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Email Comments, Questions and Miscellaneous Share your opinion of the email service you're using. Post general email questions and discussions that don't fit elsewhere. |
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9 Apr 2017, 11:56 PM | #1 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,937
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Loading Remote Images; Still a Threat?
Many years ago, allowing remote images to be displayed exposed the email receiver to "web bugs". Now, with more and more users using adblock add-ons, I wonder if allowing remote images still have the same risks.
The reason I ask, is because I use many different platforms to receive and view email. Each one of them has distinct "safe lists", and maintaining those lists are a PITA. So are web bugs used for tracking purposes in email still a threat? |
10 Apr 2017, 12:22 AM | #2 | |
Master of the @
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: USA
Posts: 1,749
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Apparently Microsoft thinks it is a threat since Outlook by default doesn't load images, though you can change that setting. The problem is that so many emails these days are nearly unreadable without images that it makes an Inbox rather unpleasant to deal with. If you view your email in Gmail I think it is pretty safe leaving images turned on by default since they scan everything for malicious content. Here's what Gmail says about it:
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10 Apr 2017, 06:56 AM | #3 |
Intergalactic Postmaster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Irving, Texas
Posts: 8,929
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I agree with TenFour (with some reservations). Some email systems (including Gmail and Fastmail) now open remote images through their server IP addresses, so the sender doesn't know your IP address. They also filter out any embedded viruses.
However, the sender does know that the message arrived at your account and bypassed the spam filters. Spammers using dictionary attacks (sending to random addresses) and those trying different techniques to get around your spam filtering will benefit by knowing that the message arrived successfully at your Inbox. If you receive what appears to be obvious spam in your Inbox I recommend marking it as spam and not opening it if possible. This is especially important if the sender seems to know something about you so might be phishing, and didn't just accidentally get your email address. Bill |
10 Apr 2017, 10:14 PM | #4 | |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: EU
Posts: 4,945
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11 Apr 2017, 05:37 AM | #5 | |
Master of the @
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: USA
Posts: 1,749
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11 Apr 2017, 03:22 PM | #6 | |
Essential Contributor
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 399
Representative of:
MXRoute.com |
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As for remote images, they're only "dangerous" if your email application is vulnerable, but the worst of it is you don't know until you know. Someone has to be the first one to find out. |
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12 Apr 2017, 06:14 AM | #7 | |
Master of the @
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: USA
Posts: 1,749
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