Chapter – 6
Electronic Mail
Mail Server
A mail server (sometimes also referred to an e-mail server) is a server that handles and
delivers e-mail over a network, usually over the Internet. A mail server can receive e-mails
from client computers and deliver them to other mail servers. A mail server can also deliver
e-mails to client computers. A client computer is normally the computer where you read
your e-mails, for example your computer at home or in your office. Also an advanced
mobile phone or Smartphone, with e-mail capabilities, can be regarded as a client computer
in these circumstances.
Email protocols
1. SMTP: This stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This is a standard protocol for
sending emails over the Internet. This is a protocol which is used by a Mail Transfer Agent
to deliver emails to a recipient’s email server. This is a protocol which defines mail sending
and cannot be used for mail receiving.
SMTP is the most commonly used protocol for mail transfer between two servers. This
requires no authentication to function, unlike POP3 and IMAP. Certain Internet Service
Providers block the default port 25 of SMTP. In such cases, the mail server also provides
an alternate secondary port.
The default port for SMTP are:
• Port 25 – This is the default non-encrypted port.
• Port 465/ 587 – This is default port for secure connections.
2. POP3: POP3 stands for Post Office 3 protocol. POP simply reaches out to the mail
server and brings back the mail contents. This is a simple yet standardized way which
allows users to access mailboxes and quickly download messages to their device.
With POP3, users can configure the server settings. This can be used to allow mail copies
to be left on the server or move all emails without leaving any copy on the server. This is
usually configurable in most cases. The biggest advantage of POP3 is the low dependency
over the Internet. Users can download all emails and read them at leisure even if they are
accessing this offline.
The way these emails are stored in local depends on the email client. For instance, Outlook
utilizes .pst, while Thunderbird uses .mbox. This is a good option in case you choose to
read emails offline. Apart from this, this helps you reduce the server space by storing
messages locally.
The default ports for POP3 are:
• Port 110 – This is the default non-encrypted port.
• Port 995 – This is the default port for secure connections.
3. IMAP: This stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. This again is a standard
protocol for accessing emails and is a client/server protocol. Here the emails are received
and held by the Internet server. Unlike POP, this does not move the emails. The biggest
difference between POP3 and IMAP is the mail sync up. POP3 assumes that a user will be
connected to a single device. However, IMAP is suitable for different devices
simultaneously.
IMAP requires users to be constantly connected to the Internet. When a user accesses the
mailbox, the user is actually connected to an external server. This is more beneficial when
there are multiple users. IMAP can work over a relatively low internet connection since it
only downloads email messages from the server when a user has requested to read a
specific email.
The default ports for IMAP are:
• Port 143 – This is the default non-encrypted port.
• Port 993 – This is default port for secure connections.
4. MIME: The MIME stands for Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extensions. As the name
indicates, it is an extension to the Internet email protocol that allows it’s users to exchange
different kinds of data files over the Internet such as images, audio, and video. The MIME
is required if text in character sets other than ASCII.
Virtually all human-written Internet email and a fairly large proportion of automated email
is transmitted via SMTP in MIME format. Actually, MIME was designed mainly for
SMTP, but the content types defined by MIME standards are important also in
communication protocols outside of email, such as HTTP. In 1991, Nathan Borenstein of
Bellcore proposed to the IETF that SMTP be extended so that Internet (but mainly Web)
clients and servers could recognize and handle other kinds of data than ASCII text. As a
result, new file types were added to “mail” as a supported Internet Protocol file type.
Structure of an email
There is a standard structure for emails. Email contents are primarily classified as two, the
header and the body. We are going to see the contents come under the two subparts.
The Header
The email header gives us common details about the message such as the unique identity
of the message. The details of the users of the ‘from’ and ‘to’ ends are also stored here.
The email header consists of the following parts. However, the exact contents of the header
can vary according to the email systems that generate the email message.
1) Subject
2) Sender (From:)
3) Date and time received (On)
4) Reply-to
5) Recipient (To:)
6) Recipient email address
7) Attachments
Subject
The subject part is the topic of the message. In most email systems, if the content view of
the folders is set to view each messages separately, the subject part also will be visible with
the user’s name. These subject fields are scanned by the spam scanners to evaluate the
messages.
Sender (From:)
This field describes the ‘from’ address of the email. This will specify the sender’s email
address. Usually, it will be the “reply-to” address.
Date and time received (On)
This is the date and time the message received.
Reply-to
This field describes the email address that will become the recipient of the reply to the
particular email. When you reply, it will go to this email address despite the sender email
address.
Recipient (To:)
This is the first/last name of the email recipient as configured by the sender.
Recipient email address
The email address of the recipient is specified here.
Attachments
Some emails could be attached with files such as text, image, audio, video etc. These files
are specified here.
Body
The actual content is stored in this part. This will be in the format of text. This field could
also include signatures or text generated automatically by the sender’s email system. As
we mentioned earlier, the contents of the emails can be varied according to the different
email systems used by each user.
Email Client
Email client is a desktop application that enables configuring one or more email addresses
to receive, read, compose and send emails from that email address(s) through the desktop
interface. It provides a central interface for receiving, composing and sending emails of
configured email address(s).
Email client is also known as email reader or mail user agent (MUA).
Netscape mail Clients
The Netscape Navigator is a free open source mail and news client developed by Netscape
on 11 June 2007. It is also known as Netscape Messenger, a standalone cross platform
desktop email client available for Windows, MAC and Linux users. Initially the Netscape
mail program was released as Netscape Mercury was based on Mozilla's Thunderbird.
Later it replaced the former Netscape Mail & Newsgroups client for versions 4 to 7.2.
Netscape Used For
• Netscape Mail & Newsgroups: The application is mostly used for messaging
purposes. By using Netscape as a desktop email client you can configure and
manage multiple email accounts. You can also subscribe newsgroups.
• Netscape Browser: It was the first browser of the Netscape series, which is totally
based on Mozilla Firefox. By using Netscape as a web browser you can simply
surf internet.
Outlook Express:
Outlook Express has long been a friend to those who use a PC at home or at work, in
particular machines that run with Microsoft. We at [Link] believe there is no need to
sacrifice that familiarity just so you can use our services such as spam filters and
high attachment limit. Once you’ve set up your [Link] account, you can simply add
the account to Outlook Express and continue to send and receive emails in the mail client
you prefer.
Web-based email
Webmail (or web-based email) is an email service that can be accessed using a
standard web browser. It contrasts with email service accessible through a
specialised email client software. Examples of webmail providers are AOL
Mail, Gmail, Mailfence, [Link]/[Link], Yahoo! Mail and IceWarp Mail
Server. Additionally, many internet service providers provide webmail as part of their
internet service package. Similarly, some web hosting providers also provide webmail as
a part of their hosting package.
Email encryption
Email encryption involves encrypting, or disguising, the content of email messages in order
to protect potentially sensitive information from being read by anyone other than intended
recipients. Email encryption often includes authentication.
EMAIL ENCRYPTION: WHAT TO ENCRYPT
PC World points out three primary things you should encrypt:
1. The connection from your email provider
2. Your actual email messages
3. Your stored, cached, or archived email messages
Address Book
An address book is a database that stores names, addresses and other contact information
for a computer user.
Address books allow easy access to the user's friends, family, business associates and
others by maintaining their email and other contact details on their computer. Address
books can be software based, or accessed online or through a network. Users may also be
able to export contacts from their address books to mobile phones, PDAs and other portable
electronic devices.
Signature File
A signature file is a short text file you create for use as a standard appendage at the end of
your e-mail notes or Usenet messages. For example, you might include your full name,
occupation or position, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and the address of your
Web site if you have one. Many people also include a favorite quote, company motto, or
short personal statement.
Popular email services
1) [Link] 5) [Link]
2) Gmail 6) AOL Mail
3) Yahoo Mail 7) Zoho Mail
4) [Link]
E-mail address breakdown
support@[Link]
• The first portion of all e-mail addresses, the part before the @ symbol, contains
the alias, user, group, or department of a company. In our above
example, support is the Technical Support department at Computer Hope.
• Next, the @ (at sign) is a divider in the e-mail address; it's required for all SMTP e-
mail addresses since the first message was sent by Ray Tomlinson.
• Finally, [Link] is the domain name to which the user belongs. The
.com is the TLD (top-level domain) for our domain.
What makes a valid e-mail address?
The following rules make an e-mail address valid:
• As mentioned earlier, an e-mail must have a username followed by @ (the at sign)
which is followed by the domain name with a domain suffix.
• The username cannot be longer than 64 characters long, and the domain name cannot
be longer than 254 characters.
• There should be only one @ sign in an e-mail address.
• The space and special characters: ( ) , : ; < > \ [ ] are allowed. Occasionally,
a space, backslash, and quotation mark work but must be preceded with a forward
slash. Although valid, some e-mail providers do not allow these characters.
• The username and e-mail addresses as a whole cannot begin or end with a period.
• The e-mail must not have two or more consecutive periods.