The DMARC policy of a sending domain may be the most misunderstood and underutilized aspect of email authentication. However, it's also a great tool for combating email spoofing, which protects your subscribers and your brand's image in the long run.
The difficulty is that this specification's adoption has been gradual, and too many DMARC policies have lax settings, preventing companies from reaping their full benefits.
Let's take a look at how to deconstruct DMARC so you can get the most out of it.
The ABC of DMARC
DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. Its principal function is to ensure that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) are in sync. The DMARC policy instructs recipient email servers on whether or not to send messages and how to appropriately filter them.
SPF is a list of hostnames and IP addresses that are allowed to send an email for your domain and are published on your DNS. DKIM entails an encrypted digital signature or private key that corresponds to a public key on a domain's DNS.
Both of these techniques aid in the validation of emails and the prevention of spoofed emails reaching the inbox. A DMARC policy sits on top of SPF and DKIM, integrating the two for more robust authentication.
DMARC Policies
The most important aspect of your DMARC record is your company's DMARC policy. It is a TXT record located in your hosting provider's DNS settings, similar to SPF and DKIM. When it comes to establishing your DMARC policy in the record, you'll have one of three choices, as shown by the "p=" value.
- p=none: This instructs mailbox providers to ignore emails that fail authentication. They will almost certainly be delivered.
- p=quarantine: This policy instructs mailbox providers to forward emails that do not pass authentication to spam or trash folders. These messages may also be suppressed.
- p=reject: This is the most powerful DMARC policy value. It guarantees that any malicious email is halted in its tracks.
So, why would a sender have a "p=none" policy? To the uninformed, it probably appears to defeat the main reason for installing DMARC in the first place.
The rationale is straightforward. If there are difficulties with DKIM and/or SPF alignment, legitimate communications may fail DMARC and be discarded. Of course, every email marketer wants their emails to reach as many individuals as possible. As a result, even prominent brands have lenient DMARC rules.
Senders with a ‘p=none’ policy will continue to receive DMARC reports, but they will not be able to use the standard to prevent email forging and spoofing. It is generally suggested that the ‘p=none’ policy be used exclusively during DMARC setup and testing.
Unfortunately, that isn't how things have turned out. Senders frequently set their DMARC policy to none and leave it at that. A new email standard that is closely related to DMARC, on the other hand, is urging companies to implement tighter email authentication methods.
DMARC and Email Deliverability
While some email marketers are hesitant to impose rigorous DMARC regulations for fear of negatively impacting delivery, the reverse may be true. Improved email authentication leads to higher deliverability.
There are differing viewpoints on the direct impact of DMARC on deliverability.
By no means is a robust DMARC policy a panacea for email deliverability. It does, however, provide a strong signal to mailbox providers that you are taking email authentication seriously. Major mailbox providers will take notice if you take the time to properly verify your sending services. Fake emails that attempt to utilize your domain for harmful reasons will have no effect on your sender score. This, in turn, contributes to the improvement of your domain reputation.
Of course, email authentication is only one aspect of email deliverability. To prevent spam traps, you must still ensure that your domain is not blacklisted, that your emails are not detected in spam filters, and that you follow hygiene best practices.
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a directory service where human-friendly computer hostnames are associated with IP addresses.
We have published the Dmarc standard in RFC 7490 to provide a confidential reporting mechanism for domain names (domain name system records) deployed via the DNS protocol.
This document defines the exact syntax of a Dmarc report to ensure interoperability between different implementations of this standard.
It is designed to help small business owners understand how their accounts are performing so that they can make informed decisions about how to improve their cash flow and increase profitability.
The unique design of Dmarc Reports makes it easy for anyone to analyze the performance of their bank accounts in real-time.
How is Dmarc different from other financial reports?Dmarc records are sent from domain owners to email providers to notify them of specific domain name registrations (or transfers), and are used primarily as defense mechanisms against certain types of email abuse.
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