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Spam question...

by TimothyW
15 replies
If I get spam in my inbox, and I open the email, the spammer can see that I have opened it, yes? -- or not?

What if I right click on it, and my email provider (yahoo) allows me to "mark it as read" without ever really opening it. What does the spammer "see" in that case? I see it as being read, but I never officially opened it.

Please advise.

Thanks.

-- TW
#question #spam
  • Profile picture of the author KirkMcD
    They can only tell if you've opened it if the email has images that are linked to another site (i.e. not embedded) and you view the images. That's why many email client do not show images by default.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Henshaw
      They can only tell if you've opened it if the email has images that are linked to another site (i.e. not embedded) and you view the images. That's why many email client do not show images by default.
      Or if you click on any links in the email that are tracked.

      Jeff.
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      • Profile picture of the author GeckoTribe
        Originally Posted by Jeff Henshaw View Post

        Or if you click on any links in the email that are tracked.
        ...or if your browser pre-fetches links so that it can display content fast if you actually click them. That's one of the reasons I don't like that feature in a web browser.
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
    Aha. So doing the "mark as read" thing isn't necessary - does not increase my privacy/security vs. just plain opening it (as long as I don't click on anything once I've opened it.

    Thanks.

    -- TW
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author TheZafraGroup
    Just be careful. Most spam emails are harmful. Could contain viruses or they could steal your account info. I say if spam emails you, don't even bother opening it. Not worth the risk.
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    How do services such as Aweber, MailChimp, Imnica, etc track the open rate?
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    • Profile picture of the author TheZafraGroup
      There should be an option within the create new message or broadcast area that you should check out and set to track whatever actions are done with the email whether it is open rate, link click, etc.
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      • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
        Originally Posted by TheZafraGroup View Post

        There should be an option within the create new message or broadcast area that you should check out and set to track whatever actions are done with the email whether it is open rate, link click, etc.
        Yes, but how is the tracking of open rate actually done?

        Edit: Google is my friend. It appears that it is done by adding a tracking pixel, as Kirk said. So that even if you do click on a link you aren't seen as part of the open rate if your web browser is set not to display images.


        So the answer to the original question is that marking the email as read, without actually opening it, won't be seen by the spammers.
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        • Profile picture of the author TheZafraGroup
          Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

          Yes, but how is the tracking of open rate actually done?
          Well I'm not really sure how it actually works but with aweber, you just need to check a box to track things. Then there's a reports tab where all the data you'd like to see is kept. It should show all your open rates, url clicks, unique opens, etc. If you would like to find out how it all works, I recommend you ask support as they can pretty much explain this with ease.
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        • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
          Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post


          So the answer to the original question is that marking the email as read, without actually opening it, won't be seen by the spammers.
          meaning I (OP) was right after all. go figure!

          so far, after 15-20 years, the spammers haven't "found" me -- or at least my filters send almost all of it to the spam folder.

          cheers.

          -- TW
          Signature
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          • Profile picture of the author Jeff Henshaw
            Aha. So doing the "mark as read" thing isn't necessary - does not increase my privacy/security vs. just plain opening it (as long as I don't click on anything once I've opened it.

            Thanks.

            -- TW
            Sorry, but just to clarify my earlier post on this, I was refering solely to text emails, not to HTML emails.

            Jeff.
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            • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
              Originally Posted by Jeff Henshaw View Post

              Sorry, but just to clarify my earlier post on this, I was refering solely to text emails, not to HTML emails.

              Jeff.

              How can you tell which type an email is before you open it??
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              • Profile picture of the author Jeff Henshaw
                The first emails were all text or 'plain text'. Plain text has no formatting and typically looks plain. It's often displayed using what's called a "mono-spaced" font - meaning that each character takes up the same space on the line.

                To make emails more attractive and better formatted, HTML is used. This can make an email look almost like a mini website. HTML format in an email is thus much larger than in a text email, to take account of all of the different formatting information included.

                The downside to this HTML formatting is that there are still email programs in use, that cannot interpret it, so you would just receive an unreadable garbled email. The majority of currently used email programs allow you to select the type of emails that you send and receive.

                Modern auto-responders also allow you to select the form in which you send your emails. The sensible thing is to send in both plain text and HTML so that one or other form will be received.

                Some authorities consider that sending emails in plain text rather than HTML makes them less likely to be blocked by spam filters. If so, then spammers may be more inclined to use plain text.

                How to distinguish between an HTML and text email arriving in your in-box is down to experience in my opinion. If the email is in plain unformatted text (similar to that produced by an old typewriter) then it is a plain text email. If it is well formatted, has a decent font, has bullet points and so on, then it is probably an HTML email. Of course, if it looks like a mini-website, it's definately HTML!

                Just my thoughts,
                Jeff.
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                • Profile picture of the author Jeff Henshaw
                  How can you tell which type an email is before you open it??
                  Sorry, I forgot to address this.

                  I'm not sure if there is a definative way that would work for all email programs, but as I alluded to earlier in my last post, an HTML email will be much larger than a plain text email.

                  Jeff.
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    • Profile picture of the author Coby
      Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

      How do services such as Aweber, MailChimp, Imnica, etc track the open rate?
      with a small 1x1 pixel or "image" that is tracked when opened (assuming the email client allows images)...

      Plain text emails can only be tracked if the autoresponder tracks the links in the plain text (Imnica doesn't track plain text) and someone clicks on it.
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