How to Set Up/Modify SPF for Zoho Mail
The following description addresses how to update a Domain Name Service (DNS) record to use SPF with your custom domain in Zoho Mail.
To utilize a custom domain, the Zoho Mail provider requires an SPF TXT record be added to the DNS record. This TXT record is then used by DNS to recognize email servers allowed to send messages on behalf of your custom/third-party domain. To determine whether a correspondence from the specified domain comes from an authorized messaging server, the recipient system relies on the implemented SPF TXT record. At that point, the message is either accepted, quarantined, or rejected by the email receiving system.
To implement SPF authentication for your domain, you will need access to your DNS records in the domain hosting account. Important: If you already have an SPF record, then you should modify that existing record. You must not have more than one SPF record.
For convenience, be sure to log in to your Zoho Mail account to verify your domain and copy your TXT records. Zoho Mail utilizes an include mechanism during the set-up process. For example, if you do not have an SPF record on your domain, the following scenario is the most common and would pass SPF:
v=spf1 include:zoho.com ~all
If you do already have an SPF record on your domain, simply add the following to it:
include:zoho.com
To create an SPF record for your domain name, follow these steps:
1. Log in to control panel for your domain DNS host
2. Select My Account menu and choose Domains
3. Expand Domains and click Manage DNS button for domain you want to verify
4. Scroll to Records section and click Add button to add DNS record
5. Select TXT from Type dropdown menu
6. In Host field, specify @
7. In TXT Value field, create a TXT record with the following specifications:
v=spf1 include:zoho.com ~all
8. Decide how you want to enforce SPF failures:
~all results in a soft fail (not authorized, but not explicitly unauthorized)
-all results in a hard fail (unauthorized)
?all is neutral (similar to no policy)
As shown above, enter your choice after v=spf1 include:zoho.com
9. Click Save
How to Set Up/Modify DKIM for Zoho Mail
You can enable DKIM for your domain from Zoho Mail’s control panel after creating the required TXT record in your domain’s DNS manager. The DKIM configuration has three major steps:
1. Generate unique public DKIM Key value using default selector in Zoho Mail
2. Create TXT record in your domain’s DNS Manager (domain register/DNS provider)
3. Validate selector and enable DKIM in Zoho Mail
To complete the first step, follow these instructions:
1. Log in to control panel for Zoho Mail using Administrator credentials
2. Select Email Authentication and choose DKIM to navigate to DKIM configuration page
3. Click Edit icon across domain you want to configure DKIM
4. Click Add Selector to add new selector for domain
5. Provide selector name for domain to be used with Zoho Mail (e.g., zoho)
6. Click Save
7. Copy entire TXT record value to create necessary TXT record in DNS manager (second step above; zoho._domainkey.yourdomain.com)
As a user of this outbound email provider, Zoho Mail customers are afforded DKIM signing because it supports that mechanism. By utilizing Zoho Mail’s self-service portal, you can manually set up DKIM at your convenience via TXT records mentioned above. Overall, this Zoho Mail product provides beneficial components (e.g., DKIM signing, custom DKIM records, self-service set up with TXT records) that result in a streamlined process.