Regularly validating your SPF record is crucial for email authentication and delivery. To enhance email deliverability and security, Mimecast offers a free SPF record check tool that allows you to validate your SPF records easily. You have to enter the domain name into the analyzer, and the tool will quickly locate the SPF TXT record associated with it to highlight information on configurational errors, syntactical problems, typos, the presence of inappropriate characters, etc.
An SPF DNS record is created to officially enlist all the IP addresses and mail servers allowed to send email messages on behalf of your company. Any IP address or mail server outside of the list is considered unauthorized, and such emails don’t show up in the recipient’s inbox, which offers protection to users from phishing, spoofing, impersonation, and spam attacks.
How the Mimecast SPF Check Examines SPF Records?
Mimecast’s SPF checker validates SPF records by performing various checks. It checks for the maximum allowed DNS lookups, discourages the use of deprecated PTR mechanisms, and identifies any unknown content not following SPF specifications. Moreover, it cautions against using the “+all” mechanism, verifies the validity of SPF macros, and ensures proper termination of the SPF record generated for organizations.
The tool also points out the use of the obsolete DNS type “SPF” and recommends using lowercase characters in your SPF records. Once the SPF record passes these checks, it can be safely updated in the DNS to combat cyber threats.
Why Should Businesses of All Sizes Use SPF?
Threat actors target company domains irrespective of the company size. However, small and medium scale businesses have limited resources like teams and money, which restricts them from investing in SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Management of these email security protocols involves complexity, which bars an organization or domain owner from leveraging these services.
SPF implementation keeps phishers at bay and also prevents marketing emails from getting marked as spam or bouncing back. You can also gain visibility by reviewing the SPF report to understand how your domain is being used and if any unauthorized attackers’ groups or sources are exploiting it.
If your marketing emails fail to reach the target audiences’ inboxes, then there will be an impact on the return on investment due to a low engagement rate and the risk of disrupted communication with clients and prospects.
All-in-All
In conclusion, Mimecast SPF check tool is an invaluable resource for ensuring secure and reliable email deliverability by quickly validating and identifying potential issues in SPF records. It also suggests feasible solutions that domain owners can take to have their emails reach recipients’ inboxes.