Tag: SPF record

DNS DNS records

What is the purpose of the DMARC record?

by Gia

If you don’t feel like reading the 70+ pages of RFC 7489, but still you want to know more about DMARC, you came to the right place! I will simplify it for you and explain to you DMARC and the DMARC record in less than a few minutes!

What is DMARC?

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is a mechanism that an organization can use to define domain-level policies and preferences regarding email handling. For example, message validation, disposition, receiving, and reporting.

The companies require a method of authentication of the domain names of the messages (emails) that they are receiving. They need to have rules and procedures based on the values that the emails and domain names can provide. Thanks to that, the receivers can check the messages and provide valuable feedback to the domain’s owner about the way its domain is used. The owner can see if there was any abuse of its domain.

DMARC uses two factors to set policies:

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record. It is another email validation mechanism that offers to report. Using it, you can define who can send emails on the domain name’s behalf.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) record. DKIM is a method of email encryption and authentication of the sender of the email, using the domain name. The receiver could use it and validate that an email comes from the right domain name.

The purpose of DMARC is to reduce phishing attacks, reduce spoofing attacks, and provide better security for email communication. In general, having DMARC will ensure the delivery of your emails and stop other people from abusively use your domain name for attacks.

What is the DMARC record?

The DMARC record is a DNS TXT record that sets the policies about the domain name based on the SPF record, DKIM record, and other parameters. It sets behaviors that the receivers of the emails, sent by a particular domain, should have.

The purpose of the DMARC record is to allow you, as the domain administrator, to set up the policies regarding the handling of the emails coming from your domain name.

The tags that the DMARC record uses are:

Adkim – behavior based on the DKIM record.

Aspf – behavior based on the DKIM record.

Fo – Fail option. Defines what a server should do in case of failure.

P – Policy. Indicates the policies that the receiver should apply.

Pct – Percentage. To what amount of emails should the policy be applied.

Rf – Report format. Defines the type.

Ri – Report interval. Demands reports after the specified time.

Rua – Return feedback (aggregate). Indicates where the report should be sent.

Ruf – Return feedback (mail specific). Indicates where the report should be sent.

Sp – Subdomain policies. If you want to indicate different policies for the subdomains than those for the domain name, you need to use this one.

V – just a simple version indicator. Currently, it should be DMARC1 because there is still no DMARC2 or more.

Conclusion.

So, knowing what DMARC record is, it is now time to implement it. Each additional layer of security keeps you safer—fewer problems and easier to manage. Ensure a secure exchange of emails, outgoing and incoming, with the power of DMARC!

DNS DNS records

How To Use SPF To Protect Your Domain reputation.

by Gia

The reputation of your business (domain) is an essential asset you must protect at all costs. It means a lot for your clients: trustability and reliability. These are strong triggers for them to pick you or to choose your competitors.

Crime techniques used on the Internet to cheat users get multiplied, and we must be very aware. In some cases, they use your positive domain reputation to defraud your own clients. 

​What is SPF?

The sender policy framework or SPF is a system for validating the legitimacy of an e-mail server. It’s a helpful and efficient system to avoid spoofing and to enhance e-mail servers’ reliability.

Having SPF, you can authorize the only e-mail servers that can send messages on behalf of your domain. 

How to create an SPF record?

​What is an SPF record?

To enable SPF, you have to add an SPF record for your domain name. An SPF record is a DNS record from the TXT DNS type. It holds the necessary information that allows verifying which e-mail servers are truly authorized to send messages from the name of your domain name.

Once the SPF record provides that information, the e-mail server can be verified, validated, or not.

Using the SPF record, specifically its qualifiers and mechanisms, you or your administrator can establish rules, as strict as you decide, to verify. 

DNS SPF mechanisms:

  • “include” allows adding more domains (like example.com to example.net) for sending e-mails from the mail servers of the domain where the SPF record is hosted.
  • “all”, all mechanisms after it are to be ignored.
  • “a”, if you pick A, it means the A or AAAA records have to match with the return path for e-mails to be allowed.
  • “ptr”, picking this means the PTR query has to be performed and to match the return path. Only if there’s a match, there’s allowance.
  • “mx”, picking this means an MX query has to be performed and to match the return path. Only if there’s a match, there’s allowance.
  • “exists”, used for complex queries.
  • “ip4”, checks A records exclusively to verify whether addresses correspond to the domain or not.
  • “ip6”, checks AAAA records exclusively to verify whether addresses correspond to the domain or not.

DNS SPF qualifiers:

  • “+” means PASS. Therefore, messages from the domain should be accepted. 
  • “-” means FAIL. Messages from the domain must be rejected.
  • “~” means SOFT TAIL. Messages from the domain should get a failed tag, but they can be allowed.
  • “?” means NEUTRAL. No policies are involved.

​How to use it to protect your domain reputation?

By enabling SPF, you will stop bad actors from sending e-mails from your domain. 

Your clients won’t receive malicious messages from your domain name, and you will avoid complaints and anger from them.

To prevent dangerous phishing is not minor. To be pointed as malicious, risky, or to be accused of stealing sensitive clients’ data can totally sink your domain’s reputation. 

Ensure that your legit messages successfully reach your clients and providers. 

You can plan the best promotions or punctually order new supplies. But if your messages can’t reach your clients or providers, results won’t be positive. This can happen because your e-mails go directly to the SPAM folder. If there’s no way to verify that your messages are legit, they can be discarded for security. 

Conclusion.

SPF is a great alley to protect your domain reputation. Avoid the risk of losing trustability, clients, or getting banned. Enable SPF!