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In response to the new DMARC requirements from Gmail and Yahoo, we have added a new feature to our hosting Control Panel that simplifies DMARC compliance for your domains.

What is DMARC?

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that builds on two existing mechanisms: SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). Both SPF and DKIM are already available as protection options in the ICDSoft hosting Control Panel > DNS Manager and are enabled by default. For DMARC to work, you need to have SPF and/or DKIM protection enabled (having both enabled is recommended).

SPF and DKIM are like digital signatures for your emails. They help ensure that your emails are actually coming from your domain, protecting it from unauthorized use, such as spoofing. DMARC takes this a step further by allowing you to specify how email providers handle emails from your domain that don’t pass SPF or DKIM checks.

By using DMARC, SPF, and DKIM, you are telling email providers like Gmail and Yahoo that your emails are genuine. This can help your messages reach the inbox instead of the spam/junk folder of the intended recipients.

How to Enable DMARC?

We have simplified the process to enable DKIM protection as much as possible by implementing a 1-click option in the hosting Control Panel > DNS Manager > Mail protection. When you enable it, our system will add a TXT DNS record for _dmarc.domain.com (where domain.com is your actual domain name). The default TXT record implements a relaxed DMARC policy for the domain, which is the recommended way to start.

Should you require a more customized DMARC setup, you can easily edit the TXT record directly via the DNS Manager section and adjust it according to your specific needs.

You can find more detailed information in our article on DMARC protection.

Do You Actually Need DMARC?

If you send more than 5000 messages/day to Gmail or Yahoo mailboxes, then yes, you do need a DMARC record.

DMARC isn’t required if you send fewer than 5000 messages per day to mailboxes at Gmail or Yahoo. In other words, if you have SPF and/or DKIM protection enabled (which is the default option on our servers), and you don't send more than 5000 messages/day to Gmail or Yahoo, you don't have to do anything at this point.

While it is not a strict requirement for most senders, having a DMARC record is still advisable as it can improve the deliverability of your messages. Furthermore, its adoption among mail providers will probably increase in the future. This is why new domains in the Control Panel (e.g. domains for new accounts, new parked domains) will have a default DMARC record added automatically.

We hope you will find the option to easily enable DMARC for your domains useful. Although most users may not actually need DMARC at this point, we still believe it is better to add DMARC protection as an option in our Control Panel for the convenience and ease of mind of our customers.