Email Header Analysis: Let’s Know an Email’s Anatomy

Email Header Analysis: Let’s Know an Email’s Anatomy

You receive much more than a message and attachments in an email; we are talking about bits of information retrieved during an email header analysis. An email header is metadata that is automatically attached to every email to help determine the allocation of a message in the inbox. The general details in the email header…

A Guide to Choosing the Right SPF Flattening Tool for Your Organization

A Guide to Choosing the Right SPF Flattening Tool for Your Organization

With organizations with complex email infrastructure, implementing SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is no easy feat! If you’ve ever encountered the “SPF PermError: Too Many DNS Lookups,” know that your email deliverability is out for a toss owing to the SPF fail.  But why does this error message strike?  The SPF record has a DNS lookup…

Resolving “The DNS Record Type 99 (SPF) Has Been Deprecated” Error

Resolving “The DNS Record Type 99 (SPF) Has Been Deprecated” Error

As per RFC 7208 Section 3.1, the developers felt the necessity to assign a new DNS RR type. However, in 2014, it was deprecated as they discovered that TXT type RR was a better choice for SPF records.  Today, SPF records must only be published as a DNS TXT RR; otherwise, it will encounter the…

Reasons Behind Discouraging the Use of PTR Mechanism in an SPF Record

Reasons Behind Discouraging the Use of PTR Mechanism in an SPF Record

Domain owners who care about email delivery and prevention from phishing attacks take no chances when it comes to the validation and correctness of their SPF records. One of the common elements causing issues in an SPF record is the use of the PTR mechanism due to its slow processing and unreliable nature.  This guide…

Ushering a New Era of Security: Google and Yahoo’s Take on Email Authentication

Ushering a New Era of Security: Google and Yahoo’s Take on Email Authentication

With email communication reigning in the digital world, email-based attacks are at an all-time high! Gauging the magnitude and the far-reaching impact of these attacks, Google and Yahoo have revamped their email authentication protocols for companies that send more than 5000 emails per day.  While DMARC has been an integral aspect of a robust cybersecurity…

SPF Softfail is a Smarter Choice Than SPF Hardfail; Let’s Find Out Why?

SPF Softfail is a Smarter Choice Than SPF Hardfail; Let’s Find Out Why?

There’s a constant online debate about which is better – SPF softfail or SPF hardfail. While the former is considered less secure, the latter has the risk of having even your genuine email conversations land in spam folders. This is because, at times, even genuine emails fail to pass spam filters and SPF authentication checks. …

SPF Record Generator : What is it? And, How to Choose the Right One?

SPF Record Generator : What is it? And, How to Choose the Right One?

This article is for those who have just begun their email authentication journey and are looking for ways to create SPF records for their domains using compatible SPF record generators. SPF verifies the authenticity of email senders by checking into a list of IP addresses permitted by the domain administrator. A valid and non-erroneous SPF…

SPF Record Checker : What is it? How Does it Work? And, Why Do You Need One?

SPF Record Checker : What is it? How Does it Work? And, Why Do You Need One?

An SPF record checker is a diagnostic tool that checks your SPF record to ensure it’s valid and free of syntactical and configurational errors. Let’s see how it checks if the SPF record is set up correctly and prevents phishing and spoofing attacks attempted in your business’ name. We are starting by discussing the basics. …

What is SPF? A Detailed Guide on Sender Policy Framework

What is SPF? A Detailed Guide on Sender Policy Framework

These days, hackers are getting highly sophisticated with their techniques which has resulted in a higher frequency of successful cyberattacks, including phishing and spoofing. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are three email authentication protocols that avert hackers from sending fraudulent emails in the name of legitimate businesses.  As per the FBI’s 2022-IC3 annual report, 300,497 incidents…

How to Merge Multiple SPF Records For a Domain?

How to Merge Multiple SPF Records For a Domain?

Can you have multiple SPF records for a domain? No, you can’t; otherwise, recipient servers will decline all the existing SPF records for that domain. This will disrupt the email authentication process, causing even genuine emails to land in the spam folder. However, if you need to include multiple SPF records for your domain, you…