Creating SPF and DKIM Records

Creating SPF and DKIM records for your domains can help prevent spoofing, fishing, spamming, or impersonation of your emails.   You can create an SPF record that will identify your web hosting account’s mail servers as the authorized mail server for any email address created using your domain.  When an email is received, the receiving mail server will be able to check the SPF record for the domain and verify the email came from the correct servers.  If it did not, it may be rejected by the receiving mail server as spam.  Similarly, DKIM records (Domain Keys Identified Mail) is an additional way to provide validation for domain identity, and allows users to show that sent email is authorized by the domain’s administrators.

With x10Premium, you can easily set up both types of records via your cPanel account.  If you’re looking to send out newsletters, or use emails as a method of communication with clients, creating SPF and DKIM records can help prevent any emails from being marked as untrusted or as spam.  With this blog post, we’ll go over setting up these records for your domains.

 

 

Creating a DKIM Record

To create these records, log into your cPanel account and go to Email > Authentication.  On the following page you’ll be able to enable, disable, and modify these records easily, without worry about making any typos.

Setting up a DKIM record is as easy as clicking Enable under the Status section of DKIM.  Once enabled, cPanel will display the current raw DKIM record for your domains.  You will be able to disable DKIM for your account by simply clicking the Disable button.

 

Creating an SPF Record

You’ll be able to create and make modifications to your SPF records on the same page, below the DKIM records section.  Like the DKIM record, simply click on the Enable button under the Status section to have cPanel create a standard SPF record.  Once enabled, cPanel will displace your current raw SPF record below the status area.

By default, cPanel creates a record that approves the main server’s IP address.  If you need to add additional servers to your SPF record, you can easily do so under Advance Settings.  Here you’ll be able to add:

• Additional Hosts:  Adds an additional host as a verified sender for your domain.
• Additional MX Servers:  You can use this to add any additional MX servers as verified senders for your domain.
• Additional IP addresses:  Add any additional IP address as verified senders for your domain. You can also add ranges of IP addresses by adding “/$lastIP” to the end of first IP address.
• Includes:  This will “include” all SPF settings for any hosts.  If you’re using another server for your emails, it is likely you’ll want to add the service here.

Once you have added any additional servers for your SPF record, you have two last options before saving your changes.  The first you’ll be able to deny all other domains/hosts that are not listed in your record.  By default, this is not checked.  If you have all hosts that you’ll be using to send emails, please select this option.  The last option is to have cPanel over write any existing entries of the SPF records.  This means cPanel will simply update any current records created for your domains.  This is checked by default.  If you do not want any changes to be saved, please make sure to uncheck this box.  Once you’ve finished making changes to your SPF record, click on the Update button at the bottom of the page.

 

Now you can easily protect your emails, and prevent spoofing, by creating SPF and DKIM records!  Be sure you are following our Facebook and Twitter pages to stay up to date with the latest in webmaster tips, updates for web software, everything x10Hosting, and more!