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DMARC Records in Vtiger CRM
Introduction
DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance.
It is an email authentication protocol designed to enhance the security of email communication. It provides domain owners with greater control over who can send emails on behalf of their domain.
DMARC record is a DNS record that helps senders and receivers determine whether or not a message is sent from the sender legitimately. DMARC is the best way to protect your customers, your brand, and your employees from phishing and spoofing attacks. You can avoid emails landing in the Spam folder by authenticating them with a DMARC record.
DMARC is built upon two other authentication protocols - SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). In combination with SPF and DKIM, a DMARC policy in DNS allows you to set rules or policies to reject or quarantine (junk folder) emails from sources you do not know.
Sample DMARC Record
v=DMARC1; p=none; pct=100; rua=mailto:[email protected]; sp=none; aspf=r;
- v=DMARC1 specifies the DMARC version.
- p=none specifies the preferred treatment or DMARC policy.
- pct=100 is the percentage of mail to which the domain owner would like to have its policy applied.
- rua=mailto:[email protected] is the mailbox to which aggregate reports should be sent.
Benefits of having DMARC
By implementing the DMARC policy, you will derive the following benefits:.
- Prevent email spoofing
- Reduce phishing attacks
- Improve email deliverability
- Gain visibility and control
- Enhance security posture
In this article, you will learn about:
- DMARC Record
- DMARC Policies
- DMARC Authentication
- Google and Yahoo Center Guidelines for DMARC Records
DMARC Policies
DMARC Standards provide three different sets of policies for a domain. This helps you to specify how emails that fail DMARC validation should be handled.
The following are the three policies of DMARC:
- None: No DMARC validation.
- Quarantine: The mail is accepted and placed in the inbox if the validation is successful; otherwise it lands in the spam folder.
- Reject: The mail is rejected immediately.
Note: The domain owner can only request the enforcement of its DMARC record. It is up to the inbound mail server to decide whether or not to honor the requested policy.
DMARC Authentication
Google and Yahoo have made it mandatory to add a DMARC policy for your domain. To ensure email delivery, you must authenticate the domain associated with the FROM address. You can configure the DMARC record (policy) for your domain from the DMARC security authentication block on the Email Settings page.
How do you check for the existence of the DMARC record in the CRM?
- If your domain does not have a DMARC record configured in the DNS Records, the CRM will display a warning message when you add an email address in the Compose Email window.
- You must then navigate to the User Menu > Settings > Email Settings page. Under Sender Authentication Domains, select the domain for which you want to view DMARC records.
- The DMARC Records block in the Email Settings page displays the status of your DMARC record (policy) for the domains you send emails from.
- If you have added a DMARC policy, the Status field displays that a policy exists.
- If you haven’t configured a DMARC record yet for your domain, you should add a basic policy recommended by Google and Yahoo. The system will display the record, including the host and TXT value related to the DMARC record, to ensure proper email delivery.
- Go to the Mxtoolbox website (https://mxtoolbox.com/dmarc.aspx)
- Provide your domain (Ex: example.com) and click on DMARC lookup
- It displays a policy if you have it already.
- If not, you need to add a recommended policy(p=none) as mentioned above.