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Message Certification

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Message Certification is a process by which one entity vouches for or "certifies" the good email conduct of another entity. Consequently, when this certifying entity is one whom a receiving email server trusts, messages sent from a domain who is vouched for by that entity can be viewed with less suspicion. Thus the receiving server can be reasonably assured that the sending domain adheres to a set of good email practices and doesn't send spam or other problematic messages. Certification is beneficial because it can help ensure that messages will not be erroneously or needlessly subjected to unwarranted spam filter analysis. It also helps lower the resources required to process each message.

MDaemon Pro supports Message Certification by including the world's first commercial implementation of a new Internet mail protocol called "Vouch-By-Reference" (VBR), which Alt-N Technologies is working to help create and expand through its participation in the Domain Assurance Council (DAC). VBR provides the mechanism through which Certification Service Providers (CSP) or "certifiers" vouch for the good email practices of specific domains.

Certifying Incoming Messages

It is easy to configure MDaemon's Message Certification feature to check incoming messages. All you have to do is click the Enable certification of inbound messages option on the VBR Certification dialog (Security » Security Settings » Sender Authentication » VBR Certification) and include one or more certification providers whom you trust to vouch for incoming email (e.g. vbr.emailcertification.org). You can also choose either to exempt certified messages from spam filtering or give their Spam Filter scores a beneficial adjustment.

Certifying Outgoing Messages

Before you can configure MDaemon to insert certification data into your outgoing messages, you will first need to arrange to have one or more CSPs certify your email. Alt-N Technologies provides a certification service for MDaemon customers. For details, visit: www.altn.com.

To configure your MDaemon server to use Message Certification with your outgoing mail, after you have registered with a CSP:

1. Open the VBR Certification dialog: click Security » Security Settings » Sender Authentication » VBR Certification.
2. Click "Insert certification data into outgoing messages."
3. Click "Configure a domain for message certification." This opens the Certification Setup dialog.
4. Type the Domain name whose outgoing messages will contain the certification data.
5. Use the Mail type drop-down list to choose the type of email that your CSP agrees to certify for this domain, or enter a new type if the desired type isn't listed.
6. Enter one or more CSPs who will certify the domain's outbound email. If you have more than one CSP then use a space to separate each one.
7. Click "OK."
8. Configure your server to sign the domain's outgoing messages with DKIM or DK, or ensure that they are being sent from an SPF or SIDF approved server. This is necessary in order to guarantee that the message originated from you. A message cannot be certified unless the receiving server can first determine that the message is authentic.

VBR does not require the certified messages to be signed by or transmitted to your CSP. The CSP is not signing or validating specific messages—it is vouching for the domain's good email practices.

For information on the certification services provided by Alt-N Technologies, visit:

http://www.altn.com/email-certification/

For more information on VBR and Message Certification, visit:

http://www.domain-assurance.org/

VBR Specification—Internet-Draft 00:

http://files.altn.com/MDaemon/drafts/draft-hoffman-dac-vbr-00.txt

For more information on DKIM visit:

http://www.dkim.org/

See:

VBR Certification