How to set up DomainKeys Identified Mail authentication

Problem

How to generate the DomainKeys Identified Mail record in the Admin Console to then add it to your DNS records.

Environment

  • Gmail spam and abuse

Solution

  1. To configure DKIM you need to generate the record in the Admin console.
  2. Add it to your DNS records in your DNS service provider page, using this information:
    • Record type: TXT.
    • Host/name: The short part of what you generated which will be in bold, it will say google._domainkey, or it can be different if you changed the prefix.
    • Value: The long part (Text) of what you generated that will be in bold, it will start with v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=
    • TTL: default or 1 hour.
  3. Once added, go back to where you generated the information (in the Admin Console) and click on Start authentication.
Note: Propagation can take up to 48 hours. If you set up DKIM correctly and started authentication, the status will change to Authenticating email with DKIM. Some DNS hosts may not accept a 2048-bit key, so you may need to create a 1024-bit key instead.

Cause

You may want to add DKIM to prevent your messages from going to spam or to prevent your emails to be spoofed.