantages that complement other industry DNSBLs.

Overall, Barracuda Central provides tremendous value to the email security community beyond just powering their well-regarded DNS blocklist.

Key Takeaways

• The Barracuda blacklist uses extensive threat data to identify and block IP addresses sending spam or malicious email. Getting listed can significantly impact your deliverability.
• Check if you’re blacklisted using Barracuda’s free IP/domain reputation lookup tool. A “poor” rating means you’re blocked.
• Submit a Barracuda removal request form explaining why you should be delisted. Removal usually takes 24-72 hours if approved.
• Sudden volume spikes, dynamic IPs, open relays, spam tactics, and malware can trigger blacklisting. Understanding the root cause is key.
• Proactively monitor your reputation, properly warm up IPs, secure your infrastructure, follow best practices, and use whitelisting to avoid future issues.
• Barracuda Central powers the blacklist using a large global database of email threat intelligence sourced from customers, partners, and research.
• Compared to other blacklists, Barracuda offers unique visibility and multi-factor reputation modeling for accuracy.
• Smartly integrating Barracuda data into your filtering stack provides added protection without over-blocking legitimate mail.

By learning how the Barracuda blacklist works and prioritizing deliverability best practices, you can avoid erroneous blocking while still filtering true threats.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Barracuda blacklist?

The Barracuda blacklist, also called the Barracuda Reputation Block List (BRBL), is a real-time database of IP addresses determined to be sources of spam, malware, phishing, and other email threats. It acts as a DNS blocklist that receiving mail servers can use to block or flag messages from listed IPs.

How does the Barracuda blacklist work?

Barracuda compiles the blacklist using data from spam traps, malware reports, compromised device botnets, open proxies/relays, and other observed email threats. IP addresses sending high volumes of malicious email get automatically added to the BRBL. Email servers that use the BRBL will block mail from listed IPs or mark it as spam.

How do I check if I’m on the Barracuda blacklist?

You can perform a free reputation lookup on the Barracuda Central website. Just enter your IP address or domain and it will show if you have a “poor” reputation, meaning you are listed on the active blacklist.

Why might I have been blacklisted by Barracuda?

Common reasons include sending large volumes of email suddenly, having an open relay/proxy on your network exploited by spammers, a past malware infection sending spam, risky email content or practices that resemble spam, or simply having a dynamic IP previously used for spam.

How can I get removed from the Barracuda blacklist?

You can submit a delisting request form on the Barracuda Central website. Provide your IP, contact information, and an explanation of why you should be removed. If your request is approved after manual review, removal usually takes 24-72 hours.

How can I avoid being blacklisted by Barracuda in the future?

Best practices include monitoring your sender reputation, proper email infrastructure hardening, warming up new IPs gradually, following anti-spam regulations, and using whitelisting services. This helps prove you are a legitimate sender and prevent issues.

What is Barracuda Central?

Barracuda Central is the threat intelligence platform operated by Barracuda Networks that powers their email security products and services like the BRBL. It aggregates reputation data on global email threats from security sensors, research, partners, and other sources.

Is the Barracuda blacklist free to use?

Yes, the Barracuda DNSBL is free to use for anyone. However, you do need to register your IP addresses on their website before you can perform lookups or use their DNSBL data.

How accurate is the Barracuda blacklist?

Thanks to Barracuda’s extensive visibility into email threats and human vetting, their listings are highly precise with minimal false positives. Few legitimate emails will be incorrectly blocked based solely on BRBL reputation data.

Can I get whitelisted by Barracuda?

No, Barracuda does not offer whitelisting services. Their listings are based purely on observed email sending patterns. You need to pursue separate whitelist options to guarantee bypassing of blocks.