What is a DKIM record? All you need to know – Wingdings Translator Online

The dkim record either DomainKeys Identified Mail it is an authentication method used to prevent email spoofing. Increases email security by allowing the recipient’s mail server to verify the authenticity of the sender’s domain.

The dkim record it’s a TXT record modified that adds cryptographic signatures to your emails. Add a DKIM record to your domain name system (DNS)and it contains public key cryptography used by the receiving mail server to authenticate a message.

While they almost go to the spam folder, DKIM can prevent your email from doing so by providing cryptographic authentication. It also prevents hackers from altering your message in transit or spoofing your email account for malicious activity.

What is a DKIM signature?

The dkim signature is a special header containing essential information added to an email message. The DKIM signature header is in a unique text string format, also known as hash value.

The information presented in a DKIM signature header field uses pairs of label=value. A label is a single letter, followed by a sign SameMeanwhile he worth provides specific details of the sender of the email, the message, and the location of the public key.

There are mandatory tags that all DKIM signatures must have, as the verification process would fail without them. Among them are:

“v=” is the version of the signature specification. The value is always one.
“a=” reflects the signature algorithm. This value is almost always rsa-sha256.
“d=” is the domain name.
“s=” indicates the name of the selector record, used with the domain name identity to locate the public key in DNS.
“h=” specifies the list of headers used to create the hash data.
“b=” represents the hash data.
“bh=” illustrates the calculated hash of the mail message.

Some optional tags are not required in a DKIM signature, but can help provide additional security measures. These are the recommended optional tags in DKIM signatures to help identify spam:

“t=”It is the time of the message. The format is the number of seconds since 00:00:00 on January 1, 1970 in the UTC zone. For example, if you send an email on May 7, 2021, at 07:42:40 UTC, the value of “t=” will be 1,620,373,360.
“x=”is the expiration time of the DKIM signature. Its format is the same as above, but the value must be greater than the time.

Note that the optional tag values are automatically generated, so you don’t need to calculate the seconds yourself.

How does DKIM work?

Before I show you how DKIM works, you should familiarize yourself with the concept of the two DKIM keys. These include the public key of the DNS record, which helps the receiving server to verify an email message, and a private key from your mail server as part of the authentication process.

All DKIM processes take place internally on the mail servers themselves.

For example, you are sending an email message using test@example.com. Before sending a message, the sending mail server will generate a DKIM signature header using a private key.

The mail system will initiate DKIM verification by making sure that the DKIM signature matches the sender’s information.

When the message is delivered, the receiving email server will obtain the DKIM record from the DNS record of example.com. The receiving email server then uses the public key from the DNS record to verify the DKIM signature of the message.

If the DKIM public key matches the information in the signature, the message is verified as authentic and moved to the inbox. This means that no one has altered the message in transit.

If the DKIM key does not match the information, the message will most likely go to the spam or junk folder.

Is DKIM related to SPF and DMARC?

DKIM is not the only security standard that protects your email messages. The rules Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Y Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) they can also protect your email infrastructure.

SPF restricts who can send email from your domain, protecting you from phishing. SPF is an email authentication protocol that ensures your domain only sends email from a list of verified servers.

DMARC unifies the SPF and DKIM authentication methods into a common mechanism. DMARC also provides domain owners with this mechanism to communicate how to deal with unauthenticated messages.

DKIM, SPF, and DMARC work on different aspects of authentication, and can support each other. Together they provide the best result for email security, which will also increase domain reputation and email deliverability.

Is DKIM really important?

The short answer is yes.

DKIM authenticates the identity of the email sender to ensure that messages do not go to the spam or junk folder. It is essential for organizations that often send or transactional to their customers.

Part of the responsibility of an organization or company is to protect the integrity of its domain and its messages. Without DKIM, hackers can easily send emails that could appear legitimate and potentially defraud customers.

DKIM also helps improve email deliverability, as having authenticated emails helps increase domain reputation among users. internet service providers (ISPs) and mail servers.

How to add a DKIM record for emails?

There are three basic steps to setting up DKIM: generate the DKIM keys, enter a public key on the DNS server, and enter a private key on the sending email server.

Most email providers that support DKIM will generate the public key to add to the domain’s DNS record. For this, it is essential to have access to your DNS record.

Some email services, such as Google Workplacethey can generate the private key automatically, or you may have to add it manually.

In the next section, we’ll show you how DKIM works with different email services.

Add a DKIM Record with Email Service

Using an email service offered by web hosting providers can simplify the steps. With ‘s email service, all you have to do is set up an email from , and will automatically add DKIM records.

To set up new E-mail accountsenter your web hosting account and click the button Manage, next to your domain name. From there, select Mail accounts in the section Emails.

2. Fill in the form in Create your email account and click the button To create.

All domain names pointing to will have the registrations DKIM CNAME in the DNS Zones Editoras will automatically add the DKIM records to your email account.

If has not created the records automatically, it is possible to add them manually. In the DNS Zones Editorthere is a section in Manage DNS records. The details of the DKIM records include:

GuyHostPoint toTTLCNAMEhostingermail-a._domainkeyhostingermail-a.dkim.mail..com300CNAMEhostingermail-b._domainkeyhostingermail-b.dkim.mail..com300CNAMEhostingermail-c._domainkeyhostingermail-c.dkim.mail..com300

Please note that changes take up to 24 hours to take effect.

Add DKIM records from another email provider

The main configuration of DKIM is more or less the same with any email service provider (ESP).

Popular ESPs, such as or , have made it quick and easy for users to add DKIM records. In this section, we will configure DKIM using Google Workspace as an example.

Although Gmail signs all email messages with the default DKIM domain key, it’s best to manually authenticate your email domain for an extra layer of security.

Here are the steps to configure DKIM in Google Workspace:

First, sign in to your Google Workspace account and select the button admin in apps. Note that access to the main page of the console of management either admin it is only available for Google Workspace emails.

From the main page of managementclick on the three lines of the header next to google admin. go to Apps -> Google Workspace -> Gmail to start the authentication process.

click on Authenticate email to configure DKIM.

Don’t change the selected domain, as it will automatically be your domain. Just click on GENERATE RECORD.

First, select the DKIM key bit length. We recommend selecting 2048 for a safer option. Some domains only support one password. 1024 bit, so be sure to check with your domain host. The prefix selector can stay as “Google”. click on GENERATE to continue.

This will generate the TXT record value for the public key. go to DNS zone editor of your domain server to add the DNS records.

Add the log generated by Google in Manage DNS records. The receiving server can use this key to verify your messages.

Go back to the Google Workspace authentication page and click the button START AUTHENTICATION to enable DKIM signing.
To verify that the DKIM security standard works, send an email message to someone who uses Gmail or Google Workspace.
Go to the inbox of the receiving email and open the message. Click on the three points at the top left and select show original.

If the DKIM already works, it will appear PASS in front of your domain name, which means the domain is secure.

Please note that changes can take up to 24 hours to propagate.

Add DKIM records when running a private mail server

It takes a dkim generator, such as , to generate the signing keys when running your own mail server. Some generators give you the option to create your selector, and others will do it for you.

Once the keys are generated, copy the DKIM public key and add it to the DNS records. Choose TXT for the type, and the name will follow this format:…
Related posts: