Today version 1.18.0 of the ISPProtect scanner was released. This version contains a new (yet experimental) feature to check the domains of your server against blacklists.
Why scan blacklists?
Most modern Browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome contact blacklists like the Google Safe Browsing API when a new URL is opened in the browser to protect users from malicious websites. When your website is listed there, then users will get a warning when they try to access your site. The error indicates that Google found malicious content on that website and the user shall stay away. So a listing on these blacklists is a serious issue which can also impact search engine rankings and should be solved by the website owner immediately. ISPProtect implemented a blacklist check now which makes it easy for the server owner to check all websites on the server at once.
How does it work?
The scanner tries to extract your set up domains from /etc directory (Apache / Nginx for now) and sends the domain names to different third party sites like Google safebrowsing. If those services return matches for any of the domains, those are presented by ISPProtect.
How to enable Website Blacklist Scan
Run the ispp_scan command with the option --blacklist-check to enable the blacklist check. By default (without that command line option) no external API's from blacklist services are queried and no domain names get transferred to these services.
Marius Burkard has been working as a software developer for 20 years and has several years of experience as a server administrator. As one of the lead developers of the ISPConfig control panel and technical contact for several hundred web hosting customers, he has extensive experience with malware, hacked websites and the analysis of vulnerabilities.