Greylist meaning

Greylist is a temporary list used to delay the processing of emails until the sender's reputation can be verified.


Greylist definitions

Word backwards tsilyerg
Part of speech The word "greylist" is a verb.
Syllabic division grey-list
Plural The plural of the word "greylist" is "greylists."
Total letters 8
Vogais (2) e,i
Consonants (6) g,r,y,l,s,t

What is a Greylist?

Greylisting is a technique used by email servers to reduce spam. When an email is sent from an unknown sender, the receiving server will temporarily reject the message with a specific error code. Legitimate email servers will try to resend the message after a certain amount of time, while spammers typically do not retry.

How Does Greylisting Work?

When a sender's email server attempts to deliver an email to a recipient for the first time, the receiving server will respond with a temporary error message, indicating that the email delivery has been delayed. This is known as greylisting. The sending server will usually attempt to resend the email at a later time, which the receiving server will then accept.

Benefits of Greylisting

Greylisting is an effective way to combat spam because most spammers will not retry sending their messages. This can significantly reduce the amount of unwanted emails that reach a user's inbox. Greylisting also helps to protect email servers from being overwhelmed by spam messages, improving overall email security.

Challenges of Greylisting

One of the main challenges of greylisting is that it can sometimes delay legitimate emails. If a sender's email server does not retry sending the message, the email may be lost or not delivered in a timely manner. To mitigate this issue, some email administrators implement whitelists to ensure that known senders are not affected by greylisting.


Greylist Examples

  1. Jane was placed on the greylist for potential promotion due to her outstanding performance.
  2. Companies often greylist certain suppliers who have a history of delivering subpar products.
  3. The country's immigration department decided to greylist individuals from high-risk countries.
  4. After several complaints, the restaurant manager decided to greylist unruly customers.
  5. The bank utilized a greylist to track suspicious transactions and prevent money laundering.
  6. Schools may greylist students who consistently violate the code of conduct policies.
  7. In order to maintain security, the organization greylisted certain IP addresses from accessing their network.
  8. Members who fail to adhere to the club's rules may find themselves on the greylist for membership renewal.
  9. The airline greylists passengers who frequently cause disruptions on flights.
  10. To prevent spam, email providers often use greylists to filter out suspicious senders.


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  • Updated 06/05/2024 - 15:05:10