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Disable didtheyreadit.com email tracking bugs Network
With the announcement of the didtheyreadit.com email tracking, I figured it might be a good idea to submit an easy way to fix this. To disable the tracking service, open up Terminal from Utilities and just do the following:
sudo echo "127.0.0.1 didtheyreadit.com" >> /etc/hosts
Also, the way this service works by appending an invisible image into the originator's email. The image pulls from didtheyreadit.com, so you could also filter on didtheyreadit.com in the message (i.e. set up a new rule looking for that string). It would be nice to reply to someone asking what the problem is...

[robg adds: From what I've read, the service isn't as good as it claims to be, but it does indeed allow basic email tracking. This is the technique spammers have used for years, it's just been commercialized and publicized by didtheyreadit.com. Another effective workaround is to disable image loading in your email client; in Mail, that's in Preferences -> Viewing, then disable 'Display images and embedded objects in HTML messages.']
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Disable didtheyreadit.com email tracking bugs | 19 comments | Create New Account
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Won't work
Authored by: gidds on May 26, '04 10:36:57AM

That's what you'd do on many Unixes, but Mac OS X gets all its hosts info from the NetInfo database, bypassing the /etc/hosts file. On my machine, the file has the following comment: "By default, lookupd gets information from NetInfo, so this file will not be consulted unless you have changed lookupd's configuration."

---

Andy/



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Eh, sure it does.
Authored by: vykor on May 26, '04 10:56:16AM

Hmm...on OS X 10.3, that statement is misleading. I've been using the hosts file ever since installation of Panther to block ads, etc, and it's worked fine. I believe in prior system versions you had to run some terminal magic to detach hosts from NetInfo, but now it's definitely a part of the check sequence.

You also should run " lookupd -flushcache " once you add the entry to the hosts file. Or restart your machine. Either way, that makes the new DNS entry stick.



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Eh, sure it does.
Authored by: JohnnyMnemonic on May 26, '04 01:31:29PM

Hm. Even after I "lookupd -flushcache", "host" still resolves to a real IP. Do I need to do something else to get the /etc/hosts config loaded? I seem to recall something about NetInfo too--maybe not applicable to Pantherl, but in any case it's not working.



[ Reply to This | # ]
other option? re: Eh, sure it does.
Authored by: webbix on Jun 07, '04 12:27:08PM
try adding to '/etc/hosts.deny'

I read this comment previously but gave it little attention as I keep 'load images' off anyway.

However, using Webmin and playing around with PortSentry I excluded my test machine with the rule I had and ended up doing a web search to find where I was getting blocked. PortSentry with the config I chose (FreeBSD/Mac OS X) had added the IP to the 'hosts.deny' file and it did block all but file sharing and web access (not sure why those worked).

This is the command to Kill the host from PortSentry

KILL_ROUTE="route add -net $TARGET$ -netmask 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 -blackhole"

However, please use only at your own risk NOT as recommendation.

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Won't work
Authored by: mzarra on May 26, '04 11:03:36AM

I disagree with the way that this works. I routinely put information in to my /etc/hosts file and use it to access internal machines that are not configured with a DNS Name. I have also blocked sites by routing their DNS name to localhost.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Default lookup order
Authored by: gatorparrots on May 27, '04 03:00:55AM
The comments within the /etc/hosts file are more than likely incorrect and have been since 10.2. They should largely be ignored, but I suppose it's all in how you installed your operating system. If yours is an upgrade installation, you may not have the same lookup order as those who have done cleans installs of Panther or Jaguar.

To check your current lookup order, simply execute this command:

lookupd -configuration
By default under Panther, the lookup order is as follows:
LookupOrder: Cache FF DNS NI DS
_config_name: Host Configuration
So, flat files (FF) are searched before DNS, meaning that by default the /etc/hosts file should be consulted before name-to-IP-address resolution is ever attempted.

These articles do a good job showing the default lookup orders of 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3:
http://www.macwrite.com/criticalmass/%20mac-os-x-hosts-panther-pf.php
http://www.macwrite.com/criticalmass/mac-os-x-hosts-regrouped.php
(Really, they should be prerequisite reading before attempting to change the lookup order or mess with the hosts file.)

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Default lookup order
Authored by: ether on May 27, '04 01:39:22PM

My machine has run through the upgrade sequence from 10.1--10.3.3.
The config info is:

LookupOrder: CacheAgent NIAgent DNSAgent NILAgent
_config_name: Host Configuration
name: hosts

so I guess whether it works _does_ depend on whether you've
done a clean install or not.



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Disable didtheyreadit.com email tracking bugs
Authored by: blalor on May 26, '04 10:57:57AM

That won't work, but for a different reason than the first commenter said. /etc/hosts is consulted on Panther. The command won't work because sudo runs echo as root, but your shell (as you) handles the >> part, trying to append to the file as a non-root user. Just use vi to add that line to the file.



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Disable didtheyreadit.com email tracking bugs
Authored by: rocteur on May 26, '04 11:35:50AM

Beautiful blabor!

It is a pity that most people do not learn to use the shell!!

And of course, people posting hints who have obviously not tried what they are posting.

And lastly, accepting the hint and not verifying that what the poster was posting was going to work..

Good job for picking that up!



[ Reply to This | # ]
sudo echo -- corrected
Authored by: gatorparrots on May 27, '04 02:42:46AM
Your statement is a bit misleading:
"sudo runs echo as root, but your shell (as you) handles the >> part"

For example:

$ sudo echo `whoami`   
gatorparrots

At any rate, the original hint should be corrected with the command below if one wants to append the host entry from the shell to avoid opening the hosts file in a text editor:

sudo sh -c 'echo "127.0.0.1 didtheyreadit.com" >> /etc/hosts'


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sudo echo -- corrected
Authored by: Anonymous on May 30, '04 10:22:17PM

The actual explanation is that sudo invokes a subshell as root, and passes only it's first arg to that subshell to run.

Once the command finishes the subshell exits, and it's standard out is piped into >>. This attempts to open up and append to it's file argument as the original UID, which fails due to lack of privilege.

So, the solution is to pass the entire command line, including any redirects, so the whole thing is passed to sudo as one arg.

---
cm

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sudo echo -- corrected
Authored by: pachisia on Jun 08, '04 01:28:46AM

I need some infor , how to disable the didtheyreadit thing. I am using outlook express and incredible mail as my mail clients . Please help .. and reply to pachisia@vsnl.com



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Disable didtheyreadit.com email tracking bugs
Authored by: mcroft on May 26, '04 11:53:52AM

Why not use a client like Eudora or Mail that lets you decide to load images in messages? I thought using a 1x1 clear graphic as a way of tracking valid email addresses for spam was an old trick and most clients already defeated it in a generic fashion...



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Nothing new! ReadNotify.com is the same
Authored by: schaps on May 26, '04 01:17:45PM

Nothing new! ReadNotify.com is the same thing, and it's been out for over three years. I don't know why this 'new' service is getting so much press!

For the record, I use Eudora, and I see no images I don't want to see, so these services do not work on me.

HTML mail sucks! says me...



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Just use the preference setting in Mail..
Authored by: willjwade on May 26, '04 03:10:28PM
If you are using Apple Mail just make sure the checkbox in the viewing tab is unchecked:
Display images and embedded objects in HTML messages
Turn this off to display only the text portion of an HTML message
For example I have this with no tick in the box and only on genuine HTML mails (e.g the apple newsletter ) I click the "load images" button in the mail. Far easier than keeping your netinfo/hosts file updated with all the spammers hostnames

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Just use the preference setting in Mail..
Authored by: xcgr on May 26, '04 03:31:21PM

Agreed. This is a much better solution than hacking the hosts flatfile.



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Just use the preference setting in Mail..
Authored by: ether on May 27, '04 01:44:20PM

The problem is when someone sends you something with legitimate
images (say a spec drawing), causing you to hit the "load images"
button, but also wants to get confirmation (that you, for whatever
reason, don't want to give them) that you got it.

THen you want to disable the image loads. Of course, as pointed
out, didtheyreadit.com is not the only site, and you will never be
able to disable them all. I guess you just have to check the source
before you load the images?



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Disable didtheyreadit.com email tracking bugs
Authored by: jriskin on May 26, '04 04:20:41PM

For Entourage I allow it to display images and complex HTML within messages. But then I DISABLE network access. That way, I can receive all the HTML/images/etc... and I'll be able to see them, but if they are externally linked, it won't access them or trip off any monitoring.

For non-entourage users, you can easily do the same thing by using Little Snitch to disable any non POP/IMAP access (in fact I limit it to my email server ONLY and ONLY on the right ports).



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Disable didtheyreadit.com email tracking bugs
Authored by: houplagrundle on May 26, '04 05:30:07PM

Entourage 2004 is set up to stop web bugs by default.
Nice.
You can get the pictures for people in your address book or your email newsletters and it'll block the pictures in spam.



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