Setting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC at World4You: step by step
Domain at the Austrian hoster World4You: the two toggles "SPF Record" and "DKIM Record" under E-Mail & Exchange, the automatic DMARC, DNS management for external mail providers — and the trap with the swallowed underscore.
At World4You, SPF and DKIM for its own mailboxes are two toggles: in the customer area my.world4you.com under "Dein Paket" [your package] → "E-Mail & Exchange" → "Einstellungen" [settings], switch on the toggles "SPF Record" and "DKIM Record". Once both are active, World4You states in its own FAQ that DMARC is activated in the background as well; for new customers this already happens during package setup. The records created this way are visible under "Dein Paket" → "Domains" → "DNS" in the section "Standard Mail-DNS-Einträge" [default mail DNS records].
If your mailboxes are not at World4You but at Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or Proton, you only manage the DNS there: the values come from the mail provider and are created under Domains → DNS as your own records. Both together is possible too — more on that below.
Step 1: Switch on SPF and DKIM (World4You mailboxes)
- Log in at my.world4you.com and select "Dein Paket".
- Open "E-Mail & Exchange" → "Einstellungen".
- On the right, activate the toggle "SPF Record" — World4You creates the SPF record.
- Activate the toggle "DKIM Record" — World4You generates key and DNS record.
- Check under "Dein Paket" → "Domains" → "DNS", section "Standard Mail-DNS-Einträge": the SPF record starts with v=spf1, the DKIM record has _domainkey in its name.
your-domain.atv=spf1 mx include:spf.w4ymail.at -allStep 2: DMARC
Once both toggles are active, DMARC is set automatically according to World4You. Which policy and which reporting address the automatic record contains, the FAQ does not say — look under Domains → DNS or check the domain from the outside. If you want to receive the reports yourself (the step-by-step plan needs them), set your own record with your address:
_dmarc.your-domain.atv=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@your-domain.atStep 3: External mail provider — records under Domains → DNS
DNS management lives under "Dein Paket" → "Domains" → "DNS". According to FAQ 4402 there are four options: create a new record, edit an existing one, "Standardwerte wiederherstellen" [restore defaults] and delete a record (X icon). For Microsoft 365, for instance, that means: SPF as TXT on the domain, two DKIM CNAMEs (selector1/selector2._domainkey), DMARC as TXT under _dmarc — the values from SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Microsoft 365.
If you use both — World4You mailboxes AND an external service — the FAQ says to extend your own SPF record manually by the World4You part instead of having two records. World4You's own example:
your-domain.atv=spf1 a include:spf.protection.outlook.com mx include:spf.w4ymail.at -allStep 4: Check
After setting, check the domain from the outside — SPF syntax, DKIM selector, DMARC — instead of trusting the form. The typical World4You cases show up immediately: swallowed underscore, duplicate SPF after a provider change. Then send a test email to a Gmail mailbox: "Show original" must show spf=pass, dkim=pass, dmarc=pass.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I switch on SPF and DKIM at World4You?
At my.world4you.com under "Dein Paket" → "E-Mail & Exchange" → "Einstellungen": activate the toggles "SPF Record" and "DKIM Record" on the right. The generated records are then listed under "Dein Paket" → "Domains" → "DNS".
World4You manages my domain, the mailboxes are elsewhere — where do I set up what?
You activate DKIM in the mail provider's portal (that is where the values originate); everything is entered at World4You under Domains → DNS, because that is where the DNS lives. SPF and DMARC you write directly into the World4You DNS management. You only need the toggles if World4You mailboxes send as well.
My record looks right in the form but is not found — why?
Very likely the leading underscore was swallowed after an edit. Delete the record, recreate it completely and verify from the outside — that fixes it in almost all cases.
Does World4You support DNSSEC?
Yes — World4You describes activation in a separate FAQ article (4407); zones there are usually signed. Whether it is active for your domain is shown by the check.