Domain protection and DMARC monitoring for GoDaddy domains
You bought the domain. You're still missing half of domain security. GoDaddy may have added a DMARC record for you — but it points the reports at GoDaddy, and it does nothing about the lookalike domains scammers register next to yours.
No signup. We grade your live DNS, DMARC, SPF, DKIM, MX, and TLS posture and show you exactly what GoDaddy did and didn't set up.
Two attacks. Your registrar covers neither.
Owning the domain stops nobody from impersonating it. There are two ways attackers do that, and GoDaddy leaves both open.
Lookalike & typosquat domains
Scammers register a domain right next to yours — a swapped letter, a different TLD, an added word — and use it to phish your customers or clone your site. Your registrar never tells you when this happens.
PhishFence watches Certificate Transparency logs and other signals to catch these as they appear, risk-scores each one across DNS, SSL, HTTP, and content, and helps you file takedown reports on the malicious ones.
A DMARC record isn't DMARC protection
As of 2025, GoDaddy automatically publishes a DMARC record on new domains bought through (or transferred into) GoDaddy that have no existing mail setup — the default policy is p=quarantine. But by default the report address (rua) is dmarc_rua@onsecureserver.net — a GoDaddy address. GoDaddy gets the reports; you get no visibility.
PhishFence ingests your own DMARC reports, attributes every sending source, and the guided Enforcement Wizard safely takes you to enforcement without breaking Mailchimp, HubSpot, or Zendesk.
New here? Read what GoDaddy's default DMARC record actually does for the full breakdown.
A safe path to enforcement — for wherever you're starting
There are three states a GoDaddy domain can be in. The live grade tells you which one you're in. You can change, redirect, or remove the GoDaddy default record from GoDaddy's DNS settings at any time — but only after you can see what your real senders are doing.
No DMARC record
Anyone can send mail as you and receivers have no policy to apply. Start at monitoring (p=none) with reports coming to you, watch your senders, then advance.
Registrar default, reporting elsewhere
You have a record (often p=none or p=quarantine) but the reports go to the registrar, not you. Redirect rua to yourself so you can finally see who's sending.
Already enforcing
You're at p=reject or p=quarantine with your own reporting. Keep monitoring for new senders and drift, and pivot effort to the lookalike side.
Not sure which state your domain is in? Grade it free — we render your actual DMARC record, not a generic one. Or read what DMARC actually does.
Start with the free tools — no account needed
Check exactly what GoDaddy set up, fix what's missing, and scan for impersonators. All free, all in the browser.
Free domain grade
Full multi-signal posture: DNS, DMARC, SPF, DKIM, MX, TLS, plus a lookalike scan.
DMARC checker
See your live DMARC record and where its reports are actually going.
DMARC generator
Build a correct record with your own rua — copy-paste into GoDaddy's DNS.
DMARC report analyzer
Paste an aggregate report and see every sending IP and its alignment.
DKIM splitter / lookup
Inspect and split long DKIM keys so they publish cleanly in DNS.
All free tools →
SPF, BIMI, MTA-STS, TLS-RPT, DNS lookups and more.
Built on signals, not screenshots
No fluff. Here's the actual detection stack.
Certificate Transparency monitoring
We watch CT logs so newly-registered lookalike domains surface as their certificates are issued — not weeks later.
Multi-signal scoring
Every candidate is scored across DNS, SSL, HTTP, and MX — not a single naive string-distance check.
DMARCbis, MTA-STS & TLS-RPT aware
We understand modern email-auth: DMARCbis t=y testing mode, MTA-STS policy monitoring, and TLS-RPT failure reports.
Plain-English explanations
An LLM turns raw findings into plain-English explanations of what's wrong and what to do — no decoding cryptic DNS output.
Free to start on both products
Email Security is free on one domain; Brand Protection includes a free lookalike scan. Upgrade self-serve when you need more domains or continuous monitoring. Some enterprise anti-impersonation tools are quote-only and can run into five figures a year — PhishFence is not. No sales call.
GoDaddy domain protection FAQ
Doesn't GoDaddy already protect my domain?▾
GoDaddy protects the registration — it owns the WHOIS record and can add some DNS records for you. As of 2025, GoDaddy automatically publishes a DMARC record on new domains purchased through (or transferred into) GoDaddy that have no existing mail setup, and the default policy is p=quarantine. But by default the aggregate-report (rua) address in that record is dmarc_rua@onsecureserver.net, a GoDaddy-controlled address — so GoDaddy receives the daily reports and you have no visibility into who is sending mail as your domain unless you change it. GoDaddy also does nothing about lookalike domains other people register next to yours. A DMARC record is not the same as DMARC protection.
I heard DMARC can break my email — is this risky?▾
It can break mail if you jump straight to a strict policy before your real senders are aligned. That is exactly what PhishFence's Enforcement Wizard prevents. It ingests your own DMARC reports, attributes every sending source (Mailchimp, HubSpot, Zendesk, Google Workspace, and hundreds of other ESPs), and only tells you it is safe to advance once your legitimate senders are passing. You move from monitoring to enforcement deliberately, with the data in front of you — not by guessing.
I added Mailchimp or HubSpot — do I need to do anything?▾
Yes, eventually. Third-party senders like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Zendesk send mail on your behalf, and each one has to be authenticated (SPF/DKIM aligned) before you can safely enforce DMARC, or their mail starts failing. PhishFence shows you each of these senders in your own DMARC reports, flags which are aligned and which are not, and the Enforcement Wizard holds you at a safe policy until they are. You do not have to manually hunt down every tool you have ever connected.
What is a lookalike domain?▾
A lookalike (or typosquat) domain is one a scammer registers to resemble yours — swapped letters, a different TLD, an added word, or a homoglyph (a character that looks identical). They use it to send phishing email, clone your site, or intercept traffic. Your registrar never tells you when someone registers a domain next to yours. PhishFence watches Certificate Transparency logs and other signals to surface these as they appear, risk-scores each one, and helps you report the malicious ones for takedown.
Is it free to start?▾
Yes. Both products have a free tier — Email Security is free on one domain and Brand Protection includes a free lookalike scan. Grading your domain and running the free tools requires no signup and no credit card. You upgrade self-serve when you need more domains or continuous monitoring. There is no sales call.