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I read that it would be desirable to "verify" my email provider (zoho), so according to their instructions I added the following records to my DNS (CNAME code altered slightly):

CNAME   zb14799999   zmverify.zoho.com
TXT     @            v=spf1 include:zoho.com ~all

After doing this my website broke and the DNS for my website (the A records) no longer work, although email continues to work.

So, what is going on here? I read up on the CNAME record and apparently it aliases the whole domain, so are web requests now going to zoho, instead of to where the A records are pointing? Maybe I don't understand how email verification works. Why would I have to alias my whole domain to my email provider to "verify" them?

Tyler Durden
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1 Answers1

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This was a false alarm. In fact, other browsers were able to correctly access the web site. The cause was that the web site had no SSL functionality and the test URL was getting defaulted by the browser to https instead of http. So, I am suggesting a test protocol for problems like this for users that have similar problems when they get a "site not found" (=DNS) error in their browser:

  • Verify that the URL is correct, especially that the expected protocol (HTTP vs HTTPS vs FTP or whatever) is being used by the browser

  • Verify that the IP address works and that it is truly a DNS issue (ie try http://45.180.23.121:80 or whatever the IP address is)

  • Verify that you are using the right port number if the web server does not use the default port of 80

  • Check with other browsers, on other machines if possible to narrow down the context of the problem

  • Try nslookup to see if the machine is resolving the URL correctly

  • Use a tool such as dnsrecon to explicate the name resolution as it is currently being published by the DNS servers

  • If the problem is browser specific, clear the DNS cache of the browser for the domain in question and try restarting the browser if necessary.

  • If the problem is guaranteed to be browser specific and you are sure the URL is being entered correctly and the DNS cache is clear, then try restarting the browser, and lastly reset the browser to default settings and disable extensions.

Tyler Durden
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