Capterra Glossary
In the information technology industry, the term ‘blacklist’ describes a collection of entities, such as usernames, IP addresses, domains, programs, or email addresses, that are blocked from communicating with a computer system or network.
Blacklists ensure that only business-authorized users are allowed to access the information stored on company computer systems and networks.
Small and midsize businesses typically install firewalls or email spam filters on their workstations to mitigate the threat of phishing scams, ransomware downloads, and malware downloads, among other cyberattacks. Firewalls use a blacklist to deny unauthorized users access to some areas of a company network.
Email spam filters use a blacklist to prevent phishing scams and emails with malicious attachments from entering an employee’s official inbox. The cybersecurity protections ensured by a blacklist block certain entities from communicating with company computer systems and networks.