--- title: "Learn How DKIM Works & Why DKIM Validation Is Important | 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/resources/dkim-validation/" --- Resource # Learn How DKIM Works & Why DKIM Validation Is Important 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/) ## Learn How DKIM Works & Why DKIM Validation Is Important Why DKIM validation is a crucial element as it ensures the presence and accuracy of a DKIM record. [Get DMARC Monitoring](/email/dmarc) ###### [EMAIL SECURITY SERVICES](/) ###### [PLANS AND PRICING](/email/dmarc#pricingarea) ###### [DMARC REPORTING](/email/dmarc) Emails are the most convenient modes of communication, but they come with their pitfalls. _Malicious actors prefer the email route to push in their malware through phishing and other techniques_. Hence, it is imperative to ensure that the email received in the inbox is genuine. One such technique that authorizes emails is DKIM, which does the job using a [DKIM record](/resources/what-is-dkim). And **DKIM validation** is the process that ensures a DKIM record is set up correctly. ![what is DKIM](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/06/DKIM-validation-tool.png) DKIM or DomainKeys Identified Mail is an _email authentication technique that enables the receiver to check that the email was sent and authorized by the particular domain’s rightful owner_ without any tampering in transit by a malicious actor. _DKIM validation is crucial for implementing DKIM_. [DKIM test tools](/resources/dkim-checker) are available to check and validate the DKIM record for a specific domain. ### How DKIM Works In **DKIM authentication**, the sending server signs every email with a key. It includes the body of the email and various headers. It will have ‘From,’ ‘ To,’ ‘Subject,’ and ‘Date.’ Besides these headers, _the signature is included as an additional header to enable the receiving email servers to verify it_. There will be a pair of [DKIM keys](https://support.google.com/a/answer/174126?hl=en), namely the private and the public key. The public key is published in the sending domain’s [DNS zone](https://support.dnsimple.com/articles/dkim-record/). The signature in the message and the public key help the receiving servers ensure that the email arrives the same way the sender sent it without any tampering or modification in between. _The DKIM keys are found as TXT records in the form ‘selector domainkey’_. They are handy when there are multiple senders besides the regular emails with the hosting package. [![dkim validation service](https://www.duocircle.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/dkim-validation.jpg)](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/dkim-validation.jpg) ### Importance Of DKIM DKIM enables organizations to authenticate emails, thereby protecting the email traffic. As this technique signs emails with a specific key, it allows the recipient to verify and ensure no tampering or modification of the email message occurs in transit. Thus, _DKIM is a critical aspect of **email authentication** and protection_. The [DKIM checker](/resources/dkim-checker) plays a crucial role in DKIM validation to verify the presence and validity of a DKIM record. All the user has to do is enter the domain and the selector to validate the domain’s DKIM record. ### How To Identify The DKIM Selector? If you go through the [DKIM signature](https://help.returnpath.com/hc/en-us/articles/222438487-DKIM-signature-header-detail), you can find the DKIM selector specified in the header. It indicates the location of the public DKIM key portion of the DKIM key pair in the DNS. For example, if one has to validate [google apps DKIM](https://toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/checkmx/), one should look at the x google DKIM signature header. ### Final Words _DKIM email authentication technique ensures that the email has originated from an authenticated source_ and that there has not been any tampering in transit. It is essential because malicious actors can take advantage and send **phishing emails** with harmful attachments to infiltrate network servers and cause data breaches. And DKIM validation ensures that the DKIM record exists in the DNS and is correctly set up, thus ensuring security in the email path. ##### Join the thousands of organizations that use DuoCircle --- Find out how affordable it is for your organization today and be pleasantly surprised. [Get DMARC Monitoring](/email/dmarc) 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. [Talk to an Expert→](/contact/)[See what we make](/products/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. We deliver about 90% of category-leader capability at roughly half the price, backed by experts who own the outcome. 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