A DNS monitor reads one record type for a domain and alerts you when the answer changes, with the change history. That catches a mistaken edit, an expired DNS provider account or a hijacked record before mail stops or visitors land somewhere else.
Create the DNS monitor
- Open Monitors, choose New monitor and pick DNS records.
- Enter the Domain, such as
example.com. - Pick the Record type: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, SOA, TXT or CAA.
- Optionally fill in Expected records, one per line. Any other answer then opens an incident. Leave it empty to be alerted whenever the records change.
- Choose Check every, tick the alert channels and choose Create monitor.
Add one monitor for each record type you want to watch.
Which records to watch
- A and AAAA for where the site points.
- MX for where mail goes.
- NS for who controls the domain’s DNS.
- TXT for verification records.
- For SPF, DKIM and DMARC, use a domain monitor instead. It checks email authentication twice a day and suggests the DNS record that fixes each problem. See how to check SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
Planned DNS work also triggers an alert. That is expected: it confirms the change went out. Read how to detect changed or hijacked records, or more on DNS monitoring.