What is DKIM and how to create a DKIM record?

DKIM is a technique to secure your emails. In this article, we will explain in detail what DKIM is, and how to create one for your domain. Let’s dive in!

What is DKIM?

DKIM is a technique allowing the receiver of your email to verify that an email was indeed sent and authorized by the owner of the domain name. This is accomplished by adding a digital signature to your email (the email you sent). When the email is received from the server, it checks if this signature is valid and if so, it passes the email to your Inbox. 

Here is an example of how one DKIM record looks like:

v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEA1xk+RxRnwzixz+PScBInf7+q9IvIRZMlB27mSI6R+pTw33KLfD30YorUHzbysHxSHgis76wRixusdjJV3TQpaLbkl84o0+8y2CQcpqGovpXtSTOT/eOc2dEwKbvdhu0tWDNLnKb1y1CY5ja2PCiz5qJ2idZslF1SVbkQEPUXfQQHaAEo7rz6+9smXhhzP3BlgNa9EdYCpQwL0MAV6bcNjdx7PNCQPASluKiQzceTOn+j4jbzvPIJoczX8sHSEanwXyaaBihxeapWoBvflb+HgEfIn9/UICypiadQff8jEHhm/7pJAMThJkl4zm8JLAJ/tyRhHEG9Fg5kQEjIWlitOQIDAQAB

Why is it important to have DKIM enabled and configured?

The main three reasons why it is important to use DKIM for your emails are:

• Protection. Using DKIM allows the recipient to verify that the email has not changed while being sent;

• Better domain reputation, and therefore, a much smaller chance that your email will go to the SPAM folder;

• If you plan to use DMARC, DKIM is one of the foundational methods for DMARC.

How to create a DKIM record?

Now, to the main dish. In order to have properly working DKIM, you need two things:

• You need to create a new DNS record (TXT record) which will contain a similar to the above text;

• You need to “tell” your email server to sign your emails with a specific private key. 

To make this process easy, we suggest you use this tool. Open it, enter your domain and use the default selector (dkim). The tool will generate the DNS record and the private key which you will have to set. 

NOTICE: This process is entirely automated for our Shared Hosting service, and you do not have to do anything, DKIM is already set and configured.

How to verify the DKIM record?

The easiest way to test if DKIM is set correctly is to use this tool. The tool will give you an email address to which you have to send an email. Then check your results, and you will see the DKIM status.

If you have any questions regarding DKIM, do not hesitate, contact us.