How to Configure The Sender Policy Framework (SPF)

By Marco Alcala March 12, 2023

Configuring the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) for your organization is an important step in securing your email system. SPF helps prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks by verifying that incoming email messages come from authorized servers.

Follow these steps to configure SPF for your organization:

Determine the authorized email servers for your domain: Before you can configure SPF, you need to identify the servers that are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. This can include your own mail server, marketing automation platforms, and other third-party email service providers.

Create an SPF record: Once you have identified the authorized email servers, you need to create an SPF record. An SPF record is a DNS TXT record that specifies which servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. You can create an SPF record using a text editor or an online SPF record generator.

Publish the SPF record: After you have created the SPF record, you need to publish it in your domain’s DNS. This allows receiving email servers to check the SPF record when they receive email from your domain. Contact your DNS provider or IT department for assistance with publishing your SPF record.

Test the SPF record: After publishing your SPF record, you should test it to ensure that it is working correctly. You can use online SPF record checkers to verify that the record is published correctly and is being checked by receiving email servers.

Monitor and update the SPF record: SPF records can change over time as your email infrastructure changes. It is important to monitor your SPF record and update it as necessary to ensure that all authorized servers are included.

By following these steps, you can configure SPF for your organization and help prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks. Remember to regularly monitor and update your SPF record to maintain the security of your email system.

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Last updated on March 12, 2023

Marco Alcala is the founder and CEO of Alcala Consulting, founded on July 1, 1997. He started with no capital, no employees and no plan – other than an unwavering belief that he could help his future clients use technology to make their businesses more efficient and successful. Since then, the company has grown to include offices in Pasadena, CA, and San Antonio, TX. They primarily serve mature and rapidly growing businesses looking to have IT and cybersecurity programs in place that simply run like clockwork. Marco attributes his team’s success to its ability to lead across a broad range of competencies, including application development, document imaging, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, infrastructure support, cybersecurity and help desk. It’s an extensive list – but Marco makes sure to remind clients that there’s no system that’s 100% secure. Criminals are going to find a way to break through your defenses one way or another, and you need to be able to detect those breaches as soon as they happen. That’s why it’s so important to identify someone within your company to serve as a point person in charge of cybersecurity. With larger firms, they even hire a chief security officer – but if you’re a smaller firm, that can run $300,000 per year or more. Because not everyone can afford that, Alcala is now offering that service on a shared, virtual basis. That way you don’t have to worry about cybersecurity because there’s somebody owning that responsibility and making sure the company’s protected in the way it should be. They even help clients who are applying for cyber liability insurance. Clients provide Marco with the application, and he answers everything and explains exactly what those responses mean in terms of associated policies and technology. And if he does discover a missing security control, he works with them to make sure it’s rapidly put into place. Marco graduated in 1997 with a bachelor of science in computer science from California State College, Northridge. In addition, he has since earned an extensive list of additional computer industry certifications, including: • Microsoft Certified Professional • VMWare Certified Professional – Data Center Virtualization • VMWare Technical Sales Professional Accreditation • VMWare Technical Sales Professional – Desktop Virtualization Accreditation When he’s not diving deeper into technology, Marco also loves dancing salsa and bachata – and when throwing a party, he’ll even pull out his conga drums and invite his guests to play along. Also into health and fitness, he’ll hit the gym early in the morning before heading off to work. He also enjoys mowing his lawn while listening to a good book on Audible. Marco loves to travel, and he adores his children, son Mark Anthony and daughter Isabella.