SPF: A Foundation for Email Authentication
Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a fundamental email authentication protocol that helps verify the authenticity of the sender’s IP address. By defining which IP addresses are authorized to send emails on behalf of a domain, SPF helps prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks.
How SPF Works
An SPF record is a DNS record that specifies the IP addresses or domains that are authorized to send emails for a particular domain. When a receiving mail server receives an email, it checks the SPF record of the sender’s domain to verify if the sending IP address is listed. If the IP address matches one of the authorized addresses, the email is likely legitimate.