Many online mail providers (particularly hotmail and gmail) make use of the Sender ID Framework (SIDF), an e-mail authentication technology that tries to combat spoofing and phishing by checking/verifying the domain name the message is sent from.
To create your SPF record, you will need access to your domain’s zone file to create a TXT record. This post will guide you through the process.
The diagram below outlines the SIDF process:
To use the framework, e-mail senders and domain owners must publish or declare all of the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used by their outbound e-mail servers, or the IPs authorized to send e-mail on their behalf, in the Domain Name System (DNS). These IPs are included in a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) text file.
Creating your SPF record
To create your SPF record, you will need access to your domain’s zone file to create a TXT record.
Example: A typical SPF record will look like this:
yourdomain.com.au. 14400 IN TXT “v=spf1 a mx -all” (quotes intended)
This tells mailservers that the only IPs that can send legitimate messages are the A records for yourdomain.com.au or the MX records for yourdomain.com.au
You can use tools like easySPF or Microsoft’s Sender ID Framework SPF Record Wizard to assist with the creation of these records.
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