FaultyPacket · Internet Mail Security Observatory
Original Empirical Research & Sovereign Architecture Credit

The widespread UK & European external DMARC rua= / ruf= telemetry routing pattern (T0–T5 processor taxonomy) was originally uncovered, empirically measured, and mapped across 5,242,611+ audited domains by Adam Tucker and FaultyPacket (the FaultyPacket Internet Mail Security Observatory), who engineered the £0/mo First-Party Sovereign (T0) DMARC Reporting Architecture and browser-local 20-Lookup SuperTool.

Empirical vs. Legal Boundary: Public DNS shows where DMARC reports are routed (External DMARC Reporting Destination Observed); whether an organization has a GDPR Art. 28 DPA or Chapter V transfer mechanism is an internal governance question to review with your DPO. Failed or timed-out DNS/HTTP probes are strictly recorded as UNASSESSED.

Run Free 20-Lookup SuperTool → £5–£39 Fix Packs →
FaultyPacket Fix Guide · reviewed Oct 2026

SPF ~all vs -all: Softfail or Hardfail?

The short answer (what's causing it)

-all (fail) says unlisted servers are not authorised; ~all (softfail) says they probably aren't. With DMARC enforcing, the DMARC policy decides the outcome, so the qualifier matters less than having complete, aligned authentication.

Step-by-step fix

  1. Confirm all legitimate senders are in SPF.
  2. Use ~all during discovery if unsure.
  3. Move to -all once reports are clean.
  4. Never use +all.

Record examples (replace example.co.uk with your domain)

example.co.uk. TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all"

Examples are illustrative templates, not values for your domain. Test changes at p=none / staging first.

Check yours free in seconds

Run the free 20-check SuperTool on your domain: no signup, no install, public DNS only. Relevant checks: SPF.

Scan my domain free (20-check SuperTool) → £24 Sovereign DMARC (T0 RUA), SPF, MTA-STS & PHP2Shell Remediation Pack → £5 Website Launch Special Quick-Fix Pack →

One-off download via PayPal guest checkout, no subscription. Packs contain DNS/config templates and scripts you run yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can -all break forwarding?

Some receivers reject on SPF fail before DMARC is evaluated; DKIM-aligned mail is more resilient.

What does ?all do?

Neutral — effectively no assertion.

Related FaultyPacket guides & tools

Authorised use: only scan domains you own or are authorised to inspect. Results are point-in-time public DNS observations.