Blackholing

What Does Blackholing Mean?

Blackholing is an anti-spam technique in which an internet service provider (ISP) blocks packets coming from a certain domain or address. Blackholing can also refer to an individual who sets up a similar barrier up for his or her personal network. Blackholing of specific domains can prevent certain types of malware and denial of service attacks.

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Techopedia Explains Blackholing

Blackholing is essentially a security measure that can be put into place against known offenders. By blackholing certain IP addresses and domains, an ISP can reduce the amount of spam entering the system, reducing the load and making customers happy in the bargain. Blackholing does, of course, have the potential to be abused by ISPs, which could use it to block competing services or prevent legitimate activities.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…