What are the common problems a DMARC generator can help me discover and fix?

What are the common problems a DMARC generator can help me discover and fix?

ByBrad Slavin

A DMARC generator helps you discover and fix SPF issues (excessive DNS lookups, bad include chains, missing ip4/ip6 ranges, syntax errors), DKIM problems (missing/invalid signatures, wrong selector, weak keys, canonicalization mismatches, domain misalignment), DMARC record mistakes (multiple records, malformed tags, wrong p/pct, incorrect or unauthorized rua/ruf URIs), third‑party sender alignment gaps (marketing/CRM/cloud platforms not aligned…

Uniswap Scam Ads, Meta Ads Malicious, ATM Jackpotting Surge

Uniswap Scam Ads, Meta Ads Malicious, ATM Jackpotting Surge

ByBrad Slavin

This is the 4th edition of the month, and here are the top 4 cyber mishaps from last week that you must know about. Uniswap Founder has raised concerns around spiked instances of phishing scams. Meanwhile, threat actors have started abusing Meta ads to carry out cyberattacks. Experts witnessed a steep spike in instances of…

550 From Address Violates UsernameCaseMapped Policy: What It Really Means (And How to Fix It Fast)

550 From Address Violates UsernameCaseMapped Policy: What It Really Means (And How to Fix It Fast)

ByBrad Slavin

You send an email expecting it to reach the recipient without any problems. Your domain authentication is set up correctly. The content looks normal. There are no clear mistakes, and everything seems fine from your side. But instead of being delivered, the email returns a hard bounce message: 550 From address violates UsernameCaseMapped policy. This…

CSA Cyber Essentials Mark Now Requires DMARC: A Complete Guide

CSA Cyber Essentials Mark Now Requires DMARC: A Complete Guide

ByBrad Slavin

Cybersecurity requirements are evolving rapidly, and a clear trend is that email security is no longer optional. Organisations can have strong passwords, secure devices, and up-to-date systems, yet still face serious risks if attackers misuse their email domain. This is exactly why the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore has made DMARC mandatory for the Cyber…

Scan Carefully First, Education Under Threat, AI Phishing Surge

Scan Carefully First, Education Under Threat, AI Phishing Surge

ByBrad Slavin

Last week was all about phishing attacks that targeted naive users left, right, and center. Research findings revolved around an upsurge in AI-backed phishing attacks, while experts have noticed phishing QR codes as an emerging threat in the cybersecurity landscape. Meanwhile, India has been experiencing 3,100 phishing attacks per week. The silver lining in the…

The History of Email: From ARPANET to Modern Secure Communication

The History of Email: From ARPANET to Modern Secure Communication

ByBrad Slavin

Email is one of the most transformative technologies in the history of digital communication. Although it may seem like a mundane tool you use every day to send messages, share files, or coordinate with teams, email’s evolution is a remarkable journey that spans decades of innovation, expansion, and adaptation. Today, more than 300 billion emails…

How does DKIM verification differ from SPF and DMARC in protecting email?

How does DKIM verification differ from SPF and DMARC in protecting email?

ByBrad Slavin

DKIM verification protects email by cryptographically validating that selected headers and the body were unaltered and bound to the domain in the d= tag, while SPF only checks whether the sending IP is authorized for the envelope domain and DMARC enforces policy by requiring domain alignment of a passing DKIM or SPF result with the…

What is the difference between a DKIM selector and a domain when checking DKIM?

What is the difference between a DKIM selector and a domain when checking DKIM?

ByBrad Slavin

The DKIM selector (s=) is the label that tells verifiers which specific public key to fetch at selector._domainkey.d=domain, while the DKIM domain (d=) names the signing domain that owns the key in DNS and is the value used for DMARC alignment—verification always looks up s= under d=, but only d= participates in alignment. Context and…

Email guidelines and requirements for e-commerce platforms

Email guidelines and requirements for e-commerce platforms

ByBrad Slavin

If you run an e-commerce business, email is not just a marketing channel. It is your order confirmation system, your password reset mechanism, your customer support line, and often your main revenue driver. Platforms such as WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, and PrestaShop rely heavily on transactional and marketing emails to operate smoothly. Now imagine those…

What are common issues revealed by DMARC aggregate reports and how should I prioritize them?

What are common issues revealed by DMARC aggregate reports and how should I prioritize them?

ByBrad Slavin

DMARC aggregate reports most commonly reveal SPF and DKIM authentication and alignment failures, unauthorized/forged senders, misconfigured internal or third‑party systems, and configuration pitfalls (SPF include limits, missing/rotated DKIM selectors, forwarding/mailing list artifacts, subdomain policy mismatches), and you should prioritize remediation in this order: 1) high‑volume spoofing that fails both SPF and DKIM, 2) legitimate business‑critical…

Improvements to Domain Scanner: Streamlining Your DMARC Journey

Improvements to Domain Scanner: Streamlining Your DMARC Journey

ByBrad Slavin

In today’s digital world, protecting your domain from spoofing, phishing, and misuse isn’t just a best practice — it’s essential. As email continues to be one of the primary channels for business communication, ensuring that your domain adheres to robust email authentication standards is crucial to maintaining deliverability, protecting brand reputation, and safeguarding your customers….

What are common signs that indicate my domain has no DMARC record published?

What are common signs that indicate my domain has no DMARC record published?

ByBrad Slavin

Common signs your domain has no DMARC record published include DNS queries for _dmarc.yourdomain returning NXDOMAIN or “no TXT answer,” missing or “DMARC not evaluated” entries in Authentication-Results headers, zero DMARC aggregate/forensic reports in your monitoring, no DMARC-related enforcement bounces or provider warnings, and consistent checks across all authoritative name servers and subdomains showing no…

Where should I publish my DMARC record in my domain’s DNS?

Where should I publish my DMARC record in my domain’s DNS?

ByBrad Slavin

Publish your DMARC record as a DNS TXT record at the host _dmarc.yourdomain (for example, _dmarc.example.com) in your authoritative DNS, and optionally at _dmarc.sub.yourdomain for subdomains you want to override—never at the bare apex without the _dmarc label and never as SPF/DKIM records. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) relies on a deterministic DNS…