Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance

What Does Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance Mean?

Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) is a white-list system for email communications meant to limit different types of email-based hacking or fraudulent activities such as email spoofing.

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DMARC relies on the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) resources to stop various kinds of phishing, spamming and abuse of email messaging systems.

Techopedia Explains Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance

Part of the idea behind DMARC is that a large percentage of email comes through various network territories of major tech companies and other large firms.

All these firms have contributed to this system for authenticating email and making sure that emails are coming from legitimate sources.

The Online Trust Alliance tracks the adoption of DMARC and releases reports showing various data for email routing. A current draft of DMARC is maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Along with heuristic email filtering systems and other tools, DMARC and similar programs can limit the amount of unauthenticated or illegitimate email that floods inboxes.

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Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…