Spam and Open Relay Blocking System

What Does Spam and Open Relay Blocking System Mean?

The Spam and Open Relay Blocking System (SORBS) is an anti-spam project that inspects servers from which emails are received to check whether the emails were sent from proxy or open-relay servers. SORBS was developed in 2002 and shared with the public the following year.

Techopedia Explains Spam and Open Relay Blocking System

SORBS tests systems to ascertain whether they contain open proxies, open relays, etc. (Open relay servers are configured to permit anyone on the Internet to send emails via the server.) SORBS aims not to exploit servers during the testing process. It does not actually block websites or emails, but rather lists their hostnames.

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Margaret Rouse

Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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