Comparison Tool
Comparison Tool Overview
A lightweight tool to quickly and transparently compare Guardian Mail against other DNS blocklists using log-based or real-time analysis—without disrupting your mail flow.
Preface
Testing a DNS blocklist to evaluate its performance on your production mail stream can be a difficult and time-consuming process. It often takes weeks and requires a considerable amount of resources. To simplify the comparison process, we have created a “Comparison Tool” that allows you to see how Guardian Mail compares to other lists you currently use. This tool enables you to run an evaluation in just a few hours, without making any changes to your mail system. It also makes comparisons much easier, quicker, repeatable, and transparent.Overview
The “Comparison Tool” is a Linux or Mac binary that must be run on a machine within your network and with access to the necessary DNS namespaces for querying Guardian Mail and the list you wish to compare it against. This tool can only compare Guardian Mail with one other list at a time, and it supports only IPv4 and IPv6 lists; it does not support domain or hash lookups. The tool has two modes: logfile and real-time/streaming. Each mode has its advantages and disadvantages.| Mode | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Logfile | – Easier to collect the necessary data. – Rapid results. – In-depth analysis provided by CSV output. | – Should only be used on data that is < 2 days old because each list will have different policies for listing expiry. – Does not reflect how quickly a list reacts to spam, e.g., which listed the IP first. |
| Real-Time/Streaming | – Needs real-time log data. – Can be run for as long as you like. – Identical to running both lists in production, so a perfect comparison. | – Can be more complicated to set up. – Does not provide in-depth the analysis only provides IP addresses missed by Abusix. |