Platform & Services
Company
Platform & Services
Company
- Copyright © Sendmarc
- Website terms
- Privacy policy
- Terms of service
- Security
Sendmarc’s platform simplifies the SPF setup and management process to protect your organization’s domain from email spoofing and ensure reliable email deliverability.
We help your business create, implement, and monitor its records with ease. Enabling your company to adopt a strong DMARC policy, enhance its protective measures, and stay compliant.
Ready to take your organization’s email security to the next level? Book a demo with Sendmarc today!
SPF management
SPF policy
SPF flattening
SPF record checker
Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a critical email authentication protocol that prevents unauthorized senders from spoofing your business’s domain. It works by verifying whether the sender’s IP address is approved in your company’s domain DNS records. The protocol significantly lowers the risk of phishing attacks, Spam, and email fraud, protecting brand reputation.
Sendmarc’s manager and flattening features simplify, streamline, and scale the protocol’s management, ensuring your organization’s Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) compliance is simple and effective.
The protocol protects your business’s domain from spoofing and unauthorized use by authenticating email sources. Domain owners can define which email servers are authorized to send emails on their behalf by publishing a record in their DNS settings.
The protocol is essential because it:
DMARC builds on the protocol (and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)) to provide full visibility and protection of your company’s domain.
Implementing the standard provides several key benefits:
Enhance your company’s email security effortlessly with Sendmarc. We provide expert assistance, configuration checker tools, and an advanced management platform to allow your organization to easily implement, adjust, and manage the protocol.
Identify all servers authorized to send email from your business’s domain, including its primary email servers, marketing email services, transactional email systems, and third-party senders.
Each of the services will have a unique entry, and Sendmarc’s Knowledgebase includes a large directory of these different entries.
Create a TXT record in the DNS settings with the list of authorized senders. A typical record looks like this:
| Host | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|
| @ | TXT | v=spf1 ip4:192.168.0.1 include:mail.example.com -all |
At Sendmarc, we provide a management feature that offers an easy, secure, and error-proof way to manage a record.
After publishing a record, test it to ensure it’s functioning correctly. DMARC reporting will show if the protocol is authenticating all the required services. Your company can also use Sendmarc’s lookup and header analyzer tools to validate that its record is correctly configured.
The three protocols work together to provide comprehensive email security:
Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an email authentication protocol that allows domain owners to specify which servers or IP addresses are authorized to send emails on behalf of their domain.
An SPF record is a TXT record published in your company’s domain DNS settings that lists all the email servers authorized to send messages on behalf of a domain.
Yes, SPF is required even if your organization already uses DMARC or DKIM. It is a foundational part of DMARC, which relies on it and DKIM to authenticate email and enforce policies.
No, a domain should only have one SPF record. Multiple records can cause authentication issues and result in email delivery failures.
An SPF fail means that the email was sent from a server that wasn’t listed in the domain’s record. The receiving server might reject the message, mark it as Spam, or handle it based on the domain’s policy.
Your business can check its SPF record by using Sendmarc’s free lookup tool or other online validation features to verify that the record is correctly configured and functioning as intended.
If an SPF record exceeds the 10 DNS lookup limit, it will return a permanent error (PermError), and the email might be rejected. Use a flattening tool to consolidate lookups and keep your company’s records valid.
No, SPF primarily protects against domain spoofing. It doesn’t defend against display name spoofing or other types of fraud. To ensure full protection, combine the protocol with DKIM and DMARC.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) are complementary email authentication protocols that enhance email security.
SPF verifies the sender’s IP address to confirm it’s authorized to send emails on behalf of a domain. DKIM adds a digital signature to emails to ensure the communication’s integrity and authenticity. DMARC builds on the two protocols by specifying how unauthenticated emails should be handled and providing reporting on email traffic and failed authentication attempts.
Yes, the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) can improve email deliverability by helping recipient servers distinguish legitimate emails from Spam or fraudulent messages. Properly configured records reduce the chances of your organization’s emails being marked as Spam or rejected.
We recommend reviewing the SPF record regularly, especially when adding or removing any email services. Keeping the record updated ensures continued compliance and reduces the risk of delivery and security issues.
Yes, but your business must include the sending IP addresses or domains in its record. Failure to do so can cause authentication issues and reduce email deliverability.
SPF alignment means the domain in the ‘Return-Path’ (envelope sender) matches the domain in the ‘From’ header. DMARC requires either SPF or DKIM alignment for an email to pass authentication and be delivered.
DNS changes for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records typically happen within a few minutes to a few hours but can take up to 48 hours, depending on DNS caching.
Reduce spoofing and deliverability issues with Sendmarc’s SPF management. Find out how we simplify implementation, management, and common challenges.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras et lacus suscipit mi tristique dignissim. In sit amet interdum dui, ac ullamcorper diam. Nunc a est eu orci egestas cursus at in ante. Vestibulum ligula urna, ultrices vitae velit quis.