Email Glossary

An email blacklist (also called blocklist or DNSBL) is a real-time database of IP addresses, domains, or sending servers identified as spam sources. Internet service providers and email filters query these databases to b...

The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) is a United States law enacted in 2003 that establishes requirements for commercial email messages. It gives recipients the right to s...

CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) is one of the world's strictest anti-spam laws, governing commercial electronic messages sent to or from Canada. Enacted in 2014, it requires explicit or implied consent before sendi...

Dynamic email is email content that automatically personalizes elements for each recipient using variables and merge tags. It pulls data from subscriber lists to insert names, companies, order details, dates, and other p...

An email blast is a mass email marketing technique where marketers send identical or similar messages to a large number of recipients simultaneously with a single action. Unlike targeted email campaigns, email blasts pri...

Email etiquette refers to the set of professional guidelines and social conventions that govern how emails should be written, formatted, and sent. Good email etiquette includes using clear subject lines, proper greetings...

Email filtering is an automated process that sorts incoming emails into different folders based on predefined rules, sender reputation, and content analysis. Filters examine message headers, body content, attachments, an...

Email laws are legal regulations that govern commercial email communication, establishing requirements for consent, content, and recipient rights. These laws protect consumers from unwanted messages while providing busin...

Email phishing is a type of cyber attack where criminals send fraudulent emails that appear to come from trusted sources to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information. These deceptive messages often mimic legi...

Email segmentation is the practice of dividing your email subscriber list into smaller, targeted groups based on specific criteria such as demographics, behavior, purchase history, or engagement level. Rather than sendin...

An Email Service Provider (ESP) is a platform that enables individuals and businesses to send, receive, and manage email communications at scale. ESPs offer tools for email marketing, transactional messaging, and campaig...

Email spoofing is a technique where attackers forge the sender address in an email header to make it appear as if the message came from a trusted source. This manipulation exploits the lack of built-in authentication in...

An email worm is a type of malicious software that self-replicates by automatically sending copies of itself as email attachments to contacts in an infected user's address book. Unlike viruses that require user action to...

A mail bomb is a malicious cyberattack where an attacker floods a target email address or server with an overwhelming volume of messages in a short period. This attack functions similarly to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) att...

A proxy email address is an intermediary email address that forwards incoming messages to a designated primary email account. This system allows users to create multiple aliases that all route to a single inbox, enabling...

Ransomware is malicious software designed by cybercriminals to encrypt files or lock users out of their systems, demanding payment (typically cryptocurrency) for restoration. This type of malware often spreads through ph...

SpamAssassin, officially known as Apache SpamAssassin, is an open-source email spam filtering platform created by the Apache Software Foundation. It uses a sophisticated scoring system that analyzes email headers, conten...

Spam filters are automated systems used by email providers to identify and separate unwanted, unsolicited, or potentially harmful emails from legitimate messages. These filters analyze various aspects of incoming emails...

A spam trap is an email address used by email providers and anti-spam organizations to identify senders with poor list hygiene practices. These addresses are never used by real people to sign up for emails, so any mail r...

Typosquatting is a cyberattack technique where malicious actors register domain names that closely resemble legitimate websites, exploiting common typing errors users make when entering URLs. These lookalike domains are...

UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) refers to commercial or promotional emails sent to recipients who have not explicitly requested or consented to receive them. While often conflated with spam, UCE specifically describes...