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Opening HTML email = verification to spammers
Authored by: pram on Jan 30, '03 11:36:45AM
Also, I might add, I've recently learned that just by simply viewing some HTML spam mail, you may be inadvertently telling spammers that your email address is valid, therefore encouraging them to send more your way.

This is exactly correct. The most powerful mechanism for a spammer to constantly keep tabs on the validity of his "list" is by simply cross-referencing his "referrer log" to his email list. When the recipient HTML email is opened, your mail client is basically sending requests (<a href=...etc>) to the spammer's server just as one would if simply accessing any page from a browser.

The difference is (and this is powerful) that in this scenario, you are not just sending a referrer entry stating that "Recipient A" has received your spam, but more explicitly that Recipient A, whose email address is recipienta@user.com, has indeed received the spam, and verified the email address as valid.

Bottom line for me is that I NEVER open HTML email, and thus have to keep my "preview pane" off at all times, otherwise, jsut clicking on a message tagged as SPAM in order to delete it triggers the requests.

[Editor's note: I cleaned up the HTML reference in this comment ... no content was changed other than that.]

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Opening HTML email = verification to spammers
Authored by: Brock Lee on Jan 30, '03 05:47:31PM

This is not entirely correct.


An HTML encoded email has the actual HTML (tags and text) in the message, and therefore does not require that the email application go across the Internet to grab content the basic content. It is not the equivalent of an HTML "a" tag.


There is an important exception to this, however. If an HTML encoded message contains an image (or other type of embedded object), then the email application may or may not retrieve that image across the Internet depending on how it's configured. That retrieval could be encoded to verify an email address to a spammer.


To make sure Apple's Mail application does not retrieve images (or other types of embedded objects), do the following from within Mail:



  1. menu: File; item Preferences...

  2. tab: Viewing

  3. uncheck: "Display images and embedded objects in HTML messages"


I believe that that alone will make viewing HTML messages from within Apple's Mail application safe. If anyone knows otherwise, I would like a technical explanation.


[For the record, I hate HTML encoded email and complain to non-spammers who send such email to me.]



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Opening HTML email = verification to spammers
Authored by: mrb on Jan 31, '03 09:50:48AM

I believe that Entourage has a way to stop HTML verifying your e-mail address to a spammer. In Mail preferences you can turn off "Allow network access when displaying complex HTML." That way you can safely read HTML formatted mail.



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Opening HTML email = verification to spammers
Authored by: pram on Feb 05, '03 10:01:18PM

Hmmm...I am sorry, but I believe that you are still sending a validating query to a server whether you have disabled network access or not. maybe I am wrong, but if your mail cleint has to resolve image tags by calling to the server, validation is happening. Of course, if you disable display of images, and the HTML file is NOT calling to a server, then I beleive you are safe.

Can anyone verify my ignorance?



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