--- title: "Solving FAQs on SPF Lookups and their Role in Email Authentication and Security | AutoSPF" description: "Preventing phishing, spoofing, and scam attacks is a top priority for companies, especially those with a complicated email infrastructure. The involvement" image: "https://autospf.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://autospf.com/spf-too-many-dns-lookups/spf-lookup/" --- # Solving FAQs on SPF Lookups and their Role in Email Authentication and Security ## Try Our Free SPF Checker Instantly analyze any domain's SPF record - check syntax, count DNS lookups, and flag errors. [ Check SPF Record →](/tools/spf-checker/) ![Spf Record Check 300x300](https://media.mailhop.org/autospf/images/2023/11/spf-record-check-300x300.jpg) Preventing phishing, spoofing, and [scam attacks](https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/sharepoint-phishing-scam-targets/) is a top priority for companies, especially those with a **complicated email infrastructure**. The involvement of a third-party vendor or outsourced email service provider makes deploying SPF, DKIM, and DMARC challenging. Here are the top questions asked by people- ## What is SPF and SPF Record? SPF is an email authentication protocol that allows you to list IP addresses (belonging to the ipv4 and ipv6 range) and email servers that can officially send messages on behalf of your company. An SPF record comprises syntax (mechanisms, modifiers, and qualifiers) and instructions for recipients’ mailboxes on handling emails that fail SPF authentication checks. ![Spf Record 2](https://media.mailhop.org/autospf/images/2023/11/spf-record-2.jpg) ## Example of an SPF Record ``` v=spf1 ip4:167.41.100.1 -al ``` This SPF record example instructs to reject the entry of unauthorized emails. ## How Does SPF Authentication Work? A recipient’s mail server checks the **return-path address** to see if the sending domain holds a valid SPF record and if the sender’s IP address (ip4 and ip6 range) is listed in it. If yes, SPF authentication passes, and the message lands in the primary inbox. If not, the failed email is either [marked as spam](https://help.pointerpro.com/en/support/solutions/articles/35000041542-how-do-i-avoid-my-emails-being-marked-as-spam-) or gets rejected. ## What are SPF Lookups? [SPF lookup](/spf-too-many-dns-lookups/) is the exercise performed by making a DNS query to verify whether the sender’s I**P address or SMTP server** is part of the corresponding SPF TXT record. If it isn’t a part of it, the sender is identified as malicious, and the message doesn’t get placed in the primary inbox of the recipient. ## How is SPF DNS Lookup Performed? This drill is conducted in 6 steps- ### 1\. Email Reception The recipient’s mail server receives an email and identifies the domain in the [“From” address](https://coschedule.com/marketing-terms-definitions/from-address). ### 2\. Domain Extraction _The server extracts the domain and retrieves the SPF record from the domain’s DNS TXT records_. ![Spf Record Check](https://media.mailhop.org/autospf/images/2023/11/spf-record-check.jpg) ### 3\. Parsing SPF Record The SPF record is examined to find **authorized IP addresses** of legitimate sending servers for the domain. ### 4\. Comparing Sender’s IP The sender’s IP address is checked against authorized servers. A match results in passing the SPF check. ### 5\. Decision Making The mail server accepts, rejects, or **flags the email** based on the check. This influences inbox/spam placement. ### 6\. Feedback SPF allows domain owners to define recipient server actions for failed validation, like tagging or rejecting emails. ## What is the Role of an SPF Record Checker? An SPF record checker (also called SPF validator) is a tool that diagnoses your SPF DNS record against the following to ensure there are no errors. - Existence of an SPF TXT record for the queried domain name. - Presence of [multiple SPF records](/spf-too-many-dns-lookups/multiple-spf-records/) for one domain. - Exceeding the [SPF lookup limit](/spf-too-many-dns-lookups/spf-lookup-limit-caused-due-to-email-forwarding/) of 10. - Exceeding the void lookup limit of 2. - Typos and configuration issues. - Use of ptr, a, and mx mechanisms. - Use of unnecessary ‘include’ statements. - Syntax problems. ![Spf Lookup](https://media.mailhop.org/autospf/images/2023/11/spf-lookup.jpg) [Image sourced](https://us.norton.com/blog/privacy/email-security) from norton.com ## How to Avoid SPF Errors? The following practice keeps problems at bay for your SPF records- - Include sending sources of [third-party vendors](https://panorays.com/blog/what-is-a-third-party-vendor/) who also send emails on behalf of your business. - Use either **\~all (softfail) or -all (hardfail) mechanism**. Using +all or ?all is highly discouraged. - Avoid using the redirect= mechanism, as it doesn’t let you add other sending sources. - Use DKIM and DMARC to prevent [phishing attacks](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/phishing-attacks-up-50-education-sector-most-targeted-report/articleshow/99584819.cms) and enhance email delivery. ## How to Fix DNS Lookups Permerror? If you come across the SPF lookup error during an SPF record check exercise, then you need to fix it by taking care of the following: - Remove unnecessary include mechanisms. - Use the [IP4 and IP6 ranges](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/differences-between-ipv4-and-ipv6/) only. - Remove mechanisms with duplicate functionality. - **Eliminate the “ptr” mechanism**. ![Spf Syntax](https://media.mailhop.org/autospf/images/2023/10/spf-syntax.jpg) If this doesn’t sort the issue, you can try getting in touch with [AutoSPF](/) where we offer **SPF flattening services**. It helps domain owners by compressing the queried record to stay within the limit of DNS lookups. ## How Do You Fix Your SPF Record, Free? Give us a test drive for **30 days at no cost**. Fix your broken SPF in less than 60 seconds! > [Fix My SPF Record!](/pricing/) ## Fix your SPF record in 60 seconds page.data.title toolBanner && toolBanner.label toolBanner.description toolBanner.cta → showCTA && g2Config && [Start Free Trial→](/pricing/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://autospf.com/images/autospf-logo.png"},"description":"Automatic SPF flattening and email authentication management. 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