[Ham-Computers] RE: Attachments

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

An "in-line" image is still an attachment - it's considered an "in-line attachment".  Whether or not it goes through depends on how the reflector or e-mail server is setup.  Servers that pass HTML e-mails may allow in-line graphics and it's up to your e-mail program to display the attachment in-line.  Most servers I've used that pass only the plain-text portion of an e-mail will strip all attachments, in-line or not (this includes all QTH.NET reflectors, AFAIK).

BTW, in-line graphics are one way malware spread - there are security bugs in the way unpatched Windows systems handle certain graphics formats.  By exploiting these bugs, malware can be installed on a person's system just by reading an e-mail with a compromised in-line graphic (if the e-mail program uses the Windows graphics filters, and many do).  Another thing to consider is that e-mail "beacons" are what spammers use to track whether or not an e-mail address is valid.  A "beacon" is a 1-pixel "in-line" HTML graphic that links back to the spammer's server and it's used as an HTML return receipt, so-to-speak.  If you read an e-mail with a "beacon", the e-mail program needs to open a link to the spammer's server to retrieve the 1-pixel graphic.  This link includes a unique identifier so the spammer knows what e-mail address is requesting the "beacon" - thus the confirmation that the e-mail address is valid as the request would only be made if the e-mail was opened.

"Formatted" e-mails also take up a lot of bandwidth (HTML e-mails include 2 copies of the text - one in HTML format and another in plain-text, so the e-mails are automatically twice as large plus HTML overhead).  Some people have a fancy 100K animated tagline that auto-attaches to every e-mail.  These create a huge burden on e-mail and list servers, especially considering the text of the message may only be a few bytes long - a 100K e-mail just to say "Hello"?  Sheesh!  These are just some reasons why some e-mail lists/servers don't allow in-line graphics.  

Anyways, I digress.  Back to the original query - whether or not you can insert a graphic "in-line" or as a "normal" attachment depends highly on how the e-mail/list server is configured.  If the server is configured for plain-text only, then both types of attachments will most likely be stripped.

73,

  - Aaron, NN6O


-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 11:40 AM
Subject: Re: [Ham-Computers] Attachments

Some e-mail programs have an option to "insert images in-line" which places them in the message body without appearing to be an attachment.  Many reflectors strip attachments, I don't know if the same one will allow in-line graphics.  I am on one reflector which does not allow attachments to prevent the spread of viruses, but will allow in-line images up to 75KB or so for sharing screen captures.  It depends on the e-mail program and the reflector settings.

Kurt

----- Original Message -----
From: "WØQFC" <erastber at tampabay.rr.com>

: Some of the email reflectors I belong to will not allow attachments to
: email.
:
: So, is there a way to insert a picture in the body of the email without it
: becoming a attachment?