Sender
Policy
Framework -
SPF
SPF is an
open
standard
whose goal
is to help
stop forgery
of e-mail
domains and
some types
of spam as
well. SPF
helps
protect the
envelope
return path.
What is
SPF?
A
significant
majority of
spam is
forged. SPF
allows your
mail server
to easily
distinguish
forgeries
from real
mail.
How Does
it Work?
Domains
use public
records
(DNS) to
direct
requests for
different
services
(web, email,
etc.) to the
machines
that perform
those
services.
All domains
already
publish
email (MX)
records to
tell the
world what
machines
receive mail
for the
domain. SPF
works by
domains
publishing
"reverse MX"
records to
tell the
world what
machines
send mail
from the
domain. When
receiving a
message from
a domain,
the
recipient
can check
those
records to
make sure
mail is
coming from
where it
should be
coming from.
- SPF is
indicated by
a TXT DNS
record.
- SPF is a
counterpart
of the MX
list.
- Users
protected by
SPF will
stop getting
bounces for
messages
they did not
send.
What
Does the
Package Do?
The SPF
system
requires you
to add a txt
record to
your
domain's DNS
settings.
The Cobalt
Support SPF
package
allows you
to add the
txt record
of your
choice via
the standard
Cobalt RaQ
DNS
parameters
GUI.
Why Do
I Need the
Package?
To start
with, you
can protect
your
domain(s)
from being
used by
spammers and
malicious
people who
send out
viruses. SPF
is creating
a new set of
anti-spam
systems,
where email
is spam
unless
proven
otherwise.
Accuracy
will be
critical.
AOL will
begin using
SPF records
to maintain
their
whitelist in
the near
future. If
you want to
remain on
AOL's
whitelist,
you will
need to
establish an
SPF record
for your
domain as
AOL will
begin to
query
whitelisted
IP addresses
from a
domain's SPF
record
shortly.
Without an
SPF record,
your
whitelist
entries may
expire. |
