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…

What are common mistakes people make when setting up DKIM TXT records?

What are common mistakes people make when setting up DKIM TXT records?

ByBrad Slavin

The most common mistakes when setting up DKIM TXT records are syntax errors (quoting/semicolons/base64), selector/domain mismatches, incorrect key splitting or record type, weak or outdated keys and unsafe rotation, DNS propagation/TTL missteps, canonicalization/algorithm mismatches, and ignoring DMARC/SPF alignment requirements. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) uses a public key published in DNS to verify that a message’s…

How can I set up DMARC Analyzer Free for my domain to start receiving reports?

How can I set up DMARC Analyzer Free for my domain to start receiving reports?

ByBrad Slavin

To set up DMARCReport Free (DMARC Analyzer) and start receiving reports, publish a DMARC TXT record at _dmarc.yourdomain (for example.com → host: _dmarc.example.com, type: TXT, value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[your-unique-address]@agg.dmarcreport.example; ruf=mailto:[optional]@forensics.dmarcreport.example; fo=1; adkim=r; aspf=r; sp=none; ri=86400; pct=100), verify your domain in the DMARCReport dashboard, confirm SPF and DKIM are correctly aligned for your mail flows, and…

How to Detect Honey Trap Scams Online

How to Detect Honey Trap Scams Online

ByBrad Slavin

In today’s hyper-connected world, the internet has given billions of people an unprecedented ability to communicate, build relationships, and find companionship. While this transformation has many positive effects, it has also opened the door to new forms of scams and cybercriminal tactics — one of the most emotionally exploitative being the honey trap scam. At…

How can I start protecting my G Suite email from phishing with DMARC?

How can I start protecting my G Suite email from phishing with DMARC?

ByBrad Slavin

Start protecting your G Suite (Google Workspace) email from phishing by enabling DMARC in monitor mode (p=none), properly configuring SPF and DKIM, publishing a DMARC TXT record with aggregate/forensic reporting, and using DMARCReport to analyze alignment data and gradually move to quarantine/reject. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) lets you tell receiving mail servers…

How does a required DKIM selector improve email security and deliverability?

How does a required DKIM selector improve email security and deliverability?

ByBrad Slavin

Requiring a DKIM selector improves email security and deliverability by enforcing deterministic key selection and verifiable domain-level authentication that supports safe key rotation, isolates sending streams and third parties, strengthens DMARC alignment, and increases receiver trust—leading to fewer spoofing opportunities, lower verification failure rates, and better inbox placement. Context and background DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)…

The role of DKIM public and private keys in email security

The role of DKIM public and private keys in email security

ByBrad Slavin

DKIM uses two keys to strengthen email authentication. If the same key were used to sign and verify emails, anyone could copy it and start sending fake messages. By separating the roles, DKIM ensures that: This is what prevents attackers from forging valid DKIM signatures. How DKIM Public and Private Keys Work Together Here’s how…

Network Security Risks Facing Consumers and Businesses

ByBrad Slavin

Small businesses face a harsh reality: 79% have experienced at least one cyberattack in the past five years. These numbers show why companies and organizations need better protection against various security vulnerabilities. The financial toll hits hard when security breaches occur. Small businesses lose up to $1,000 per minute of downtime, while enterprise organizations lose…

Why should a business consider using custom DKIM for its email sending?

Why should a business consider using custom DKIM for its email sending?

ByBrad Slavin

A business should use custom DKIM because it provides domain-aligned authentication that boosts deliverability and brand trust, satisfies DMARC enforcement requirements, reduces spoofing risk, and gives you operational control over keys, selectors, subdomains, and multi-ESP sending. Digital signatures are the backbone of modern email trust: DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) lets receivers verify that your messages…

What are common signs that DKIM is not working for outgoing mail?

What are common signs that DKIM is not working for outgoing mail?

ByBrad Slavin

The most common signs that DKIM is not working for outgoing mail are a missing or malformed DKIM-Signature header, Authentication-Results showing dkim=none/fail/permerror/temperror (often with “body hash did not verify” for bh mismatches), DMARC aggregate/forensic reports flagging DKIM alignment failures, and MTA logs indicating signing was skipped or failed due to selector/key/DNS errors. Email authentication context…

What is a 550 5.7.0 local policy violation, and how to solve it?

What is a 550 5.7.0 local policy violation, and how to solve it?

ByBrad Slavin

Sending bulk emails certainly means reaching a wider audience, but what if your emails fail to even reach the recipients? Such problems often occur even when you believe you are doing everything right.  The reason for this error could be hidden email-policy checks running in the background that are causing your emails to fail and…

How Phishing Scammers Get Your Email Address — and How DMARCReport Can Help You Stop Them

How Phishing Scammers Get Your Email Address — and How DMARCReport Can Help You Stop Them

ByBrad Slavin

Every day, millions of people and businesses around the world fall prey to phishing attacks — fraudulent schemes designed to trick users into revealing sensitive data like passwords, financial information, or proprietary business credentials. At DMARCReport, we understand the danger these threats pose, and we want to give you a complete picture of how phishing…

How can I generate and interpret DMARC aggregate reports for G Suite?

How can I generate and interpret DMARC aggregate reports for G Suite?

ByBrad Slavin

You generate DMARC aggregate reports for G Suite (Google Workspace) by publishing a DMARC DNS TXT record that includes a valid rua=mailto: address for report collection, and you interpret them by parsing the XML fields (source_ip, count, policy_evaluated, dkim/spf alignment, disposition, reason) to map sending sources and authentication outcomes—best done with a purpose-built analyzer like…