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Protect Domain from Email Spoofing with Accurate SPF Records

An incorrectly configured SPF record can lead to email spoofing. It damages your brand's reputation and impacts email deliverability. With Smartlead’s SPF Record Lookup, quickly verify your SPF setup and ensure your domain is protected.

SPF Record Generator

Ensure you send emails only through your authorized servers and reduce spoofing risks while improving deliverability.

Generate SPF Record Now

DKIM Record generator

Check if DKIM records are set up correctly for your domain. Ensure your email authentication policies protect your domain.

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How to Verify Your SPF Records in 3 Easy Steps?

Step 1

Enter Your Domain

Enter your domain name to start the SPF lookup.

Step 2

Check SPF Record

Click the Lookup button to instantly check your domain’s SPF status.

Step 3

Analyze the Results

Review the SPF record details and make necessary adjustments to protect your domain.

What is SPF and Why Is It Important?

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a crucial email authentication method that prevents unauthorized senders from sending emails on behalf of your domain. It verifies that emails sent from your domain come from trusted sources.

Why SPF Matters?

Protects against email spoofing and phishing attacks.
Improves email deliverability by ensuring legitimate emails reach inboxes.
Enhances your domain’s reputation and trustworthiness.

Real-Life Scenarios Where SPF Validation is Essential

Prevent Email Spoofing

If cybercriminals spoof your domain, they can trick recipients into believing your emails are legitimate. Regularly check your SPF records to protect your brand.

Boost Marketing Emails Deliverability

Ensure your marketing emails bypass spam filters and land in inboxes by having a properly configured SPF record

Secure Transactional Emails

Order confirmations, password resets, billing invoices—if these emails aren’t delivered properly, customers can’t complete transactions or access services. SPF helps email providers verify your messages, ensuring seamless communication.

Manage Multiple Email Providers

If you use third-party services for email marketing or customer support, verify that their sending servers are authorized to send on behalf of your domain

What Our Customers Say

I can upload hundreds of email accounts, send thousands of cold emails per day, and still have an organized master inbox. This is unseen with any other tool on the market today. I looked...

Mykyta

CEO, Yell Cut

4.5

I've personally built a sales engagement platform similar to Smartlead, and I am genuinely blown away by the scalability, functionality and more. We're a B2B Lead Gen Agency, and we primarily use cold email to generate leads for our clients. We're on track to double our best month in terms of client results.

Nick A.

Founder, Leadbird.io

4.5

Smartlead is an innovative cold email platform that helps me reach out to potential clients. There are easy-to-use templates, powerful automation tools, and intuitive analytics for email warming and campaign analytics. It provides me with everything I need to maximize my cold email campaigns.

Reggie B.

Sales Director - Financial Institution Solutions Saggezza, Inc.

4.5

Smartlead is an absolute game-changer! With its exceptional features and support from the Smartlead team, I've experienced remarkable success. The customizable platform and cost-effective pricing have revolutionized our cold emailing game. I would rate it 10 out of 10 for satisfaction. A must-have tool for any B2B agency!

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Innovative, reliable, and Suitable For Technical and Non-Technical Users. SmartLead's ability to help me land in the primary inbox and automate the laborious parts of my workflow is brilliant. The customer support is incredibly good, I've had some great feedback on my cold email campaigns.

Ryane Tully

Co-founder, Pitchlane

4.5

Hands down the best cold email software. Smartlead is amazing, this is the best tool if you want to cold email at scale and land in the inbox. The team is super responsive with great support. While there is a learning curve to cold email, they really built a great foundation to make it as simple as possible. I am sending over 2k emails a day!!! absolute game changer for my business.

Eden Einav

Account Executive, B.I.G. Charity Law Group Professional Corporation

4.5

Intuitive. Game-Changing. POWERFUL. Analytics, spintax, A/B testing, quick personalization. This is a game changer if you send cold email campaign. Grateful to this team for building a product that has changed our day to day. 🚀

David Borman

Senior Account Executive, Key Outreach

4.5

The best outbound email marketing software. Customer support - they are so responsive and helpful Features - you can add multiple email domains to the same account.

Bojan Najdov

Founder, Lambda Group

4.5

Smartlead has been extremely helpful with seamlessly onboarding clients, warming up their accounts, and prepping campaigns to send at high volumes while maintaining high deliverability. There are multiple features that allow me to track performance over time and understand when it is time for me to make adjustments, and Vaibhav is constantly making improvements/upgrades to the platform which gives me all the more faith in the future of this great tool.

Dino Knezovic

Founder, Office Optim

4.5

Smartlead is absolutely amazing! The software is easy to understand I am not a techie but directly understand everything and if you really have a question the team always helps instantly. Additionally I love all the features. Like I said for me as a lead generation agency the software gives me everything I need and much more.

Johannes Fessler

CEO, Rock Solid Lead Generation

4.5

Terrific platform for agencies. The platform is intuitive and makes it easy to manage multiple client accounts. I love the email warmup feature, the sub-accounts, and the branded client portal. Deliverability and analytics are solid. Great customer support.

Kris Sharma

Founder, Webinar Dude

4.5

Total game changer for cold outreach. Packed with features: Spintax, Rotating Inboxes, AI Email Categorization, Subsequences, Tagging, and Whitelabeling. Their team is SUPER responsive and implements changes quickly, and it is the most reliable cold email tool I've ever used.

Matthew Lucero

Founder, Anevo Marketing

4.5

Best Cold Email Marketing Tool for individuals as well as agencies. Smartlead has simplified email marketing to another infinity. With their domain rotation, email warmups and unified inbox, this is an absolute gamechanger in the industry right now. With such an affordable pricepoint, they really offer you the best bang for the buck and superseeds any email automation tool in the market like salesloft/outreach or reply. Vaibhav is more than just an amazing guy, who is super helpful and approachable. This tool would guarenteed be the next best thing in the market and the best part is they never stop innovating. Complete no brainer to opt for this against any other tool that you are using for email outreach at the current moment. Trust me you wouldn't be disappointed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Abhishek Basu

Account Executive, Leadzilla

4.5

Best cold email tool in the game. Most user friendly cold email tool I've used to date. Super easy to set up, love the bulk upload feature to add multiple domains at once and support is impeccable. They respond so fast it's unreal. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Serdar Tufan

Owner, FunnelVision

4.5

I just ended my 2 year search for the right cold emailing platform with Smartlead. A stand alone tool for cold emailing unlike anything else in the market. And it looks like they're only getting started. Now I can finally train my VAs on just one platform instead of bouncing between several like they used to for different things.

Cliff Coelho

Owner, Storydriven.video

4.5

Best cold outbound email software out there. Everything, is fast, reliable, scalable, you can also white-label, amazing analytics and never breaks like other similar competitors. Never once I went in spam in the last 4 months of using it.

Arnold Koci

CEO, Acquisizioneclienti.it

4.5

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Our campaigns weren't just about reaching out, but reaching out right, and Smartlead helped us achieve this. It has added immense value to our business by prioritizing email deliverability and customer needs. I would rate it a 9 out of 10

Lucas Maliczak

Outbound Lead & Partner, Peakora

4.5

Smartlead is simply amazing. They constantly improve their product and bring new features that make the cold email software even more complete. If you're a big automation enthusiast like me, there are no other cold email tools on the market that allow you to 100% automate your business as Smartlead does.

René-Karl Lambert

Founder, WindGrowth

4.5

David Borman

Senior Account Executive, Key Outreach

4.5

The best outbound email marketing software. Customer support - they are so responsive and helpful Features - you can add multiple email domains to the same account.

Bojan Najdov

Founder, Lambda Group

4.5

Dino Knezovic

Founder, Office Optim

4.5

Johannes Fessler

CEO, Rock Solid Lead Generation

4.5

Kris Sharma

Founder, Webinar Dude

4.5

Matthew Lucero

Founder, Anevo Marketing

4.5

Abhishek Basu

Account Executive, Leadzilla

4.5

Serdar Tufan

Owner, FunnelVision

4.5

Cliff Coelho

Owner, Storydriven.video

4.5

Arnold Koci

CEO, Acquisizioneclienti.it

4.5

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Lucas Maliczak

Outbound Lead & Partner, Peakora

4.5

René-Karl Lambert

Founder, WindGrowth

4.5

Matthew Lucero

Founder, Anevo Marketing

4.5

Abhishek Basu

Account Executive, Leadzilla

4.5

Serdar Tufan

Owner, FunnelVision

4.5

Cliff Coelho

Owner, Storydriven.video

4.5

Arnold Koci

CEO, Acquisizioneclienti.it

4.5

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Lucas Maliczak

Outbound Lead & Partner, Peakora

4.5

René-Karl Lambert

Founder, WindGrowth

4.5

Frequently Asked Questions

Still Have Questions ?

What is an SPF record, and why do I need it?

An SPF record (Sender Policy Framework record) is a record published in your domain's DNS that specifies authorized email senders for your domain. It acts like a security guard, preventing email spoofing, where scammers disguise their emails to appear from your domain. SPF helps protect your reputation, improve email deliverability, and avoid phishing attacks.

How does an SPF record lookup work?

An SPF record lookup is done using a free online tool like Smartlead’s SPF Record Tool. These tools retrieve the SPF record published in a domain's DNS and analyze it for errors. They provide feedback on whether the record is configured correctly and effectively authorizes email senders for that domain.

What are the benefits of using an SPF record lookup tool?

Improved Email Security: Ensures your SPF record is valid, helping prevent email spoofing.
Troubleshooting: Helps identify problems with your SPF record if you have email delivery issues.
Peace of Mind: Provides confidence that your SPF record is functioning correctly.

Do I need to be a tech expert to manage SPF records?

While understanding the basics is helpful, you don't necessarily need to be a tech expert. Many domain registrars and email service providers offer user-friendly interfaces or instructions to help you set up and manage SPF records. You can also use online resources and tutorials for guidance.

Where Can I Find My SPF Record?

You can find your SPF record by querying your domain's DNS records using online tools or commands like dig or nslookup. Look for the TXT record associated with your domain, which contains your SPF record detailing authorised email servers.

How Do I Use the SPF Generator?

Using the Smartlead SPF Generator is simple. Enter your domain name in the provided field, and our tool will guide you through the process of defining the IP addresses authorised to send emails for your domain. Once complete, you'll receive a valid SPF record that can be added to your DNS as a TXT record.

Do I Need To Update My SPF Record Every Time I Change Email Providers?

Yes, you should update your SPF record whenever you change email providers or add new authorised sending servers. This ensures that your SPF record accurately reflects the servers allowed to send emails on behalf of your domain.

What Are The Different Mechanisms I Can Use In My SPF Record?

Common mechanisms in SPF records include:

include: Includes SPF records from other domains
‍a: Authorises domain's A records (IPv4 addresses)
‍mx: Authorises domain's MX records (mail servers)
‍ip4/ip6: Specific IPv4 or IPv6 addresses
‍all: Specifies handling for emails not matching previous mechanisms (+, -, ~).

Can I Have Multiple SPF Records For My Domain?

No, you should have only one SPF record per domain. Multiple SPF records can cause conflicts and DNS lookup issues, potentially leading to email delivery problems.

What Should I Do If My SPF Record Fails A Test?

If your SPF record fails a test, review the mechanisms and syntax for errors. Ensure all authorized servers are correctly listed. Update and re-publish the SPF record in your DNS. Use SPF testing tools to verify corrections.

How Can I Configure SPF For Subdomains?

You can configure SPF for subdomains by creating a separate SPF record for each subdomain. Use the include mechanism to reference the main domain's SPF record if the subdomain shares the same email servers.

What Are The Limitations Of An SPF Record?

SPF records have limitations such as:

- Inability to protect against all types of email fraud.
- Complexity in managing IP addresses and third-party services.
- Dependency on DNS propagation times.
- Potential for misconfiguration leading to email delivery issues.

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What is an SPF Record Lookup Tool?

SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework. An SPF Record Check verifies the legitimacy of an email sender. For this, it relies on the SPF record, a type of record published in a domain’s DNS (Domain Name System) and used to identify the authorized email servers for that domain.

Once you put the SPF record in Smartlead’s SPF Record Check Tool, the system will retrieve the SPF record published in the domain’s SPF. The tool also analyses the SPF record for errors or syntax mistakes that might prevent it from working correctly.

This tool will give you easy-to-understand feedback on whether the SPF record is configured correctly and if it effectively authorises email senders for the specific domain.

What is an SPF Record?

An SPF record (Sender Policy Framework record) is a type of record published in a domain's DNS (Domain Name System) that acts as a security shield against email spoofing. It defines authorized email senders for a particular domain.

Here's how it works:

1. A domain owner creates an SPF record within their domain's DNS. This record lists IP addresses or mail servers allowed to send emails on behalf of that domain.
2. The receiving email server acts like a security guard when an email arrives. It checks the SPF record of the sender's domain to see if the email originated from an authorized source.
3. The receiving server compares the email's sender IP address against the list in the SPF record. If the IP address matches an authorized one, the email is considered more likely legitimate and allowed to pass through. But if there's no match, it raises a red flag!

Properly configured SPF records can help prevent email spoofing, protect your reputation, and enhance email deliverability.

What does an SPF Record look like?

Record

Type

Value

Time to live (TTL)

WWW

CNAME

abc.com

3600

Below is an example of an SPF record that allows emails from Google Workspace servers.

Breakdown of Components:
‍v=spf1:
‍‍
‍v=: Identifies this as an SPF record.
‍spf1: Specifies the SPF version (1 is the current standard).

‍include:_spf.google.com:
‍‍
‍include: This mechanism tells the receiving server to consult another SPF record for authorization.
‍_spf.google.com: This is a subdomain commonly used by Google Workspace to specify their authorized sending servers.
‍
‍ip4:192.168.0.1:‍

‍ip4: This mechanism authorizes a specific IP address version (4 in this case).
‍192.168.0.1: This is the actual IP address allowed to send emails for this domain.
‍
‍~all:
‍‍
‍~: This is a qualifier, indicating a "soft fail."
‍all: Refers to any sender not explicitly authorized in the record.

Together: This translates to "if the email doesn't come from Google Workspace servers, the specific IP, or any other explicitly allowed source, deliver it with a spam flag."

Frequently asked questions

General Questions

What is an SPF record, and why do I need it?

How does an SPF record lookup work?

What are the benefits of using an SPF record lookup tool?

Improved Email Security: Ensures your SPF record is valid, helping prevent email spoofing.
Troubleshooting: Helps identify problems with your SPF record if you have email delivery issues.

Peace of Mind: Provides confidence that your SPF record is functioning correctly.

Do I need to be a tech expert to manage SPF records?

Where Can I Find My SPF Record?

How Do I Use the SPF Generator?

What Information Do I Need To Configure An SPF Record Generator Effectively?

To configure an SPF record generator effectively, you need your domain name and a clear understanding of which IP addresses or domains should be authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain.

Do I Need To Update My SPF Record Every Time I Change Email Providers?

What Are The Different Mechanisms I Can Use In My SPF Record?

Common mechanisms in SPF records include:

include: Includes SPF records from other domains
a: Authorises domain's A records (IPv4 addresses)
mx: Authorises domain's MX records (mail servers)
ip4/ip6: Specific IPv4 or IPv6 addresses
all: Specifies handling for emails not matching previous mechanisms (+, -, ~).

Can I Have Multiple SPF Records For My Domain?

No, you should have only one SPF record per domain. Multiple SPF records can cause conflicts and DNS lookup issues, potentially leading to email delivery problems.

What Should I Do If My SPF Record Fails A Test?

How Can I Configure SPF For Subdomains?

What Are The Limitations Of An SPF Record?

SPF records have limitations such as:

- Inability to protect against all types of email fraud.
- Complexity in managing IP addresses and third-party services.
- Dependency on DNS propagation times.
- Potential for misconfiguration leading to email delivery issues.