Email Deliverability & Security Solutions

Securing and Optimizing Email Communication

Both email security and email deliverability are essential for effective communication. Email security helps protect your inbox from threats like phishing and malware, while email deliverability ensures your messages land in recipients’ inboxes, avoiding spam filters. With proper email configuration, including protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, you can enhance both security and deliverability, ensuring safe and reliable communication.

Fix Email Deliverability & Improve Email Marketing Performance with our Specialists

Looking to improve your email deliverability, reduce spam rates, or enhance email security? Our team of expert email marketing specialists can help you navigate the complexities of email management. Whether it’s configuring DNS records for successful email campaigns or integrating your systems with leading tools like MailChimp, Brevo (formerly SendInblue), MailerLite, Klaviyo, or HubSpot, we’ve got you covered.

We specialize in optimizing email communication strategies to ensure that your messages reach the right audience effectively and securely. From improving inbox placement to managing third-party integrations, our specialists have the expertise to elevate your email performance.

Additionally, we can help configure misconfigured email settings, ensuring your email deliverability is optimized with DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records. These are essential for securing your email communications and avoiding common issues that lead to spam filters or delivery failures.

Don’t let poor email management hold you back. Speak to one of our email specialists today and take your email marketing strategy to the next level.

The Phantom Menace: Spam, Phishing, and Bounce Rates

Imagine your inbox as a bustling marketplace. Among the legitimate traders, there lurk shady characters peddling counterfeit goods. These are the spammers and phishers.
But there’s another menace—emails that bounce back, failing to reach their destination. High bounce rates can harm your sender reputation and email deliverability.

The Guardians: Authentication, Authorization, and Reputation Management

Every email wears a cloak of identity. Is it really from your bank or just an imposter? Authentication protocols like SPF and DKIM verify the sender’s credentials.
Authorization ensures that only authorized messengers can enter the castle. Think of it as the bouncer at an exclusive party.
And when it comes to email deliverability, managing your sender reputation is key. A good email deliverability service will help you maintain a strong sender reputation.

The Seal of Trust: DKIM Signatures and Feedback Loops

DKIM adds a digital wax seal to emails. When you break the seal, you know the contents are genuine. It’s like receiving a letter with the royal insignia.
In the realm of email deliverability, feedback loops with ISPs allow you to learn which emails are marked as spam, helping you improve your future email campaigns.

The Journey: MX Records, Routing, and Email List Hygiene

Emails embark on a journey. MX records guide them to the right destination—the mail servers. It’s like GPS for messages.
Along the way, they encounter gatekeepers who check their passports (SPF and DKIM). If all’s well, they proceed; otherwise, they’re detained.
And just as important is maintaining a clean email list. Regularly removing unengaged subscribers can improve your deliverability rates.

The Final Verdict: DMARC and Deliverability Metrics

DMARC sits atop the castle walls, surveying the email landscape. It combines SPF and DKIM intelligence.
When an email arrives, DMARC decides its fate: deliver, quarantine, or banish it to the spam dungeon.
Meanwhile, tracking your deliverability metrics—like bounce rates, open rates, and click-through rates—can provide valuable insights for improving your email campaigns.

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What are components of Email Securities?

Email security involves various measures to protect email communication from threats such as phishing, spam, malware, and unauthorized access. One essential component is authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) helps verify that the sender’s IP address is authorized to send emails on behalf of a domain, reducing the likelihood of spoofing and phishing attacks. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to outgoing emails, allowing recipients to verify that the message hasn’t been tampered with in transit and originated from an authenticated source. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) builds upon SPF and DKIM by providing domain owners with control over how their email is authenticated, specifying policy actions for failed authentication, and enabling them to receive reports on email activity, enhancing overall email trustworthiness and integrity.

Click to expand the individual components below to read more about core components of good email security solutions:

Email Authentication

Email authentication ensures that the sender is legitimate and authorized to send emails on behalf of a domain.
Two common authentication methods are:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): SPF allows a domain to list all authorized servers that can send emails on its behalf. It’s like an employee directory for email servers.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): DKIM enables domain owners to “sign” emails using cryptography, verifying their authenticity.

Email Integrity

Ensuring the integrity of email content is vital. No unauthorized modifications should occur during transmission.
DKIM plays a role here by providing a digital signature that verifies the email’s origin.

Authorization and Identity

Authorization ensures that only authorized entities can send emails on behalf of a domain.
SPF and DKIM help demonstrate legitimacy, like licenses displayed in an office.

SPF Records

SPF records list IP addresses of servers authorized to send emails for a domain.
Mail servers check incoming emails against SPF records to validate their authenticity.

To create a full SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record for the domain “tkwebhosts.com”, you need to define which servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of this domain. SPF records are TXT records added to the domain’s DNS settings. Here’s an example SPF record for tkwebhosts.com:

tkwebhosts.com. IN TXT "v=spf1 mx a include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net include:sparkpostmail.com ~all"

Let’s break down this SPF record:

v=spf1: This declares the version of SPF being used.
mx: Allows the domain’s MX (Mail Exchange) servers to send emails.
a: Allows the domain’s A record (IPv4 address) to send emails.
include:_spf.google.com: Includes Google’s SPF record, authorizing Google’s servers to send emails on behalf of the domain.
include:sendgrid.net: Includes SendGrid’s SPF record, authorizing SendGrid’s servers to send emails on behalf of the domain.
include:sparkpostmail.com: Includes SparkPost’s SPF record, authorizing SparkPost’s servers to send emails on behalf of the domain.
~all: Specifies the default SPF policy as “soft fail”, which means that emails failing SPF validation should be treated with suspicion but not necessarily rejected. Alternatively, you could use -all to indicate a strict policy where emails failing SPF validation should be rejected.

MX Records

MX (Mail Exchange) records specify the mail servers responsible for receiving emails for a domain.
These records guide email delivery to the correct destination.

Here’s an example of MX records for the domain “tkwebhosts.com”:

tkwebhosts.com. IN MX 10 mail.tkwebhosts.com.

tkwebhosts.com. IN MX 20 backup.mail.tkwebhosts.com.

Let’s break down these MX records:

tkwebhosts.com. IN MX 10 mail.tkwebhosts.com.:
- Priority: 10 (lower numbers indicate higher priority)
- Mail Server: mail.tkwebhosts.com
tkwebhosts.com. IN MX 20 backup.mail.tkwebhosts.com.:
- Priority: 20
- Mail Server: backup.mail.tkwebhosts.com

These MX records specify that incoming emails for “tkwebhosts.com” should be routed to two different mail servers, with “mail.tkwebhosts.com” having higher priority than “backup.mail.tkwebhosts.com”. If the primary mail server is unavailable, emails will be routed to the backup mail server.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a method used by email senders to associate a domain name with an email message, thereby allowing the sender to claim some responsibility for the message. DKIM uses cryptographic signatures to verify that an email message was sent from an authorized mail server and hasn’t been altered in transit.

DKIM uses public key cryptography to verify that an email came from the claimed domain.
A domain’s private key signs the email’s header, and receiving servers verify it using the public key.

To set up DKIM for the domain “tkwebhosts.com”, you need to generate DKIM keys and add DKIM records to your DNS settings. Here’s an example of how DKIM records might look for “tkwebhosts.com”:

default._domainkey.tkwebhosts.com. IN TXT "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQC7mNM9nM1bk6RtPE9pVL1d6jRvgdpw/TH3JXUgOwLfDwXWwDc/XTaBz0lj8sK9cXJth/03pAAdkfkfqQx6xJ0LNKQIkLac2NPkpbkKsYS+2RbYJz6dauhfhMscSyKgQhL3dE6g2bQwJb9fJplKXYuVesfm5wlYmfBgdn7nQIDAQAB"

Let’s break down this DKIM record:

default._domainkey.tkwebhosts.com.: This is the selector prefix used to indicate the DKIM key record. The “default” part is the selector, and “_domainkey” is a constant string.
IN TXT: This specifies the DNS record type as TXT.
"v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQC7mNM9nM1bk6RtPE9pVL1d6jRvgdpw/TH3JXUgOwLfDwXWwDc/XTaBz0lj8sK9cXJth/03pAAdkfkfqQx6xJ0LNKQIkLac2NPkpbkKsYS+2RbYJz6dauhfhMscSyKgQhL3dE6g2bQwJb9fJplKXYuVesfm5wlYmfBgdn7nQIDAQAB": This is the DKIM public key itself, encoded as a string in the DNS TXT record.

Before adding DKIM records, you need to generate DKIM keys using your email server provider or a DKIM key generator tool. Once generated, you’ll typically add the public key to your DNS settings as shown above.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance)

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that helps protect email domains from being used for email spoofing, phishing scams, and other malicious activities. It allows domain owners to specify how their email should be authenticated, what action should be taken if authentication fails, and how to receive reports about emails claiming to be from their domain.

DMARC combines SPF and DKIM.
It instructs receiving servers on how to handle emails that fail authentication.
Actions include delivering the email, marking it as spam, or rejecting it outright.

To set up DMARC for the domain “tkwebhosts.com”, you would create a DMARC record in your DNS settings. Here’s an example of how a DMARC record might look for “tkwebhosts.com”:

_dmarc.tkwebhosts.com. IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]; ruf=mailto:[email protected]; sp=quarantine; fo=1; pct=100; rf=afrf"

Let’s break down this DMARC record:

_dmarc.tkwebhosts.com.: This is the subdomain used for DMARC records.
IN TXT: This specifies the DNS record type as TXT.
"v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]; ruf=mailto:[email protected]; sp=quarantine; fo=1; pct=100; rf=afrf": This is the DMARC policy and configuration.

Explanation of DMARC tags in the record:

v=DMARC1: This indicates the version of DMARC being used.
p=quarantine: This specifies the DMARC policy action to be taken if an email fails DMARC authentication. In this example, it’s set to “quarantine”, meaning that failing emails should be treated as suspicious and may be placed in the recipient’s spam or quarantine folder.
rua=mailto:[email protected]: This specifies the email address to which aggregate reports (summaries of DMARC activity) should be sent.
ruf=mailto:[email protected]: This specifies the email address to which forensic reports (detailed reports about individual email messages) should be sent.
sp=quarantine: This specifies the policy action to be taken for subdomains of tkwebhosts.com.
fo=1: This specifies the format for generating forensic reports. A value of “1” indicates “generate a report if both SPF and DKIM authentication fail”.
pct=100: This specifies the percentage of messages subjected to filtering based on the DMARC policy. Here, it’s set to 100%.
rf=afrf: This indicates the format of the failure reports sent to the specified email addresses. “afrf” stands for “Authentication Failure Reporting Format”.

Email Encryption and Data Privacy

email encryption plays a crucial role in securing sensitive information transmitted via email. Transport Layer Security (TLS) encrypts email communication during transmission, preventing eavesdropping and interception of messages in transit. End-to-end encryption solutions like Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) or Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) encrypt email content from the sender’s client to the recipient’s client, ensuring that only authorized parties can access the message contents. Implementing strong encryption practices not only safeguards sensitive data but also enhances privacy and confidentiality in email communication, bolstering overall email security posture against various cyber threats.

Managed Email Security Services

Our Managed Email Security Services are designed to protect your email communications across various platforms, ensuring robust security and optimized deliverability. We provide comprehensive security solutions tailored to the following platforms:

Microsoft Office 365: Safeguard your Office 365 emails with advanced threat protection, anti-phishing, and encryption features to secure sensitive data.
Google Workspace: Protect your Google Workspace emails with multi-layered security features, including spam filtering, two-factor authentication, and advanced malware protection.
ProtonMail: Enhance security with ProtonMail’s end-to-end encryption for highly sensitive communications, ensuring full privacy and protection.
Runbox.com: Secure your Runbox emails with advanced encryption and robust privacy protections, designed for users focused on security and sustainability.
IMAP Email: Manage and secure your IMAP-based email systems with our comprehensive services, including encryption, spam protection, and malware filtering.
Other Email Platforms: We offer security services for a wide range of other email platforms, ensuring your communication is protected, no matter which service you use.

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