What is DKIM Record?

Domain Keys Identified Mails [DKIM] is designed to ensure that transit messages between the recipient and sender cannot be forged or altered. This technique uses encryption to provide secure mail transfer standards. To sign the email, both a private key signature and public-key cryptography are used. Similarly, the recipient server uses the public key in the domain's DNS to verify the message sources. Additionally, the message body remains unchanged throughout the transition. In other words, the SMTP server can examine the email signature and validate the sender's domain. The message finally passes the DKIM and is considered accurate.

How does DKIM function?

Domain Keys Identified Mails, or DKIM, is easy to implement. It can work with any tools which can perform asymmetric encryption. For this, you may need to generate a pair of public and private keys and place the public key. This can be a TXT record for the domain and serves as the sender's address. Each email message's private key is utilized to generate the DKIM signature. The hash code is calculated by combining the email's content with the private key. Using a security algorithm, this field is saved as the email's header. Public-key cryptography's defining characteristic is that the keys are typically related, much like siblings. This specific use of a public key enables everyone to determine whether an email came from the domain owner or not. This method can also be used to validate the input. Email service providers issue a warning if it fails. Occasionally, these messages are placed in the spam folder by default or the sender's IP address is blocked. Now, let's discuss how to set up or manually enable DKIM.

How to Set Up DKIM?

DKIM is one of the best methods for determining the identity of the server. Explaining DKIM configuration in simple steps:

• List of Every Sending Domain

If you are searching for the correct DKIM configuration steps, you should identify all the domains from which you send an email. This is a crucial step in the DKIM configuration. Occasionally, your organization may use multiple agents to send an email, including corporate emails and marketing messages. Here, you must configure the DKIM records for all of your sending domains and subdomains.

You may utilize the Return Path Platform, which can recommend return paths to ensure that no related domains or subdomains are missed. In contrast, Sender Score enables you to locate the entire domain and subdomain by entering your domain. This will also help you discover previously unknown or previously unheard-of brands that use your domain to send an email.

• Configuration of DKIM on Your Email Server

You must install and configure the DKIM package for your email server specifically. That is, all emails that are sent must be signed with DKIM. First, verify that your platform supports DKIM software. You can use the DKIM.org website for this purpose, or you can directly contact your server management service provider. The DKIM package is dependent on the email server's operating system. Also dependent on the operating system and DKIM package is the installation procedure.

• Set up a pair of public and private DKIM key

Using a DKIM key wizard, you must generate a pair of public and private keys. You can find this by using Google to search for the DKIM wizard, which will return multiple results for generating key pairs.

If necessary, correct the selector names for the generated key pairs. The selectors instruct the email servers where to locate the public key for each domain. Importantly, you must standardize the selector names so that they are easy to locate and track. We recommend that you make the selector descriptive and maintain a key length of at least 1024 bits.

• Publish Your Public Key

The selector record contains the subdomain where the public key is stored. This specific key is composed of the selector name and domain name. In other words, your DKIM wizard will return the selector record as "(selector). DomainKeys." For instance, domain.com will display business. domainkey.domain.com if the selector name is "business."

The public key should now be stored in the TXT section of the specified domain. The value of the record will be a formatted version of the DKIM key. There will be key-identifying information that can inform the recipient about the DKIM key. To publish this update, you may need to connect with server administrators or collaborate with system administrators.

• Safeguard Your Private Key

Your private key is also generated by the DKIM wizard. This private key will be stored whenever a DKIM package specification is encountered.

• Configuring the Email Server

To ensure that the installation was completed successfully and is functioning properly, you will need to perform additional configuration steps. Since it depends entirely on your server, you can obtain assistance from your email server consultant.

• Final Testing

After successfully configuring your system, test it. To accomplish this, you may utilize the DKIM Record Checker. This method allows you to determine whether the email server can locate the public key.