How to Point Your Domain’s MX Records to nettigritty Spam Filtering (powered by SpamExperts)
If Nettigritty’s inbound spam filtering (powered by SpamExperts) has been activated on your domain, you’ll need to update your domain’s MX records so that all incoming mail is routed through the filter before reaching your mailbox. This article shows you exactly what to set, where to set it, and how to confirm it’s working.
What MX records do
MX (Mail Exchanger) records tell the internet which servers are responsible for receiving email for your domain. When someone sends you a message, their mail server looks up your domain’s MX records to decide where to deliver it. By pointing your MX records to our filtering servers, every inbound message is scanned for spam, viruses, and phishing before it’s forwarded to your actual mail server.
The MX records to add
Replace all existing MX records on your domain with the three records below. After the change, these should be the only MX records for your domain – any older ones left in place will let mail slip past the filter.
| Type | Priority | TTL | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| MX | 10 | 300 | mx.spamexperts.com |
| MX | 20 | 300 | fallbackmx.spamexperts.eu |
| MX | 30 | 300 | lastmx.spamexperts.net |
A few things to watch for:
- Host / Name field: Enter your bare domain here. Depending on your registrar’s control panel, this is entered as
@, left blank, or shown as your domain name (e.g.example.com). It should not bemail.example.comorwww.example.com. - Value / Points to: Enter the hostname exactly as shown. If your control panel rejects the value or shows an error, try adding a trailing dot (e.g.
mx.spamexperts.com.) – some DNS systems require a fully qualified form. - Priority (also called Preference): Must be exactly 10, 20, and 30 as shown. Lower numbers = higher priority. This ordering matters for how mail is routed if a filter node is temporarily unreachable.
- TTL: 300 seconds (5 minutes) is recommended so any future change propagates quickly. If your registrar only allows preset TTL values, choose the shortest available option (e.g. 1 hour / 3600).
How long does it take?
Once you save the new MX records, most receiving mail servers around the world will begin using them within 15 minutes to a couple of hours. In rare cases, full propagation can take up to 24 hours. There’s no downtime during the switch – mail continues to flow.
How to verify
After saving the records, you can confirm they’re live using either method below.
Command line (Linux / macOS / Windows PowerShell):
dig MX yourdomain.com +short
You should see the three hostnames returned with their priorities. On Windows without dig, use:
nslookup -type=MX yourdomain.com
Online lookup:
Use a free tool like MXToolbox – enter your domain and it will show your current MX records and flag any issues.
Quick pointers by registrar
The exact wording differs from one control panel to another, but the flow is always the same: find DNS management, delete any existing MX records, add the three above.
- GoDaddy: My Products > DNS > your domain > delete existing MX rows > add the three above.
- Cloudflare: Websites > your domain > DNS > Records > delete existing MX rows > add the three above. (MX records are always DNS-only; there is no proxy option.)
- BigRock / ResellerClub / PublicDomainRegistry: Manage Orders > your domain > DNS Management > MX records > delete existing > add the three above.
- Squarespace Domains (formerly Google Domains): DNS > Custom records > delete existing MX rows > add the three above.
- Nettigritty-managed DNS: Reply to your provisioning email or drop us a line – we’ll make the change for you.
Related settings
- If Nettigritty is also handling your outbound mail through the filter (smart host / relay), you’ll receive separate instructions for updating your SPF record and, if applicable, your mail server’s smart host configuration. Inbound-only setups don’t need any SPF change.
- Make sure your destination mail server accepts inbound SMTP connections from the SpamExperts IP ranges. If your mail is hosted with Nettigritty, this is already configured for you.
Need help?
If you’re unsure about any step, write to us at nettigritty@nettigritty.com and we’ll walk you through the change – or, if we manage your DNS, make it on your behalf.