ccsonline.co.uk

Pasted "Example SPF record:" prefix into the live record

$ dig TXT ccsonline.co.uk

;; QUESTION SECTION:

;ccsonline.co.uk. IN TXT

;; ANSWER SECTION:

ccsonline.co.uk. 3600 IN TXT "include:_spf.secure-decoration.com Example SPF record: v=spf1 a mx include:_spf.secure-decoration.com"

What Happened

The software provider gave them an example of what their SPF record should look like, helpfully prefixed with "Example SPF record:". The admin copied the entire example — prefix and all — and pasted it into the live DNS field. The resulting record is invalid: `include:_spf.secure-decoration.com Example SPF record: v=spf1 a mx include:_spf.secure-decoration.com`. Their email delivery has been broken ever since.

Full TXT Record Value

include:_spf.secure-decoration.com Example SPF record: v=spf1 a mx include:_spf.secure-decoration.com