What Is Phishing and How to Prevent It With Google Workspace
If you work with emails, you need to know what phishing is and how to prevent it.
In the Admin console at https://admin.google.com, click the Apps icon.
Select Google Workspace.
Click Gmail. Make sure not to check the box to the left; just click the service.
Select Authenticate email.
Click GENERATE NEW RECORD. If you have multiple domains, you need to generate a unique record for each of them. Click Selected domain to make sure you are generating the record for the right domain.
Select DKIM key bit length: 1024.
A note here – 2048 is the better option as it’s considered safer. However, not all hosting providers will allow you to add 2048 characters to the TXT record.
Not adding all characters exactly as they are presented in the Admin console breaks the setting. If you go with 2048, make sure to verify that none of the text gets cut off after pasting it in your DNS settings.
Prefix selector: leave it as google.
Click GENERATE.
Now you see the DNS Host name and TXT record value. Don’t close this page.
Copy the DNS Host name, which should be google._domainkey, and go to your hosting’s DNS settings to add a new TXT record.
Here is a list of links to the most frequently used hosting providers’ pages that show you how to add records and contact support. If you don’t see your hosting in the list, go to Google Search and look for “add txt record -your domain host’s name here-” (for example: add txt record Siteground.com)
Then follow your domain host’s guide on creating a TXT record. Contact the hosting’s support team if you can’t find instructions or they don’t help.
This is an example of what a DNS management page looks when you’re adding a TXT record.
We’re adding a TXT record where the Host Name is google._domainkey. The host appends the superadminhelper.com domain by default, but this may not be the case in your hosting.
Ultimately, you need the record to be hosted at google._domainkey.yourdomain.com (or .org, etc.)
Then back on the Google Workspace page, copy the code under TXT record value.
Paste it into the TXT Value field in your hosting’s TXT setup page.
Make sure to click SAVE after adding the record.
After saving the record at your hosting, back on the Google Workspace page, click START AUTHENTICATION.
When done correctly, the Status: will change to Authenticating email.
Please note that after adding the record, it may take up to 24 hours or more to start working before you can finish the process with this step.
If you get an error, this may be because your account is still new. New accounts usually get an error during the first 3 days after sign-up.
Otherwise, you must double-check your record using public DNS-checking tools. You can go to https://toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/main/ and click Dig.
Then under Name, type google._domainkey.yourdomain.com and click on TXT.
If your record has been added successfully, you will see it displayed in the info below.
Even if you see the record, you still may get an error in Google Workspace. The reason is that it can take some time to propagate. Propagation can take up to 24-48 hours in the worst-case scenario, but it usually takes less than an hour.
However, if you don’t see the record on the Toolbox site, you should contact your hosting’s support team to look into it as there may be an issue on their side.
Additionally, you need to add one more TXT record for email authentication – this one is called SPF (Sender Policy Framework).
It allows you to specify all legitimate email servers you allow to send email from your domain. This is crucial.
The TXT record must contain this exact text: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
Unlike DKIM, this record is not unique. It’s the same for all Google Workspace accounts.
If you also plan on sending through other mail servers, you need to add them to the SPF record just before ‘include:_spf.google.com ~all,’ using the ip4:address format.
For example, if you also want to send from a mail server with the IP address 11.22.333.444, your SPF must contain this text: v=spf1 ip4:11.22.333.444 include:_spf.google.com ~all.
The record should point to your domain name. If you have another text field, like Name as we see in SiteGround, you can either leave it blank, put in the @ sign, or if neither works, type your domain there.
Paste v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all into the TXT Value field.
Same as before, to verify it, it’s best to go to https://toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/main/ and click Dig.
This time under Name, just type your domain name and click TXT. You’ll see the record displayed below.
It may not show up right away. The reason is that it can take some time to propagate. Propagation can take up to 24-48 hours in the worst-case scenario, but it usually takes less than an hour.
However, if you don’t see the record on the Toolbox site, you should contact your hosting’s support team to look into it as there may be an issue on their side.
If you work with emails, you need to know what phishing is and how to prevent it.
Add an email authentication protocol to protect your domain from being spoofed.
Protect users from emails pretending to be from your domain that lack SPF and DKIM authentication.
Protect users from any emails that lack SPF and DKIM authentication.
Protect users from any emails where the email sender’s name is a name in your Google Workspace directory, but the email is not authenticated by your company’s domains or domain aliases.
Protect users from any emails coming from domains that look visually similar to trusted domains.
Protect users from unauthenticated emails pretending to be from your domain that are sent to Groups.
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