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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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