I recently purchased a brand new domain from Gname on April 9th, and I discovered it's already blacklisted by both Spamhaus DBL and SEM FRESH, despite never being used before. Initially, I thought this might just be a result of its new status with no prior history. After properly setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and using Microsoft 365 for email, SEM FRESH removed the listing, but Spamhaus still hasn't budged. They explained in their response that my domain is hosted in a "bad neighborhood," indicating it shares an IP with low-reputation domains. Since I'm not even hosting a website, just using Microsoft email with Gname's DNS, I'm left wondering if the cheap registrar is contributing to the issue, or if my weak DMARC policy (currently set to p=none while I warm it up) is to blame. Could warming up the domain and building a positive reputation ultimately help in getting it delisted? Any insights would be appreciated!
4 Answers
It sounds like the main issue comes from the IP address used for your email hosting. If your IP is considered part of a bad neighborhood, Spamhaus can blacklist you. Switching your email hosting to a more reputable network might be necessary to resolve this. Some hosts have better reputations than others, so it's worth checking out alternatives.
I had a similar situation with a client using M365, where they had an unnecessary A record linked to an old IONOS IP. Removing that fixed the blacklist issue within about 12 hours. If you’re not hosting a website, trim down any unnecessary DNS records and see if that helps!
From my experience, Spamhaus responses often relate to shared IP reputation rather than just the registrar. While the registrar might not be the main culprit, ensuring your nameservers are reputable can make a difference. Some anti-spam measures focus heavily on the Spamhaus blacklist, so resolving this will likely require some adjustments on your end.
You might be stuck with the penalty for being a new domain for a while. But typically, as long as your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are set up correctly, you shouldn't face many issues inboxing. Consider whether the A record for your domain might be causing problems. Using a proxy service like Cloudflare to mask your A record could help improve your reputation.
I have to disagree! We've seen legitimate business IPs get blacklisted by Spamhaus, and if you're on their list, it can seriously impact your communication. Microsoft and Google are very strict about that.