Step 4: Investigation

After Trend Micro receives the necessary information, the IP address(es) are monitored and Trend Micro will communicate with the IP block owners to determine validity of the claims.

Trend Micro will determine what actions caused the listing, what has been done to resolve these issues and what can be done to prevent them from occurring in the future. If necessary, they will ask about abuse handling policies, acceptable use policies, and any problems encountered in the notification.

These discussions will be documented and studied to proceed with a recommendation for the listing (removal, probation, maintain listing). There is a probationary period where the IP is removed from the list but can be reactivated without a new nomination if there are new occurrences. The listing is monitored for an appropriate period of time to ensure that there are no new instances of spamming activity. If there is no new spamming activity at the end of the probationary period, Trend Micro removes the IP address from the blocked lists.