--- title: "Essential Steps You Must Know About Before You Create SPF Record For Your Business Domain | DuoCircle" description: "Join the thousands of organizations that use DuoCircle Find out how affordable it is for your organization today and be pleasantly surprised.Interested in" image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/content/spf-record-tester/create-spf-record/" --- Content # Essential Steps You Must Know About Before You Create SPF Record For Your Business Domain Join the thousands of organizations that use DuoCircle Find out how affordable it is for your organization today and be pleasantly surprised.Interested in [ Talk to an Expert → ](/contact/) [ See what we make ](/products/) ## Essential Steps You Must Know About Before You Create SPF Record For Your Business Domain [Fix Your SPF Errors Now](/email/spf-record-check) _ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) systems are exposed to several security threats in the day-to-day operations of an enterprise_. Securing email is an element that is fundamental and can be implemented with a minimum of skill sets to keep your organization’s information assets from falling into the hands of cyber adversaries. _A hostile incoming mail can infect the entire online network_, making it vulnerable to [unauthorized access of threat actors](https://www.guru99.com/potential-security-threats-to-your-computer-systems.html) to erase or steal data or render the system inaccessible. Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a protocol to **secure emails** through the [sender-authenticated IP address](https://sendgrid.com/docs/ui/account-and-settings/how-to-set-up-domain-authentication/) on behalf of associated domains. A published SPF record permits the delivery of legitimate emails from the published domains. However, SPF records are not of interest to spammers and phishers for forging emails pretending to be from that domain because such forged emails are bound to be caught in **spam filters** that check the SPF record. ![spf record tester](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/06/create-spf-record.png) ### Create SPF record Using The Following Steps There are five steps in a work instruction to **create an SPF record**. These are: #### Step 1: List Mail Servers Identify and make a list of mail servers the user depends on for sending emails. This shall include: - Web Server - In-office mail server - ISP’s mail server - The mail server of owner’s end users’ mailbox providers - Any third-party mail server operated on the owner’s behalf #### Step 2: List Domains Make a list of domains under the user’s control for sending emails and whether all these are in use. _Unused domains are potential targets of criminals to spoof_. #### Step 3: Create SPF record An SPF record authenticates a sender’s identity by matching the authorized IP addresses in the outbound mail servers published in its DNS record. It is a simple task for an email expert to create an SPF record. Those who do not want to get into too many details can go through [SPF record examples](/content/spf-record-tester/spf-record-example). An SPF record has a system of numbering, the current SPF version with “v=spf1”. An unlimited number of expressions follow that are evaluated in reverse order. A table can be created defining [SPF record syntax](/content/spf-record-tester/spf-record-syntax). #### Step 4: Publish SPF to DNS The SPF record can be [published to the DNS](https://www.yola.com/tutorials/article/Publish-to-a-domain-you-already-own-1285944418365/Publishing%5Fdomains%5Fand%5Femail) with the help of the DNS server administrator so that mailbox providers can reference it. _Email service providers typically publish SPF records for outbound domains on behalf of their customers_. #### Step 5: Use SPF record tester Finally, one can use an [SPF record tester](/content/spf-record-tester) and validate the SPF record. For instance, you can perform an [SPF record check google](/content/spf-record-tester/spf-record-check-google) offers to look for any issues with your domain’s SPF record. Emails are susceptible to **phishing attacks**, interceptions of mails in transit, and a security breach of archived emails. All components–the mail servers, the mail clients, and the infrastructure that connects and supports them–must be protected to overcome threats. In this post, we discussed the steps to create an SPF record. It is paramount to protect the email authentication process as most organizations use email communication for their business. One must also remember that each record is to be created and validated. ##### Join the thousands of organizations that use DuoCircle --- Find out how affordable it is for your organization today and be pleasantly surprised. [Auto SPF - Sign Up FREE](/email/spf-record-check)Interested in our Partner Program for MSPs and VARs? Visit Our [MSP Partner Program](/msp-partner-program). ## Ready to talk? Same-day response from someone technical. We tell you yes or no quickly. If yes, we get to work. 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