How to setup a SPF record to help fight SPAM

domain-name-system g-suite spf

8,047

Solution 1

There is an article on Google Apps help about this.

http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=33786

All you need to do is add that TXT record and you're set. I don't know what you mean by "fight SPAM", as all this does is authenticate that the e-mail you are sending is not spoofed, so all it will do is help you get your e-mail in someone else's inbox instead of their spambox, if that is currently the case.

Solution 2

You can use the Microsoft Sender ID Framework SPF Record Wizard to generate SPF record.

Solution 3

SPF doesn't prevent spam from being sent to you, it only helps ensure that no one sends spam as you. Also, when bulk mailing, some mail services (hotmail, google, yahoo) pretty much require the sender has an SPF record or else the mail will likely end up in junk mail folders. Also look into setting up a DomainKey record, as this is Microsoft's way of accomplishing almost the same thing.

8,047

Eduardo Molteni

I'm a software developer working in San Antonio de Areco, Argentina, where I have my small software development studio.

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Eduardo Molteni almost 2 years

My little developer mind never really managed to understand how to do it, so maybe you can help me.

I'm using Google Apps for Domains and MyDomain as DNS external service.

Edit: Tough crowd, in Google apps says:

Change the SPF record to fight SPAM (optional)

You may define the SPF record to authorize only certain IP addresses to send email for your domain. This will prevent spammers from sending unauthorized email under a forged address from your domain.
- womble over 14 years
  
  SPF isn't an anti-spam technique.
- Kyle Brandt over 14 years
  
  Why the downvotes? I hope its not because he is confused about the purpose of an SPF record....
- Doug Luxem over 14 years
  
  SPF does fight spam by making it harder for people to impersonate you in spam.
- womble over 14 years
  
  Which does nothing to stop spam, because there's an infinite number of other domains which can be used in a From: address.
- Kyle Brandt over 14 years
  
  Womble: You're 'infinite' inspired me to look that up :-) So this site says 112.6 million domains domaintools.com/internet-statistics . Although I don't see any information about where those numbers come from. If I had to guess those are maybe the second level domains.
- womble over 14 years
  
  @Kyle: Investigate "domain tasting". @DLux: You still receive exactly as much spam if you have SPF records as if you didn't.
- Atulmaharaj about 14 years
  
  @womble: Domain tasting is becoming harder with recent ICANN policy changes.
Atulmaharaj about 14 years

Agreed. The Microsoft attempt you probably meant is Sender ID, which is similar to DomainKey, but was less popular. Recently DomainKey is being succeeded by DKIM, which is very similar to DomainKey but is standardized.
Don over 13 years

I did find this by google, this post was the first hit :)
skue over 12 years

It will also refuse to authenticate spam that's pretending to come from you, and get that spam in someone else's spambox instead of their inbox. How is that not "fight SPAM"???
gekkz over 12 years

I probably understood this differently based on his initial post; I probably thought he wanted to stop spam from reaching his inbox. Since the post is from 2009, I can't really remember :).
saille over 11 years

Big +1 for this handy tool!