 |
 |
|
Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News | Media Information | Advertise with Natural News | |||
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
 Email this article to a friend  Printable Version FREE Email Newsletter
Email authentication verifies the identity of the source computer sending the email, matching the sender of the message to the domain that the email message is purportedly coming from. Currently, there are two common types of authentication enjoying widespread use: Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys. SPFSender Policy Framework or SPF is an extension of Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), the current standard for sending email. SPF was designed to address email spoofing, a spammer practice of forging of an email sender's address, by verifying information from the email message "envelope," mainly the return-path email address. Like a postal mail envelope, the email message envelope describes who the email message is from, and to whom it is going.The authentication of the SPF record on the Domain Name System (DNS) server, responsible for a particular web domain, is what determines the message status (pass, fail, softfail, etc.) that is subsequently passed to the recipient mail server. The SPF record specifies which email servers are allowed to send email for a particular domain. The DNS server manages the network of computers connected to a domain. These include the "A" record, which indicates the web server for that domain, a pointer record (PTR) that manages the reverse DNS lookups, and mail exchange (MX) records, which are the mail servers responsible for delivering email for the domain. SPF simply performs a check on one or more of these computers to verify to the recipient mail server their status. In other words, it authenticates them. SPF by itself does not prevent spam (the recipient mail server reads the information in the SPF file, then makes a delivery determination based on the status); however, there are many larger ISPs using SPF for authentication, including MSN and Gmail. The way to tell for sure if SPF is being used is to look for the SPF status in the email headers. A typical response from a server with SPF implemented may have a header that looks like this: Received-SPF: pass DomainKeysDomainKeys is an authentication system independent of SMTP protocol and deals with email headers which are outside the message envelope. DomainKeys was designed to identify email spoofing and does not directly prevent abusive behavior, but it does make such behavior easier to track. Yahoo! implemented DomainKeys in 2004 for its outbound email, and since 2005 has tracked incoming keys.To implement DomainKeys, the SMTP server operator specifies a public/private key pair. The public key is located on the DNS server, and the private key is configured on the SMTP server. When sending emails, the SMTP checks in with the DNS, and if verified, adds a DomainKeys signature to the message headers. The receiving server then reads the signature and checks the public key on the DNS server to verify the signature. It then uses that information to apply a rule or deliver the email to the final recipient. If there is no match, the message can be ignored, since it is apparently a spoof. When Yahoo! receives an email that doesn't have a key pair specified, it will simply indicate in the message header a neutral domain key signature. Yahoo! could eventually reject email messages that are not digitally signed, but currently it delivers neutrally sighed messages. To determine if a server implements DomainKeys, look at the full headers of the email received. A typical DomainKeys header looks like this: Authentication-Results: mail.someisp.com from=email.somedomain.com; domainkeys=pass (ok) SummaryEmail message senders are responsible for implementing both SPF and DomainKeys at the SMTP server and DNS level, although neither authentication format is mandatory at this time. While these authentication policies are not required now, as more ISP email providers utilize these methods to determine legitimate email messages, the greater impact they will have on email message delivery.This article was authored by Arial Software, a developer of e-mail marketing newsletter software that sends personalized e-mails. For more information visit www.ArialSoftware.com Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter Related CounterThink Cartoons:
|
 8 Weeks to Vibrant HealthLearn why this is the must-read guide to women's health you've been waiting for... Click here...
|
|||||||||||||||||
| What is this? |
Additional Products of Interest to AllKatadyn Exstream XR Water Purifier☯#1 personal water purifier for clean, pristine water in seconds Preparedness Tools Natural News Bundle☯ For preparedness and safety: 60% off for preparing for natural disasters How to Halt Diabetes in 25 Days☯ Health Ranger guide to reversing diabetes for reversing type-2 diabetes Free download: Selling Sickness (summary) Read the best book on disease mongering for learning the truth about Big Pharma Revealed: Natural Health Solutions (free) Free summary of book by Mike Adams for learning censored natural health remedies Exposed! The Toxic Chemistry of Products Free summary of this shocking book for learning the truth about toxic products Appetite for Profit (free download) Free download summary of this top book for discovering the truth about food companies The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton A free download of Biology of Belief for learning about the mind-biology connection The Genie In Your Genes by Dawson Church A free, downloadable summary of this book for learning about the biology of intention Katadyn MicroPur Water Purifier Tablets☯ The best water purification tablets for purifying almost any water source The Weiss Method for Heart Disease☯ How to reverse heart disease naturally for heart disease, high cholesterol * Products do NOT pay to be listed here. These are genuine, independent recommendations by the Health Ranger ☯ Products with this symbol are sold by NaturalNews or its affiliates and earn revenues for NaturalNews |
Also on NaturalNews:• Streaming Health Ranger Videos• CounterThink Cartoons • FREE Special Reports • Podcasts |
Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News | Media Information | Advertise with Natural News This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2009 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners. |
 |
Email this article to a friend
Share this article on: 
