DMARC

DMARC is the system created to ensure email compliance and integrity. Short for Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, it is set to become the standard in email security.

What it’s for

The main reason to add DMARC to your email domain is to prevent so-called spoofing. This is a fraudulent practice in which online scammers forge the sender name of an email.

This way they can lure their victims and convince them to open the message, because the victims believe it comes from someone they know, or from an institution or company they trust.

Why your domain needs DMARC

If this is how scammers hook their victims, you’ll immediately understand that you can’t risk it happening with your emails. Whether you launch an email marketing campaign, send a welcome email or any other communication, you want recipients to trust you.

They probably won’t if your domain could fall into the wrong hands and be freely used by bad actors. That’s why you need to protect yourself with DMARC. Put simply, this system tells the recipient’s mail servers what to do when an email that appears to come from you fails authentication checks.

A practical example

DMARC always works alongside two other email authentication systems:

• SPF record, which verifies the hosts authorized to send for the domain.
• DKIM, which ensures the authenticity of the content through a cryptographic key-pair signature.

But what happens if an email sent in your name fails one or both of these checks? That’s where DMARC comes in. In short, this protocol protects both sender and recipient by requesting that the message be rejected, bounced back or placed in spam. So if a malicious actor tried to use your email domain, they wouldn’t be able to.

How to add DMARC

The Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance protocol should always be added to your email domain after the other two systems, namely the SPF record and DKIM. In fact, at least 48 hours should pass after setting those up before you add DMARC.

For it to work correctly, you need to add a TXT record to your DNS as follows:

1. Keep handy the text file or line where you entered the previous records.
2. Log in to your domain host’s management console.
3. Find the page where you update DNS records.
4. Add a DNS TXT record, or edit an existing one, entering your policy in the TXT record for _dmarc:
   • TXT record name: in the first field, under the DNS host name, enter _dmarc.solarmora.com.
   • TXT record value: in the second field, enter the text for your DMARC record, for example:v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected].
5. Save your changes.

The process, admittedly not very intuitive, can vary from one provider to another. So consider asking your email provider for help to make sure the protocol is set up correctly.