≡	AutoMSW BULK EMAIL SOFTWARE

SPF Record

A SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record is a type of DNS record that specifies a list of IP addresses that are allowed to send email for your domain.

You can read about the SPF syntax/details at openspf.org. The SPF record is recorded as a TXT type DNS record with a value something like:

v=spf1 mx ip4:1.2.3.4 ~all

The first part (v=spf1) informs that this record is an SPF record. The second part (mx) says that any MX type DNS records are to be included in the allowed to send list. MX records define the mail servers for your domain. The next part (ip4:1.2.3.4) adds a specific IP address to the allowed list. This is how you would add your static IP address. Replace the 1.2.3.4 with your actual static IP address. The final part (~all) informs that all other IP addresses not already mentioned should be considered a "soft fail" by the receiving mail server. You can specify a hard fail using -all instead. The exact response to a soft fail can vary by receiving mail server, but this usually means that emails from any other IP addresses not mentioned in this SPF record will be placed in spam by the receiving mail server.

See openspf.org for details on creating your SPF record. There are also many online tools available for verifying the syntax/functionality of your SPF record once you've recorded it. Recording an SPF record is done through your hosting company, or whoever is running the DNS servers for your domain.