--- title: "Understanding Spamhaus Intelligence in EmailGuard" description: "Learn how Spamhaus Intelligence affects your domain reputation and email deliverability. Understand the five reputation dimensions (SMTP, Identity, Infra, Malware, Human), interpret your domain score, and discover best practices to maintain a strong reputation and improve inbox placement." url: https://help.emailguard.io/en/articles/20-understanding-spamhaus-intelligence-in-emailguard collection: "Spamhaus Intelligence" updated: 2026-09-23 language: en --- # Understanding Spamhaus Intelligence in EmailGuard Learn how Spamhaus Intelligence affects your domain reputation and email deliverability. Understand the five reputation dimensions (SMTP, Identity, Infra, Malware, Human), interpret your domain score, and discover best practices to maintain a strong reputation and improve inbox placement. ## **What Is Spamhaus Intelligence?** Spamhaus Intelligence is a global threat reputation system used by security providers, ISPs, and anti-abuse platforms to assess how safe or risky a domain or IP address is. In EmailGuard, we use this system to give you detailed insight into your domain’s reputation, helping you identify infrastructure risks, sending issues, and abuse signals that could affect deliverability. ## **How Does Spamhaus Calculate Domain Reputation?** Spamhaus scores domains using a blend of automated systems and expert input: - **Signal Intelligence (SIGINT):** Passive data gathered from internet traffic, domain behavior, and infrastructure patterns. - **Open Source Intelligence (OSINT):** Public data sources like DNS records, WHOIS details, and TLS certificates. - **Machine Learning & Heuristics:** Algorithms that detect anomalies in email sending patterns, malware hosting, and DNS usage. - **Manual Investigations:** Analyst-driven reviews for edge cases that automation alone can’t resolve. This intelligence is sourced from: - A global network of spam traps and malware sensors - Industry data partnerships - Proprietary datasets like the **DROP list** (Do Not Route IPs) ## **What Does a Spamhaus Domain Score Mean?** Spamhaus doesn’t give a simple pass or fail. Instead, it scores your domain across **five reputation dimensions** and combines them into a total score:

Dimension	What it means
Infra	Hosting & DNS reputation (e.g., shared hosting with bad neighbors)
Identity	WHOIS transparency, DNSSEC usage, and registrar reputation
SMTP	Email sending behavior, bounce rates, volume, and complaint patterns
Malware	Association with malware, phishing pages, or botnet command servers
Human	Manual reviews from Spamhaus analysts based on real-world threats

### Scoring Range: - 🟢 **Positive** – Clean infrastructure and trustworthy usage - 🟡 **Zero** – Neutral / no strong signals - 🔴 **Negative** – Risky configuration or signs of abuse ## **Available Tools in EmailGuard** EmailGuard provides specialized tools powered by Spamhaus Intelligence to give you deeper visibility:

Tool	What It Checks
Domain Reputation	Overall score across all five dimensions
Nameserver Reputation	Health and trust of your domain’s DNS servers
A Record Reputation	The abuse history of the IP address your domain points to
Domain Senders	IPs that are sending mail on behalf of your domain
Domain Contexts	Where your domain has been seen (headers, links, web redirects, etc.)

These tools surface threats and risks that regular DNS or inbox tools often miss. ### **Why It Matters** A poor Spamhaus score can lead to serious consequences: - 📬 **Email deliverability:** Spam filters may block or send your emails to the junk folder - 🌐 **Web access:** Browsers, antivirus tools, or firewalls might block your domain - 🤝 **Trust & reputation:** Clients or partners may view your infrastructure as risky or negligent Even if you're not seeing problems yet, a low score is an early warning, not a final sentence. ## **How to Maintain a Good Domain Reputation** Follow these best practices to maintain a strong domain reputation: - Use a reputable domain registrar and avoid hiding WHOIS details unless necessary - Choose high-quality hosting and avoid "bad neighborhood" shared environments - Don’t spin up large numbers of disposable domains—fewer, long-lived domains build more trust - Keep your domains active—avoid letting them sit idle for long periods - Properly configure **SPF**, **DKIM**, and **DMARC** records - Actively monitor your domain reputation through EmailGuard ### **Need Help Interpreting Your Domain Score?** We’re here to help. EmailGuard will show you: - Which dimension(s) are lowering your score - Whether the issue stems from your IP, DNS, or email senders - Tags like `phishing`, `botnetcc`, or `abused` that indicate specific issues - Recent **contexts** in which your domain appeared (headers, links, redirect chains, etc.) ### 🔍 Summary Maintaining a strong domain reputation takes consistent care, but with Spamhaus Intelligence and EmailGuard, you have the tools to stay ahead of issues, protect your brand, and ensure your emails keep landing in the inbox.