This guide explains how to add or modify one or more SPF records in a DNS zone (of a domain name) managed on the Infomaniak Manager.

Preamble

• If your domain name is registered with Infomaniak, your email is managed by Infomaniak, but your website is hosted with another provider (e.g., Wix), you are probably managing the DNS zone (and therefore the SPF) with this other provider: refer to this other guide on this topic.

Understanding SPF records

The SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record type is a standard for verifying the domain name of the sender of an email and aims to reduce SPAM. It is used to indicate which server is authorized or not to send emails for a domain. If the SPF fails for an email, it means that the email was not sent from a server/IP address authorized by the administrator of the sending domain. The email is then considered as spam.

Strict SPF -all: rejection of unauthorized emails

Infomaniak automatically installs this type of record when creating a Mail Service on your domain (strict SPF):

v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch -all

Thus, the recipient server of the email you send will evaluate that any email not coming from Infomaniak servers will be rejected. This prevents malicious individuals from impersonating email addresses from your domain.

Flexible SPF ?all: tolerance for certain emails

You can decide to modify the SPF for a more flexible model:

v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch ?all

In this case, the recipient server of the email you send will evaluate, according to its own rules, whether it accepts emails not coming from Infomaniak servers.

In summary:

• ?: the receiving server accepts the message even if the sender is not listed in the SPF
• ~: the receiving server generally accepts the message if it is not listed in the SPF but identifies it as suspicious
• -: the receiving server rejects the message if it is not listed in the SPF (recommended)

Adding an SPF via a TXT record

There are 2 ways to manage SPFs.

If you have a Mail Service with Infomaniak, the simplest way is to go to the Global Security tool to manage SPFs:

However, since the SPF record is a TXT type DNS record, you can also manage it from the DNS zone of the domain name:

1. Click here to access the management of your domain on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the domain in question.
3. Click on DNS Zone in the left sidebar menu.
4. Check in the table that there is not already a TXT record with a value mentioning SPF as here:
   
5. Click the button to add a record (you will get an error if you try to add a TXT record with an SPF value when one already exists in the zone):
   
6. Click the radio button TXT to add a record.
7. Click the button Next:
   
8. Enter the SPF value required for your DNS zone.
9. Leave the default value for TTL.
10. Click the button Save:
    

Add multiple SPFs

If you use other mail providers in addition to Infomaniak, you need to obtain their SPF and then merge it with Infomaniak's according to a specific syntax.

Example of 3 SPFs to merge:

• That of Infomaniak: v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch -all
• Those of 2 secondary providers:
  • v=spf1 include:the-second-domain.xyz ?all
  • v=spf1 include:the-other-domain.xyz ~all

...the final SPF to be inserted into your DNS zone should be in the form:

v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch include:the-second-domain.xyz include:the-other-domain.xyz -all

Delete any other SPF entry from the DNS zone of your domain! Any DNS addition/modification can take up to 48 hours to propagate.

Limits on the number of SPFs

Multiple SPFs are limited to a maximum of 10 inclusions.

The Infomaniak SPF usually already includes 4 inclusions:

• include:relay.mail.infomaniak.ch
• include:app.mail.infomaniak.ch
• include:newsletter.infomaniak.com
• include:amazonses.com

Check the SPF record(s)

The Global Security tool on the Infomaniak Manager allows you to easily check and correct any problematic records you may have.

If you encounter any issues, it is recommended to analyze your domain name on MxToolbox to check if your SPF contains syntax errors, too many inclusions, or any other issues that could lead to an error:

… or directly at the address https://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx.