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

Introduction

• If your domain name is registered with Infomaniak, your email is managed by Infomaniak, but your website is hosted with another provider (Wix, for example), you are probably managing the DNS zone (and therefore the SPF) with that other provider: please refer to this other guide for more information.

Understanding SPF records

The SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record type is a standard for verifying the sender's domain name in 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 check fails for an email, it means that the email was not sent from an authorized server/IP address by the domain administrator. The email is then considered spam.

Strict SPF -all: rejecting unauthorized emails

Infomaniak automatically installs this type of record when creating an Email 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 spoofing email addresses from your domain.

Soft SPF ?all: tolerance for some emails

You can choose to modify the SPF to a more flexible model:

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

In this case, the recipient server of the email you are sending will evaluate, according to its own rules, whether it accepts emails not originating 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)

Add an SPF via a TXT record

There are 2 ways to manage SPF.

If you have a Mail service with Infomaniak, the easiest way is to go to the Global Security tool to manage the SPF:

But since the SPF record is a type of DNS record of type TXT, 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-hand menu.
4. Check in the table that there is not already a TXT record with a value mentioning SPF, as shown here:
   
5. Click the button to add a record (you will receive an error if you try to add a TXT record with an SPF value when one already exists in the zone):
   
6. Click the TXT radio button to add a record.
7. Click the Next button:
   
8. Enter the SPF value required for your DNS zone.
9. Leave the default value for the TTL.
10. Click the Save button:
    

Adding Multiple SPF Records

If you use other email providers in addition to Infomaniak, you need to obtain their SPF records and then merge them with Infomaniak's SPF record using a specific syntax.

Example of 3 SPF records to merge:

• Infomaniak's: v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch -all
• Two secondary providers:
  • v=spf1 include:the-second-domain.xyz ?all
  • v=spf1 include:the-other-domain.xyz ~all

... the final SPF record to be inserted into your DNS zone should be in the following format:

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

Remove any other SPF entries from the DNS zone of your domain! Any DNS addition/modification may take up to 48 hours to propagate.

Limits on the Number of SPF Records

Multiple SPF records are limited to a maximum of 10 inclusions.

The Infomaniak SPF record generally already includes 4 entries:

• 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 in the Infomaniak Manager allows you to easily check and correct any problematic records.

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

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