DomainKeys Identified Mail

DomainKeys Identified Mail, or DKIM, is a system for validating the legitimacy of an email message by using a digital signature. When DKIM is activated for a specific domain, a public cryptographic key is published to the global DNS database and a private one is kept on the email server. When a new message is sent, a signature is generated using the private key and when the message is received, the signature is ‘scanned’ by the incoming server using the public key. In this way, the recipient can easily recognize if the message is legitimate or if the sender’s email address has been spoofed. A mismatch will occur if the content of the email message has been modified in the meantime as well, so DomainKeys Identified Mail can also be used to ensure that the sent and the received email messages are identical and that nothing has been attached or deleted. This email validation system will boost your email safety, since you can verify the authenticity of the important emails that you receive and your partners can do the same with the messages that you send them. Depending on the particular mail service provider’s policy, an email that fails to pass the check may be deleted or may end up in the recipient’s inbox with a warning flag.