Are You Sender Authenticated?

[JohnG]

Are you Sender Authenticated?

By John Glube, © 2004, all rights reserved of the Journal

Do you send e-mail from your own domain? Have your domain
pointing to a static IP address? Use this static IP address when
sending e-mail? Want to enhance delivery rates for your e-mail
messages?

Then you want to authenticate the domain with the IP address you
use when sending e-mail.

Why do this? More and more Email access services and Internet
service providers are relying on sender authentication as a way
of avoiding receiving e-mail from spammers. Best of all, it does
not cost you anything to enroll in the program.

How do you do this? Simple. Create the necessary text in the
Domain Name Service (DNS) listing for the domain and IP address
you use to send email with the Sender Policy Framework (SPF).

How does SPF work? When you send an email message from your
domain, before accepting delivery the receipient's mail server
queries the DNS data base. The purpose? To verify the "from
e-mail address" and IP address used in the e-mail message is
authorized to send e-mail.

The reason? Most spammers use fake information for the "from
e-mail address" and relay their e-mail messages. Why? To hide
their identity.

With the recipient's mail server sending a question to the DNS
data base which in essence says, please confirm this is a valid
"from e-mail address" and IP address which can send e-mail, this
helps recipients cut down on spam.

Since you are sending affirmative consent (to use the languge in
the CAN SPAM Act of 2003) or more commonly called solicited
e-mail, hiding your identity is not a concern.

Don't want to have your messages bounced. Then you want to
authenticate your identity.

Of course, as you probably know, it helps to have your
subscribers white list the from e-mail address you use when
sending out your e-zine.

And before you send out your message, make sure you check it out
for spamminess. Here is the link to a free service you can use
to aid you in this process: http://www.ezinecheck.com/check.html

Hey, want another tip? Do you use a 3rd party service provider
to send your e-mail.

Then ask your provider this question, is the domain and IP
addresses for their mail servicers listed with SPF to enhance
delivery?

If you get a response, like what is SPF, send your provider a
copy of this article. It won't cost your provider anything to
enroll and will benefit all their customers.

And if you are in the market, looking for a provider make sure
the domain and IP address for their mail servers are listed with
SPF.

For details on the SPF program ... go to this web site
http://www.spf.pobox.com and in particular check out these pages:

Setting Up SPF DNS Records http://www.spf.pobox.com/dns.html

SPF Publishers Wizard http://www.spf.pobox.com/wizard.html

Giving you all the detailed information you need. Also, you can
sign up for their help mailing list designed to help SPF
newcomers through the process.

John Glube, Publisher and Editor of the Journal. Want to survive
the Spam wars? The you need to read Who Pays And How To Survive
The E-mail Transition, http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/emwp.html

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[This article was edited slightly after the original post.]