Below you can find a list of **recommended DNS records**. While some are mandatory for a mail server (A, MX), others are recommended to build a good reputation score (TXT/SPF) or used for auto-configuration of mail clients (SRV).
["How to eliminate spam and protect your name with DMARC"](https://www.skelleton.net/2015/03/21/how-to-eliminate-spam-and-protect-your-name-with-dmarc/)
Make sure that the PTR record of your IP address matches the FQDN of your mailcow host: `${MAILCOW_HOSTNAME}` [^1]. This record is usually set at the provider you leased the IP address (server) from.
This example shows you a set of records for one domain managed by mailcow. Each domain that is added to mailcow needs at least this set of records to function correctly.
In the example DNS zone file snippet below, a simple **SPF** TXT record is used to only allow THIS server (the MX) to send mail for your domain. Every other server is disallowed but able to ("`~all`"). Please refer to [SPF Project](http://www.open-spf.org/) for further reading.
It is highly recommended to create a **DKIM** TXT record in your mailcow UI and set the corresponding TXT record in your DNS records. Please refer to [OpenDKIM](http://www.opendkim.org) for further reading.
The last step in protecting yourself and others is the implementation of a **DMARC** TXT record, for example by using the [DMARC Assistant](http://www.kitterman.com/dmarc/assistant.html) ([check](https://dmarcian.com/dmarc-inspector/google.com)).
**SRV** records specify the server(s) for a specific protocol on your domain. If you want to explicitly announce a service as not provided, give "." as the target address (instead of "mail.example.org."). Please refer to [RFC 2782](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2782).
It is worth considering that if you request DMARC statistic reports to your mailcow server and your mailcow server is not configured correctly to receive these reports, you may not get accurate and complete results. Please consider using an alternative email domain for receiving DMARC reports.
It is worth mentioning, that the following suggestions are not a comprehensive list of all services and tools avaialble, but only a small few of the many choices.
These services may provide you with a TXT record you need to insert into your DNS records as the provider specifies. Please ensure to read the providers documentation from the service you choose as this process may vary.
To run a rudimentary email authentication check, send a mail to `check-auth at verifier.port25.com` and wait for a reply. You will find a report similar to the following:
[^1]: A **Fully Qualified Domain Name** (**FQDN**) is the complete (absolute) domain name for a specific computer or host, on the Internet. The FQDN consists of at least three parts divided by a dot: the hostname (myhost), the domain name (mydomain) and the top level domain in short **tld** (com). In the example of `mx.mailcow.email` the hostname would be `mx`, the domain name `mailcow` and the tld `email`.
