Anti-spam Archives

DKIM is a common email authentication method designed to reduce the opportunities for phishing attacks and email spam.

DKIM Oversigning to Help Avoid Replay Attacks

May. 9, 2022 / By Harold Vass

SparkPost Cloud now performs DKIM Oversigning by default to eliminate an attack vector for the billion+ emails our platform enables each day. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a common email authentication method designed to reduce the opportunities for phishing attacks and email spam. Combined with other common authentication mechanisms, the chances that your sending domains

Spamhaus’ Crackdown on Abusers

Oct. 4, 2019 / By Todd Herr

Read up on the new changes renowned blacklist operator Spamhaus recently announced to its DNSBL (a.k.a. blacklist) products.

Spam Traps: Break it Down

Aug. 16, 2019 / By Avi Goldman

Find and fix issues faster with our breakdown of spam traps now available as part of our Spam Trap Monitoring feature inside of SparkPost Signals.

What to Do When You’ve Been Listed on Spamhaus

Apr. 19, 2019 / By Kate Nowrouzi

Our SVP of Deliverability Strategy, Kate Nowrouzi, explains what you should do if you've been unfairly listed on Spamhaus.

Trick-or-Treat: 3 Ways to Tell You’re Being Phished via Email

Oct. 10, 2018 / By Sparky

When it comes to email there is nothing spookier than being phished. Learn about 3 clues that can help you identify a phishing attack.

4 Ways to Protect Your Email List from Spam Bot Abuse

Apr. 13, 2018 / By Hailey Orndorff

Our deliverability team shares four tactics to proactively protect your email recipient lists and sending reputation from spam bot abuse.

5 Things to Consider Regarding your Email List when Rebranding

Mar. 30, 2018 / By Christina Hoheisel

Some best practices to follow if you’re rebranding email due to an acquisition or general rebranding initiative to avoid confusing recipients.

mircosoft scl bcl blue background while sheet 360x274

Legitimate vs. Spam Messages: Breaking Down Microsoft’s Rating System

Jan. 26, 2018 / By Christina Hoheisel

Our deliverability expert breaks down what Microsoft's SCL, BCL, and PCL ratings mean when sending messages to one of their domains.

Troubleshooting Blacklisted IP Addresses

Mar. 29, 2017 / By Tonya Gordon

One of our deliverability experts weighs in on blacklisted IP addresses, good sending best practices and what actions to take if you suspect a blacklisting.

Why We’re Careful to Take Account Suspension Seriously

Dec. 21, 2016 / By Phillip Merrick

Our CEO explains why we take an abundance of caution when it comes to preventing email abuse—and the care we take when it results in account suspension.

Spam Complaints: What You Need To Know

Dec. 14, 2016 / By Clea Moore

Spam complaints tell ISPs how to treat your mail and can indicate the health of your overall mail program. Here’s how to use them to optimize your programs.

Email Marketing Rookie Kid Missing Steering Wheel

17 Reasons You’re an Email Marketing Rookie

Jun. 27, 2016 / By Sparky

Our Letterman-style list of the top mistakes that an email marketing rookie can make. How does your email strategy stack up?

Microsoft Hotmail Outlook Deliverability Inbox

6 Rules For Maximum Outlook Deliverability

May. 6, 2016 / By Tonya Gordon

Our deliverability experts share 6 best practices and a golden rule for maximizing Microsoft Hotmail/Outlook deliverability and sender reputation.

The Email Journey to the Inbox: What Happens After Hitting Send?

May. 4, 2016 / By Sparky

There are many moving pieces to the email journey. Here’s a high level overview of what happens once you hit send and the obstacles your mails overcome in order to hit the inbox.

Spam Traps Part 3 – Avoiding Spam Traps

Feb. 29, 2016 / By Clea Moore

Part 3 of our spam trap series covers avoiding spam traps in the first place, and what to do if they make their way into your database.

It’s Time for DMARC and Email Authentication

Feb. 10, 2016 / By Brent Sleeper

Adopting email authentication standards like DMARC and STARTTLS are key to improving digital messaging security posture. Here’s why.

Spam Traps Part 2: How They Impact Your Mail Program

Jan. 27, 2016 / By Clea Moore

In part two of our series, we look at who uses spam traps and how they can impact your mail program.

15 Do’s and Don’ts to Avoid Having Your Email Blocked or Blocklisted

Jan. 18, 2016 / By Sparky

Getting your email blocked or landing on an email blocklist has a direct impact on your email deliverability. Unfortunately, you don’t have to send spam to have your email blocked. Here are 15 do’s and don’ts to avoid being blocked and blocklisted.

4 international email experts on privacy

Global Data Privacy Insight from 4 International Email Experts

Jan. 13, 2016 / By Brent Sleeper

Read what four experts on international email marketing and data privacy had to say about global regulations at SparkPost’s Insight 2015 user conference.

Spam Traps Part 1 – What Are They?

Jan. 6, 2016 / By Clea Moore

What are spam traps and why should care about them? In this part 1 of 3 part blog series we'll answer those questions and how it can impact your email program and how you can avoid sending to them.

Top 10 CASL Myths: Sending Email to Canada Legally

Jan. 4, 2016 / By Sparky

Developers and marketers responsible for sending email are expected to understand and comply with anti-spam legislation like Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL). This can be particularly difficult when myths and misconceptions abound. In an effort to eliminate confusion, we dispelled the top 10 CASL myths regarding CASL compliance.

How To Avoid Looking Like A Malware Sender

Jul. 22, 2015 / By Tonya Gordon

I recently was catching up on my email, and I was struck that there wasn’t a single marketing message with an attachment in my inbox. The only notes with attachments were transactional in nature: a receipt from a store I made a purchase from and a voicemail notification from my company’s phone system. Those transactional messages didn’t have any images, nor were they long with a bunch of offers. Sure, there were a few links to their website where I could find marketing offers, but no big call to action beyond the essential transactional purpose of the message.

The History of Spam

Mar. 12, 2015 / By Sparky

Call Gary-T-Webit Spam or Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE), it’s still the same thing: a confounding problem that has plagued our inboxes, and the world, starting with the first piece of spam in 1978 by Gary Thuerk.

Shock & Awe In The Inbox

Jan. 29, 2015 / By Sparky

Some years back I wrote a blog post entitled “What I Learned From Nigerian Spammers.” The inspiration for the post came from a piece of spam I received while working for Unica, and attending the Marketing Innovation Summit (the last as we were just acquired by IBM).

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