Are you having trouble having your email delivered to your inbox? You are not alone. Today, we count on the email being delivered to us just like we would a letter in the mail. The problem, hackers are increasingly targeting email services around the world. In response, email services provided by Google, Microsoft, and more are creating strict parameters to stop hackers from getting through their systems.
Sender Policy Framework or “SPF” is not a sunscreen in this case. It does help to protect your domain against spoofing from hackers. By setting up SPF for your domain you are telling the receiving server that the emails coming from the domain that you have authorized. Your server then recognizes that the email was sent on your behalf.
Domain Keys Identified Mail or “DKIM” adds a digital signature to every outgoing message. This signature allows receiving servers to verify the message came from your organization. DKIM also detects when a message has been modified, and when unauthorized changes are made to the message “from” address. Without DKIM, messages sent from your organization or domain are more likely to be marked as spam by receiving email servers.
With a DMARC you can tell receiving servers what to do with outgoing messages from your organization that does not pass SPF or DKIM scans. DMARC also lets you request reports from email servers that get messages from your organization or domain.
In short, DMARC prevents hackers from spoofing their organization and domain. They are trying to prevent email that is NOT from Microsoft for instance, from appearing to be from Microsoft. Hackers use forged emails to try and target users from different services. The more sophisticated the hackers get, the harder it is for organizations to protect themselves from this form of attack.
Forms on a website are submitted through a server that is NOT coming from your domain. When these form submissions hit your email server, often they are not being delivered to your inbox.
While it is still the best practice for any business to cross-check form submissions on your website. Many are use to getting notifications through email alone. It is important to check both places. Thus, businesses can be shocked to find out that their internet leads might not be getting to their inboxes. This is a newer issue brought about by hackers (one more reason to loathe them.)
Due to increased hacking and email spoofing, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), like Microsoft, AOL, Apple iCloud, Yahoo, Gmail, Ymail, Rocketmail, etc., have adopted strict Domain-based Message Authentication providers Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) policies. These policies tell a receiving mail system what to do if it fails to authenticate an email. DMARC policies are designed to prevent spoofing. They also help to prevent fraud and allow a domain to state how their email should be authenticated. If an email originating from your online form does not conform to the strict policies, it is either outright rejected and blocked or sent to your junk or clutter folder.
We have done all the heavy lifting with authenticating a domain name trusted by Internet Service Providers – myformmail.com. Meaning, once your online form is filled out, and the visitor clicks submit, that information will be delivered straight to your inbox. All thanks to myformmail.com which meets the authentication policy criteria. Do you need help with email deliverability? Contact us today to get started.
