Topic: Web Bugs in Email

[smeghead]

Howdy Brainstrust

I would like to know if there is a way to remove web bugs from email, or at the very least tag the email subject with a warning of suspected web bugs.

Ta muchly

[Stefano]

would you mind to elaborate a bit more?

TIA

[smeghead]

would you mind to elaborate a bit more?

TIA

I have a few peeps that send me email that use tracking services based on web bugs, usually 1x1 pixels embedded in a message that are on a remote server.  The remote server know when the file is downloaded.

I want to be able to check an email for the existance of these images & either remove them or warn the user of their existance.

To date I've viewed email source, seen the http request for said web bug, built protections into my PC hosts file plus the SME hosts file to point the host the web bug is trying to talk to to 127.0.0.1 .. I'd like a better solution if it's out there.

Suggestions?

[Stefano]

Well, disable image downloading in your email client to start.

[Jean-Philippe Pialasse]

I do not know the email client you use, but by default Thunderbird will not download any image or embedded content from a remote location unless you authorize it first on a one time basis or add the remote address or the email address to a whitelist.

[smeghead]

.. I asked for a server based solution as it makes a lot more sense to me to protect all network users from the issue rather than do this at an Email client level just for me.  I know there are lots of Email clients that have various options to help manage things like this but I'm looking for a server based solution.

[ReetP]

Using Horde 5 I believe it blocks images automatically?

Have you tried an alternative webmail system such as Roundcube or Sogo ? Roundcube has a 'markasjunk' plugin:

https://wiki.contribs.org/RoundCube
https://wiki.contribs.org/Sogo
https://wiki.contribs.org/Zarafa_on_SME_9


You could enhance your spamassassin training to tag Junk - that could mark mail with links as Junk:

https://wiki.contribs.org/Email

Setting tougher blocking on your server may help. Other alternatives - grey listing emails.

If you are asking to actually strip content from emails you may have a much tougher situation on your hands. I'm not sure you can actually strip it without a pile of trick coding you would have to write yourself. You may be better off refining the tools you have to hand to filter and reject mail.

Another alternative - may be better at looking at some sort of DNS adblocker like Pi-Hole https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole

(thinking out loud - "pi-hole" on SME anyone ??)

[Jean-Philippe Pialasse]

.. I asked for a server based solution as it makes a lot more sense to me to protect all network users from the issue rather than do this at an Email client level just for me.  I know there are lots of Email clients that have various options to help manage things like this but I'm looking for a server based solution.

Well unfortunatly you are stuck with either the mail client solution or if your sme is acting gateway you could implement squidguard or dansguardian see wiki.
then you will had to add every such tracker services on a blacklist or find a blacklist already doing this.
Honestly for the result and the energy to maintain it ( false positive, false negative), configuring the clients will seem a piece of cake.

Reading you, this is not to junk a mail but just to prevent link to say you read it.

.