help with txt and DMARC Record

Adding a TXT Record for Vendor Email (e.g., SPF or DKIM)

A TXT record is often used to define SPF (Sender Policy Framework) or DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) for email sending, which allows email services to verify if an email sent from your domain is legitimate.

To add a TXT record for the vendor’s email:

• Login to your DNS provider’s portal (this is typically your domain registrar or DNS management service).
• Navigate to the DNS settings for your domain.
• Add a new TXT record with the following details:
  • Host/Name: @ or leave this blank (it depends on the DNS provider).
  • Value/Content: You will get the exact value from your vendor, but here’s an example of what an SPF record might look like:v=spf1 include:vendor.com ~all

• Adding a DMARC Record for Reporting

  A DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) record helps to monitor and enforce email authentication for your domain. It tells email receivers how to handle non-authenticated emails (e.g., reject, quarantine, or none) and allows you to receive reports.

  To add a DMARC record:

  • Login to your DNS provider’s portal.
  • Navigate to the DNS settings for your domain.
  • Add a new TXT record with the following details:
    • Host/Name: _dmarc
    • v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:email address removed for privacy reasons; ruf=mailto:email address removed for privacy reasons; sp=none; adkim=s; aspf=s;
    • v=DMARC1: This is the version of DMARC.
    • p=none: This policy tells email receivers to not take any action (just report) on messages that fail DMARC checks. You can change this to quarantine or reject later if you want to enforce the policy.
    • rua=mailto:email address removed for privacy reasons: This email address will receive aggregate reports about DMARC activity.
    • ruf=mailto:email address removed for privacy reasons: This email address will receive forensic reports (detailed reports on failed messages).
    • sp=none: This policy applies to subdomains, and you can adjust it based on your needs (same options as p).
    • adkim=s: This means strict alignment for DKIM.
    • aspf=s: This means strict alignment for SPF

  • After adding the DMARC record, DNS propagation may take some time as well.

    Summary of Steps:

    1. Add a TXT record to authorize the vendor's email service (SPF or DKIM).
    2. Add a DMARC TXT record to monitor and report on email authentication results.

    Example DNS Records:

    • SPF TXT Record for Vendor
    • v=spf1 include:vendor.com ~all
      
    • v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:email address removed for privacy reasons; ruf=mailto:email address removed for privacy reasons; sp=none; adkim=s; aspf=s;