What is the best way to identify all company mail streams and sending tools?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit suggests using third-party email analysis tools to identify all sending sources. These tools analyze email headers and DMARC reports to provide a comprehensive overview of your email streams, including those you may not be aware of.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid recommends performing a comprehensive email infrastructure audit to identify all email sending sources. This audit should include reviewing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, as well as examining internal systems and applications that send emails.
Email marketer from Mailgun highlights the importance of identifying all mail streams and explains that knowing all sources helps maintain control over your sending reputation and prevent unauthorized sending, which is crucial for email deliverability. They recommend auditing all systems and applications that send emails on behalf of your domain.
Email marketer from Stackoverflow explains that identifying internal mail relays and applications that send emails directly is crucial. They suggest reviewing server configurations, application settings, and scripts to uncover all internal mail streams. Tools like network scanners can also help identify these internal sources.
Email marketer from SparkPost suggests implementing DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) to gain visibility into all email streams using your domain. DMARC reports provide insights into sending sources, authentication status, and potential unauthorized use of your domain for email sending.
Email marketer from Mxtoolbox suggests using DNS records to identify potential mail streams. Check your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to see which servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. This helps you identify both legitimate and unauthorized sending sources.
Email marketer from Gmass states that regularly auditing your email sending practices and infrastructure is essential for identifying all mail streams. This includes reviewing user accounts, application configurations, and third-party integrations to ensure all sending sources are accounted for.
Email marketer from Litmus highlights the use of email testing tools to analyze email headers and identify sending sources. These tools can provide insights into the email's path, authentication status, and potential deliverability issues, helping you identify all mail streams.
Marketer from Email Geeks responds that the purpose of DMARC aggregate reports is to identify mail streams. They should contain data about all use of a given domain in the visible From header of messages as seen by mailbox providers that send reports. This includes mail you or your agents sent and authenticated with SPF and/or DKIM, mail you or your agents sent but did not authenticate with SPF and DKIM and mail that others sent using your domain in an unauthorized manner. A rua tag in the DMARC record would indicate that an attempt was made.
Email marketer from Postmark suggests that it is important to inventory all third-party services and integrations that send emails on your behalf. This includes marketing automation platforms, transactional email providers, and other applications that may use your domain to send emails. Ensure that these services are properly configured and authenticated.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that implementing a comprehensive email authentication strategy, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, is crucial for identifying and managing all email streams. This involves setting up these authentication methods and regularly monitoring DMARC reports to gain visibility into all sending sources using your domain.
Expert from Spam Resource recommends using a DMARC monitoring service to help identify and track all email streams using your domain. These services provide detailed reports on sending sources, authentication results, and potential security issues, making it easier to identify both legitimate and unauthorized email streams.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that you shouldn’t rule out talking to your sysadmins, or whoever owns your DNS, and checking SPF records too as that may tell you about mail streams using domains you didn’t know about.
Expert from Word to the Wise suggests that to effectively identify all company mail streams, it’s essential to audit all systems and applications that have the capability to make outbound connections. This includes servers, marketing platforms, CRM systems, and even IoT devices that might be configured to send emails or alerts. By reviewing each system's configuration and logs, administrators can uncover unexpected or unauthorized mail streams. The article highlights the importance of a proactive approach to prevent shadow IT from compromising email deliverability and security.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from DKIM explains that DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) signatures can help identify legitimate email streams. By implementing and monitoring DKIM, you can ensure that emails sent from your domain are properly authenticated, making it easier to identify unauthorized sending sources.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that you can use the Email log search in the Google Admin console to track messages sent from your domain. This tool allows you to filter by sender, recipient, date, and other criteria to identify all email streams originating from your organization's Google Workspace accounts.
Documentation from Microsoft Docs explains that Message Trace in the Exchange admin center (EAC) can be used to track email messages as they travel through your Exchange Online organization. It allows you to identify all email streams by filtering based on sender, recipient, and date range. This is particularly useful for identifying internal and external mail streams.
Documentation from RFC explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records can be used to list all authorized mail servers for your domain. By reviewing and maintaining an accurate SPF record, you can identify legitimate email streams and prevent unauthorized sending. It involves listing all IP addresses and domains that are allowed to send emails on behalf of your domain.