INTERNET TECHNOLOGY

UNIT – IV

EMAIL

EMAIL BASICS

Email is a service which allows us to send the message in electronic mode over
the internet. It offers an efficient, inexpensive and real time mean of
distributing information among people.
E-Mail Address
Each user of email is assigned a unique name for his email account. This name
is known as E-mail address. Different users can send and receive messages
according to the e-mail address.
E-mail is generally of the form username@domainname. For example,
webmaster@tutorialspoint.com is an e-mail address where webmaster is
username and tutorialspoint.com is domain name.
 The username and the domain name are separated by @ (at) symbol.
 E-mail addresses are not case sensitive.
 Spaces are not allowed in e-mail address.

E-mail Message Components

E-mail message comprises of different components: E-mail Header, Greeting,

Text, and Signature. These components are described in the following diagram:
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E-mail Header
The first five lines of an E-mail message is called E-mail header. The header
part comprises of following fields:
 From
 Date
 To
 Subject
 CC
 BCC
From
The From field indicates the sender’s address i.e. who sent the e-mail.
Date
The Date field indicates the date when the e-mail was sent.
To
The To field indicates the recipient’s address i.e. to whom the e-mail is sent.
Subject
The Subject field indicates the purpose of e-mail. It should be precise and to
the point.
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CC
CC stands for Carbon copy. It includes those recipient addresses whom we
want to keep informed but not exactly the intended recipient.
BCC
BCC stands for Black Carbon Copy. It is used when we do not want one or more
of the recipients to know that someone else was copied on the message.
Greeting
Greeting is the opening of the actual message. Eg. Hi Sir or Hi Guys etc.
Text
It represents the actual content of the message.
Signature
This is the final part of an e-mail message. It includes Name of Sender, Address,
and Contact Number.

Advantages

E-mail has prooved to be powerful and reliable medium of commmunication.

Here are the benefits of E-mail:
Reliable
 Convenience
 Speed
 Inexpensive
 Printable
 Global
 Generality
Reliable
Many of the mail systems notify the sender if e-mail message was
undeliverable.
Convenience
There is no requirement of stationary and stamps. One does not have to go to
post office. But all these things are not required for sending or receiving an
mail.
Speed
E-mail is very fast. However, the speed also depends upon the underlying
network.
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Inexpensive
The cost of sending e-mail is very low.
Printable
It is easy to obtain a hardcopy of an e-mail. Also an electronic copy of an e-mail
can also be saved for records.
Global
E-mail can be sent and received by a person sitting across the globe.
Generality
It is also possible to send graphics, programs and sounds with an e-mail.

Disadvantages

Apart from several benefits of E-mail, there also exists some disadvantages as
discussed below:
 Forgery
 Overload
 Misdirection
 Junk
 No response
Forgery
E-mail doesn’t prevent from forgery, that is, someone impersonating the
sender, since sender is usually not authenticated in any way.
Overload
Convenience of E-mail may result in a flood of mail.
Misdirection
It is possible that you may send e-mail to an unintended recipient.
Junk
Junk emails are undesirable and inappropriate emails. Junk emails are
sometimes referred to as spam.
No Response
It may be frustrating when the recipient does not read the e-mail and respond
on a regular basis.

E-mail System
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E-mail system comprises of the following three components:

 Mailer
 Mail Server
 Mailbox
Mailer
It is also called mail program, mail application or mail client. It allows us to
manage, read and compose e-mail.
Mail Server
The function of mail server is to receive, store and deliver the email. It is must
for mail servers to be Running all the time because if it crashes or is down,
email can be lost.
Mailboxes
Mailbox is generally a folder that contains emails and information about them.

Working of E-mail

Email working follows the client server approach. In this client is the mailer i.e.
the mail application or mail program and server is a device that manages
emails.
Following example will take you through the basic steps involved in sending
and receiving emails and will give you a better understanding of working of
email system:
 Suppose person A wants to send an email message to person B.
 Person A composes the messages using a mailer program i.e. mail client
and then select Send option.
 The message is routed to Simple Mail Transfer Protocol to person B’s
mail server.
 The mail server stores the email message on disk in an area designated
for person B.
The disk space area on mail server is called mail spool.

 Now, suppose person B is running a POP client and knows how to

communicate with B’s mail server.
 It will periodically poll the POP server to check if any new email has
arrived for B.As in this case, person B has sent an email for person B, so
email is forwarded over the network to B’s PC. This is message is now
stored on person B’s PC.
The following diagram gives pictorial representation of the steps discussed
above:
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Creating Email Account

There are various email service provider available such as Gmail, hotmail,
ymail, rediff mail etc. Here we will learn how to create an account using Gmail.
 Open gmail.com and click create an account.
 Now a form will appear. Fill your details here and click Next Step.
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 This step allows you to add your picture. If you don’t want to upload
now, you can do it later. Click Next Step.
 Now a welcome window appears. Click Continue to Gmail.
 Wow!! You are done with creating your email account with Gmail. It’s
that easy. Isn’t it?
 Now you will see your Gmail account as shown in the following image:

Key Points:
 Gmail manages the mail into three categories namely Primary,
Social and Promotions.
 Compose option is given at the right to compose an email message.
 Inbox, Starred, Sent mail, Drafts options are available on the left pane
which allows you to keep track of your emails.

Composing and Sending Email

Before sending an email, we need to compose a message. When we are

composing an email message, we specify the following things:
 Sender’s address in To field
 Cc (if required)
 Bcc (if required)
 Subject of email message
 Text
 Signature
You should specify the correct email address; otherwise it will send an error
back to the sender.
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Once you have specified all the above parameters, It’s time to send the email.
The mailer program provides a Send button to send email, when you click
Send, it is sent to the mail server and a message mail sent successfully is
shown at the above.

Reading Email

Every email program offers you an interface to access email messages. Like in
Gmail, emails are stored under different tabs such as primary, social, and
promotion. When you click one of tab, it displays a list of emails under that
tab.
In order to read an email, you just have to click on that email. Once you click a
particular email, it gets opened.
The opened email may have some file attached with it. The attachments are
shown at the bottom of the opened email with an option called download
attachment.

Replying Email

After reading an email, you may have to reply that email. To reply an email,
click Reply option shown at the bottom of the opened email.
Once you click on Reply, it will automatically copy the sender’s address in to
the To field. Below the To field, there is a text box where you can type the
message.
Once you are done with entering message, click Send button. It’s that easy.
Your email is sent.

Forwarding Email

It is also possible to send a copy of the message that you have received along
with your own comments if you want. This can be done using forward button
available in mail client software.
The difference between replying and forwarding an email is that when you
reply a message to a person who has send the mail but while forwarding you
can send it to anyone.
When you receive a forwarded message, the message is marked with a >
character in front of each line and Subject: field is prefixed with Fw.

Deleting Email
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If you don’t want to keep email into your inbox, you can delete it by simply
selecting the message from the message list and clicking delete or pressing the
appropriate command.
Some mail clients offers the deleted mails to be stored in a folder called
deleted items or trash from where you can recover a deleted email.

Attachment

Ability to attach file(s) along with the message is one of the most useful
features of email. The attachment may be a word document, PowerPoint
presentation, audio/video files, or images.
 In order to attach file(s) to an email, click the attach button. As a result, a
dialog box appears asking for specifying the name and location of the file
you want to attach.
 Once you have selected the appropriate file, it is attached to the mail.
 Usually a paper clip icon appears in the email which indicates that it has
an attachment.
 When adding an attachment it is better to compress the attached files so
as to reduce the file size and save transmission time as sending and
downloading large files consumes a lot of space and time.

Address Book

Address book feature of a mail program allows the users to store information
about the people whom they communicate regularly by sending emails. Here
are some of the key features of an Address book:
 Address book includes the nick names, email addresses, phone number
etc. of the people.
 Using address book allows us not to memorize email of address of a
person, you just have to select recipient name from the list.
 When you select a particular name from the list, the corresponding email
address link automatically get inserted in to the To: field.
 Address book also allows creating a group so that you can send a email
to very member of the group at once instead of giving each person email
address one by one.

MIME Types

MIME is acronym of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. MIME compliant

mailer allows us to send files other than simple text i.e. It allows us to send
audio, video, images, document, and pdf files as an attachment to an email.
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Suppose if you want to send a word processor document that has a group of
tabular columns with complex formatting. If we transfer the file as text, all the
formatting may be lost. MIME compliant mailer takes care of messy details and
the message arrives as desired.
The following table describes commonly used MIME Types:

1. Type Subtype Description File

extension(s)

2. Application postscript Printable postscript .eps, .ps

tex document .tex
troff TEX document .t, .tr, .roff
Printable troff document

3. Audio aiff Apple sound .aif, .aiff,.aifc

au Sun Microsystems sound .au, .snd
midi Musical Instrument Digital .midi, .mid
real Interface .ra, .ram
audio Progressive Network sound

4. image gif Graphics Interchange Format .gif

jpeg Joint Photographic Experts .jpeg, .jpg, .jpe
png Group .png
triff Portable Network Graphics .tiff, .tif
Tagged Image Modeling
Language

5. Model vrml Virual reality Modelling .wrl

Language

6. Text html Hyper Text Markup Language .html, .htm

plain Unformatted text .txt
sgml Standard Generalized .sgml
Markup language

7. Video avi Microsoft Audio Video .avi

mpeg Interleaved .mpeg, .mpg
quicktime Moving Pictures Expert .qt, .mov
sgi-movie Group .movie
Apple QuickTime movie
silicon graphic movie
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EMAIL PROTOCOL

SMTP
o SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
o SMTP is a set of communication guidelines that allow software to
transmit an electronic mail over the internet is called Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol.
o It is a program used for sending messages to other computer users
based on e-mail addresses.
o It provides a mail exchange between users on the same or different
computers, and it also supports:
o It can send a single message to one or more recipients.
o Sending message can include text, voice, video or graphics.
o It can also send the messages on networks outside the internet.
o The main purpose of SMTP is used to set up communication rules
between servers. The servers have a way of identifying themselves and
announcing what kind of communication they are trying to perform.
They also have a way of handling the errors such as incorrect email
address. For example, if the recipient address is wrong, then receiving
server reply with an error message of some kind.

Components of SMTP

o First, we will break the SMTP client and SMTP server into two
components such as user agent (UA) and mail transfer agent (MTA). The
user agent (UA) prepares the message, creates the envelope and then
puts the message in the envelope. The mail transfer agent (MTA)
transfers this mail across the internet.
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o SMTP allows a more complex system by adding a relaying system.

Instead of just having one MTA at sending side and one at receiving side,
more MTAs can be added, acting either as a client or server to relay the
email.

o The relaying system without TCP/IP protocol can also be used to send
the emails to users, and this is achieved by the use of the mail gateway.
The mail gateway is a relay MTA that can be used to receive an email.
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Working of SMTP

1. Composition of Mail: A user sends an e-mail by composing an electronic

mail message using a Mail User Agent (MUA). Mail User Agent is a
program which is used to send and receive mail. The message contains
two parts: body and header. The body is the main part of the message
while the header includes information such as the sender and recipient
address. The header also includes descriptive information such as the
subject of the message. In this case, the message body is like a letter and
header is like an envelope that contains the recipient's address.
2. Submission of Mail: After composing an email, the mail client then
submits the completed e-mail to the SMTP server by using SMTP on TCP
port 25.
3. Delivery of Mail: E-mail addresses contain two parts: username of the
recipient and domain name. For example, vivek@gmail.com, where
"vivek" is the username of the recipient and "gmail.com" is the domain
name.
If the domain name of the recipient's email address is different from the
sender's domain name, then MSA will send the mail to the Mail Transfer
Agent (MTA). To relay the email, the MTA will find the target domain. It
checks the MX record from Domain Name System to obtain the target
domain. The MX record contains the domain name and IP address of the
recipient's domain. Once the record is located, MTA connects to the
exchange server to relay the message.
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4. Receipt and Processing of Mail: Once the incoming message is received,

the exchange server delivers it to the incoming server (Mail Delivery
Agent) which stores the e-mail where it waits for the user to retrieve it.
5. Access and Retrieval of Mail: The stored email in MDA can be retrieved
by using MUA (Mail User Agent). MUA can be accessed by using login
and password.

EMAIL ADDRESSES

An email address is a designation for an electronic mailbox that sends and

receives messages, known as email, on a computer network. Since the 1980s,
all email addresses follow the same format: @. An example is below. On the
far right, the .com component represents the top level domain (TLD) for the
email address.

On the far right, the .com component represents the top level domain (TLD) for
the email address. It could also be replaced with .org, .edu, or another entity.
Commonly-used TLDs include:

.com: Used by entities engaged in commerce

.org: Used by nonprofit organizations

.edu: Used by educational institutions

.net: Used by network providers

.gov: Used by governmental agencies

The domain name is the specific name of the organization. This could be any
name, but familiar ones include Google.com or Target.com. The combination
of the organization name and TLD is the address entered into a browser to go
to the organization’s website. The @ (pronounced “at”) symbol is the
connector between the domain and the person who the email address belongs
to. In this case, the person is Jane Doe. When an email is sent to this address,
the message is sent to Jane Doe at the domain name.
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Domain names can be commercial or personal. Popular email providers for

business or personal use include Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft Outlook, and
HubSpot. Businesses and websites can purchase custom email addresses for
their domain through one of these options or through their website hosting
provider.

In early email systems, a wide variety of non-internet email address formats

were used before the janedoe@domainname.com form was instituted in the
1980s. The earliest email addresses had to identify one user from another on
one homogenous system, such as a minicomputer or mainframe. The address
was typically the user’s login name on the system, such as 432654,6564 when
using CompuServ, which was one of the largest online services that supported
many types of electronic mail.

HOW TO CREATE AN EMAIL ADDRESS

To create a personal email address that will not change as you change schools,
jobs, or internet service providers, create an account with an email provider of
your choosing, such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. The email provider will often ask
for your first and last name to create your unique email address. Typically,
users will use their name in the email address, so the mail will be easily
recognizable. Create a password in order to securely access your emails, and
you’re set.

2. Header

The header consists of a series of lines. Each header field consists of a single
line of ASCII text specifying field name, colon and value. The main header
fields related to message transport are :
1. To: It specifies the DNS address of the primary recipient(s).
2. Cc : It refers to carbon copy. It specifies address of secondary recipient(s).
3. BCC: It refers to blind carbon copy. It is very similar to Cc. The only
difference between Cc and Bcc is that it allow user to send copy to the
third party without primary and secondary recipient knowing about this.
4. From : It specifies name of person who wrote message.
5. Sender : It specifies e-mail address of person who has sent message.
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6. Received : It refers to identity of sender’s, data and also time message was
received. It also contains the information which is used to find bugs in
routing system.
7. Return-Path: It is added by the message transfer agent. This part is used
to specify how to get back to the sender.
3. Body:- The body of a message contains text that is the actual
content/message that needs to be sent, such as “Employees who are eligible
for the new health care program should contact their supervisors by next
Friday if they want to switch.” The message body also may include signatures
or automatically generated text that is inserted by the sender’s email system.
The above-discussed field is represented in tabular form as follows :

Header Meaning

To: E-mail address of primary receipt(s).

Cc: E-mail address of secondary receipt(s).

Bcc: E-mail address for blind carbon copies.

From: Person or people who have created a message.

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Header Meaning

Sender: E-mail address of the actual sender.

Received: It is used to specify how to get back to the sender.

Return-
Path It can be used to identify a path back to the sender.
In addition to above-discussed fields, the header may also contain a variety of
other fields which are as follows :

Header Meaning

Date: Date and time when the message was sent.

Reply-To: It contains e-mail address to which replies should be sent.

Message- It refers to the unique number for referencing this message

Id: later.

In-Reply-To: Message-Id of a message to which this is as a reply.

References: It contains other relevant message-ids.

Keywords: User-chosen keywords.

Subject: It contains short summary of message for one-line display.

EMAIL CLIENT SERVER

Electronic mail (email) can be defined as a process of exchanging

information/messages stored in a computer system by using an internet
communication system. Emails generally contain text but nowadays media and
other types of files can also be attached. When an email is sent then it goes to
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a remote computer say email server and stored there until the recipient of the
email go online and check it.

For sending and receiving any email an email address is needed, every email
address comprises three parts :

Username: It can be anything but following the guidelines decided by the email
provider.

Domain name/host: It is the mail server where the message will be stored. It
can be @gmail, @outlook, etc.

Domain Type: It tells whether a given email address is commercial like .com or
educational .edu and some other custom type.

For example, joy@gmail.com is an email address, it has three-part, joy is a

username, @gmail shows a domain name, and .com shows a domain type.

Email System

A complete email system is formed with three things:

1. Email Client
2. Mail Transfer Agent
3. Mail Delivery Agent
Email Client
An email client is also known as a Mail User Agent. It is actually the program
or the application that one has on his/her computer to send and receive
emails. The email client is used to compose emails, send them, and read
them. It is basically used for email management like creating, sending,
receiving, and deleting emails.
Features of Email Client:
1. It hides the complexity of sending and receiving emails by providing a
user-friendly interface. By using this interface it is possible for any novice
user to send and receive emails easily.
2. Most of the email client servers provide some kind of backup so one need
not worry if any message is deleted as it will move to the bin and one can
recover it from there.
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3. Each email client provides a high level of encryption to the messages while
sending them on the internet to reach the server, so it takes care of
privacy or confidentiality.
4. One of the most important features is accessibility means the ability to
read messages from any computer or mobile device from anywhere in the
world by using an internet connection.
5. No problem of memory or space as email clients provide more than
sufficient memory space on email servers.
6. Email clients can also be used as a to-do list for setting important
reminders.

Examples
Some of the famous Email Clients are as follows:-
Microsoft Outlook: It is one of the best email clients as it has lots of features
that individuals can use for personal information management. It is a part of
the Office 365 suite. It can be used in both ways as stand-alone software and
also as multiple-user software.
Some of the features of Microsoft Outlook are:
1. Task Management
2. Contact Management
3. Setting Reminders
4. Note Taking
5. Calendar Management

Mailbird: This email client is very useful in the management of multiple

emails in a single location with countless features and customizing options. It
provides one of the modern interfaces which is very easy to use even for new
users. Integration of other apps like LinkedIn, Whatsapp, Meet, and many
more are possible here.
Some of the features of Mailbird are:
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1. Email Tracking
2. Calendar syncing and integration options
3. The facility of speed reader
4. Feature of customizing themes
5. Events management

Thunderbird: This email client is made by Mozilla, actually at first they made
it for Linux mainly but considering windows users they designed it for both
windows and mac. One of the best things about this email client is that it is
free. For security purposes, it is one of the good choices.
Some of the features of Thunderbird are:
1. Multiple App Integration
2. Best Privacy Features
3. Multiple Inbox Management
4. Message Filtering
5. Tabbed email option
Applications
Some of the applications of an email client are :
1. Communication with others over the internet: Email client helps to
communicate over the internet in a secure way by sending and receiving
messages.
2. For business growth and development: In today’s digital era it is nearly
impossible to avoid interaction through an email client, for one purpose or
other. It helps in business growth as it provides a digital platform by using
which branding or advertising can be done easily.
3. For sharing different types of files: Sharing files with remote clients
become very easy with the use of email clients, different types of files and
media can be shared easily using email clients.
4. For the backup purpose of useful data: Data backup of useful files had
always been a big problem to all but now it is easy to save useful data by
mailing it to yourself, in this manner, it will be on the server and can be
accessed from anywhere and anytime.
5. Record Keeping: It is also used to keep written records of transactions
between clients which makes communication transparent and no one can
deny his/her statements.
Mail Transfer Agent
A mail transfer agent is used to send email between different computers say
from one computer to another by making the use of Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP).
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Users are unaware of mail transfer agents and think that the email
transmission process is straightforward while it takes a lot to send an email to
the intended recipient.
Mail Delivery Agent
Mail Delivery Agent is used by the Mail Transfer Agent for sending emails to a
specific user’s inbox. More specifically, think of a mail delivery agent as any
program which handles a message for delivery to the point where the mail
transfer agent can read it.
EMAIL SERVER

Email servers work pretty much like other kinds of servers. They are
responsible for routing specific information, in this case – emails, across a
network like the internet.

Email servers rely on the IP addresses attached to emails and the DNS
system to ensure that each message is routed directly across the internet to
the correct recipient, regardless of the domain.
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E
mail servers relay messages between senders and recipients

Depending on the server settings, any given mail server (e.g., Microsoft
Exchange Server) is responsible for distributing outgoing email (like an SMTP
server) or for retrieving and managing incoming email (like an IMAP server).

As with most complex processes, it’s probably easiest if we go step by step

through the complete system to show how an email message is sent,
transported and received.
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1. The sender uses a computer to sign into their email account and write a
message. As well as the message, they must include the recipient’s email
address before they hit send.
2. The email is first sent to SMTP or outgoing email servers. Here, the server
does a DNS record check to translate domain names in email addresses into
IP addresses that servers can use to route the email.
3. If the email goes to a domain within the same network, the first server can
simply route the email to the correct IMAP server.
4. However, if the mail is addressed to a domain on an IMAP server in a
different network, the initial SMTP server will rely on unrelated SMTP servers
to route the mail.
5. Finally, the incoming mail server uses a protocol like IMAP or POP to send all
messages to the recipient’s computer. The recipient can then find the
message in the inbox of their account.

H
ow a mail server works

Types of Mailing List

Following are the various types of mailing lists:
Response List
It contains the group of people who have responsed to an offer in some way.
These people are the customers who have shown interest in specific product
or service.
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Compiled List
The compiled list is prepared by collecting information from various sources
such as surveys, telemarketing etc.
Announcements
These lists are created for sending out coupans , new product announcements
and other offers to the customers.
Discussion List
This list is created for sharing views on a specific topic suchas computer,
environment , healt, education etc.

How does mailing list work?

Before joining a mailing list, it is mandatory to subscribe to it. Once you are
subscribed, your message will be sent to all the persons who have subscribed
to the list. Similarly if any subscriber posts a message, then it will be received
by all subscribers of the list.

Finding Mailing List

There are a number of websites are available to maintain database of

publically accessible mailing list. Some of these are:
 http://tile.net./lists
 http://lists.com
 http://topica.com
 http://isoft.com/lists/list-q.html
Mailing lists can also be found using Google website. In Google, move to
directory and the follow: Computers > Internet >Mailing List > Directories.

Subscribing to Mailing List

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To subscribe to a list, you need to send an email message to the administrative

address mailing list containing one or more commands. For example, if you
want to subscribe to Harry Potter list in gurus.com where name of the list
server us Majordomo, then you have to send email to majordom@gurus.com
containing the text, Subscribe harry potter in its body.
After sending the email, you will receive a confirmation email for your
subscription. This email will include list of commands that will help you to
perform various operations such as unsubscribing, receiving
acknowledgement, and find out what list you are subscribed to.

There are many list servers available, each having its own commands for
subscribing to the list. Some of them are described in the following table:

List Server Command Example

LISTSERV subscribe listname yourname subscribe commdhtml rahul

Majordomo subscribe listname subscribe commdhtml

ListProc subscribe listname yourname subscribe commdhtml rahul

EMAIL SECURITY

Email security is a term for describing different procedures and techniques for
protecting email accounts, content, and communication against unauthorized
access, loss or compromise. Email is often used to spread malware, spam and
phishing attacksSignificance of Email Security Practices

Hackers and cybercriminals use email as a means to disseminate malware,

spam, and phishing assaults. It's also one of the common ways to get into a
business network and steal sensitive data.

Approximately 92 percent of all malware is distributed via email. Every day, 15

billion spam emails are sent, accounting for around 45 percent of all emails.
Furthermore, 95% of corporate email hack damages ranged from 250to

984,855.
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Threats to Email Marketing

Spam – Spam is defined as unsolicited emails sent in large numbers. Vector

spam can contain links that download malware files in some situations.

Phishing – Phishing is when hackers use false emails, adverts, links, or

messages to steal personal information or gain access to internet accounts.
Phishing is involved in 36% of breaches, according to Verizon.

Malware – Malware is when cybercriminals use harmful code distributed in

email communications to infect one or more machines. Email virus infections
will increase by 600 percent in 2020.

Spoofing – Spoofing is a spam and phishing assault tactic used by hackers. It is

meant to deceive consumers into believing that the communication comes
from someone or something they know or can trust.

Botnet Messages – A botnet is a network of computers that have been infected

with malware. It commands the 'bot-header,' a single assaulting party. It's used
to hack into devices, steal data, send spam, and get access to the device and its
network.

BEC (Business Email Compromise) – The tracker uses this approach to acquire
access to a business email account and impersonate the owner. The attacker
usually targets organizations that use wire transfers to send money to overseas
vendors.

How Can You Identify an Email as a Threat?

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Dangerous emails have some common features. Look out for the following
attributes to identify emails that have been sent with a malicious intent −

Untrustworthy Email Address

Look for emails that utilize display name spoofing to hide the sender's true
identity. These emails look like to have been sent by respectable organizations
or trustworthy persons. Examine the sender's email address in the header for
any small variations, such as extra characters or letters.

A Sense of Immediacy

In addition to verifying the email's header, you should also check the email's
body. If you receive an unusual request that makes you feel compelled to act,
it's likely that it includes malware. As a result, examine the email's wording for
any feeling of urgency. Check for grammar and spelling issues, as most spam
emails are poorly written.

Requests for Information Verification

Any email that requests you to verify, evaluate, check, or confirm any
information is most likely a virus email. As a result, double-check the sender's
email address before responding.

Suspicious Links

Malware might be contained in an email with an unexpected attachment that

asks you to open it. .zip, .xls, .js, .pdf, .ace, .arj, .wsh, .scr, .exe, .com, .bat,
and .doc are examples of suspicious attachment file extensions.

A Link Must Be Clicked

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Keep an eye out for emails that push you to visit a website. It might be infected
with malware! Check the URL before clicking on the link. If it's a hyperlinked
link, hover your cursor over the text and double-check the link before clicking.

Email Security Best Practices

Following are some of the best practices in email security that work −

Email marketing should be encrypted. Customer-sensitive information is

sometimes included in emails, making them susceptible. As a result, it's critical
to protect these communications by encrypting all emails sent to and from
your customers.

Email security software should be used. Additionally, employ high-quality email

and security solutions that aren't easily manipulated or hacked. Invest in
password management software, as well as anti-phishing and anti-spoofing
software.

Use two-factor authentication. It's a common habit as well as an efficient

security precaution. Before logging in, a user must submit two pieces of
identifying information, making it far more difficult for hackers to get access to
an account, even if they know the password.

Make sure the devices you use to log in are up to date. With the rise of remote
work, many workers are encouraged to work from home and use personal
devices to access company email accounts. Personal gadgets, on the other
hand, are far more difficult for an organization to track, posing a serious
security concern.
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Only connect to secure Wi-Fi networks. If your firm doesn't utilize Wi-Fi or
work from home, make sure you're always connected to the internet over a
secure connection.