DNS monitoring

DNS is the internet's address book. It quietly tells the world where your website lives and where your email should be delivered. When those records change unexpectedly, it can mean anything from a harmless edit to a full takeover of your domain, so TLDTrack takes a snapshot of them, re-checks it every 3 hours, and tells you when anything changes.

The records in plain words

You do not need to be technical to follow the important ones. TLDTrack compares six record types, and each one does a specific job:

• A and AAAA point your domain at the server where the website lives. A records use the older style of internet address (IPv4), AAAA records use the newer IPv6 style.
• MX records say where your email should be delivered. A change here can quietly reroute all your incoming mail.
• NS records name the nameservers, the master address books that are officially in charge of your domain. A change here effectively hands over control of everything.
• CNAME records point one name at another, often used to hook up a subdomain or a third-party service.
• TXT records hold text used for verification and email authentication, such as SPF records that help stop others sending spam in your name.

How the check works

Every 3 hours, TLDTrack looks up your DNS records and compares them to what it saw last time. If anything has been added, removed or altered, you get an alert that lists each record that was added or removed. Some changes are completely expected, for instance when you move to a new host. Others are worth a second look.

What you will see, and what to do

When a DNS alert arrives it lists the records that were added or removed. Run through it like this:

• Did you or your host make this change? If you have just moved hosting, added an email provider, or verified a new service, the change is expected and you can safely ignore it.
• Is it an NS or MX change you did not authorise? Treat this as urgent. It can point your whole domain or all your email somewhere else. Check with your registrar and anyone who has access to your DNS settings.
• Is it a low-level record that changes on its own? Some services rewrite these often. If it is noisy and harmless, mute that record type rather than living with the alerts.

Muting the records you do not care about

Not every record deserves an alert. Some services rewrite low-level records often, which can get noisy. You can mute alerts per record type, so you silence the ones you do not care about while still hearing about the ones that matter. Muting a type stops its change alerts entirely: no email, push or dashboard alert. TLDTrack still reads the record, so its current value on the site's DNS tab stays up to date.

• Silence the noisy, low-stakes ones, for example AAAA (IPv6) or a busy TXT record.
• Keep the important ones switched on, such as NS nameservers and MX mail.

Muting works on two levels. You can set an account-wide default for which types are muted, and any individual site can override that with its own list, so a site with an unusually chatty record can be handled differently without changing the rest of your portfolio.

What you need before you start

• A domain added to TLDTrack, so there is something to read records for. See Add your first website if you have not yet.
• The DNS check switched on for that site. It is a per-site toggle.
• An owner or admin to receive it. DNS change emails go to the account owner and admin users, not to notification contacts. The alert also goes to the mobile app as a push notification and to any connected alert channel. See alerts and notifications.

How to switch it on, step by step

1. 1
   Open the website from your Domains list.
2. 2
   Go to the Monitoring tab and switch on the DNS check.
3. 3
   On the site's DNS tab, under DNS change alerts, switch off any record types you do not want alerts for, such as AAAA, while keeping NS and MX on. The account-wide default is under Settings > Notifications.
4. 4
   DNS change emails go to the account owner and admins. To reach anyone else, connect a Slack, Teams or webhook alert channel.

DNS decides where your email goes, and your SSL certificate keeps the website itself secure. Your domain's renewal date is a separate thing again. To control how and where these alerts reach you, see alerts and notifications.

Where to set this up

Good to know

• TLDTrack compares six record types: A, AAAA, MX, NS, CNAME and TXT.
• Each alert names the exact record type that changed, so you can judge it quickly.
• Muting a record type stops its alerts entirely, but TLDTrack still reads the record and keeps its current value up to date.
• An account-wide mute default can be overridden on any individual site.