What is a DMARC Record?

One of the most recent advances in email technology, Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) has also been among the most misunderstood ones. It plays a role in authenticating the emails you receive, and ensuring that they are not blocked from your inbox.

DMARC ensures that the email you receive or send is legitimate, and authenticates it well against established SPF and DKIM standards. If the email appears to originate from domains which are known to have fraudulent track records, they are blocked.

The two main features of DMARC are reporting and domain alignment. The latter is used to prevent spoofing the “header from” address in the email and does this by matching the “header from” domain name to the “envelope from” domain name.

DMARC is perhaps the first and only used technology which is so prevalent in using the “header from” address, in order to authenticate the emails. This helps in protecting the customers and the brands too and discourages many cyber-criminals who will be understandably reluctant to go after brands which have DMARC records. They can be created in as less as 15 minutes if you have the right resources on you.