Is there a way to configure mail to automatically load content of only approved addresses? I don't want to always load remote content but, there are some addresses that I would like to load the remote content automatically. I only seem to be able to load it for everyone or no one.
Thanks a lot
P
Macbook Pro 2.6 GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.6)
This is a very important feature. As Mick points out, it is used to combat spam.
Email Spammers (and malicious hackers) use Remote Content to identify which email address have a real person at the other end (YOU). Remote content typically is not a simple link to a location used by everybody, say:
Instead, is a custom link with your unique email address (identity) encoded in the link, so that THEY KNOW when and if you read the email.
Once you open the message (remote content turned on), they know you are a real email address and that a human being on the other end is looking at what they sent. Now that they have confirmed that your email address is real, they can get money by selling your validated email address to other spammers (or malicious hackers).
Solution:
So, what can we do on our Mac to fix this? Is it a practical solution? And if/when there is a solution for the Mac, will the iPhone and iPad implement that same solution? (my 3 standing questions for every topic here)
So many times, there is only a partial solution. I guess it's the price you pay for keeping things simple.
But in this case, why even have the option (rhetorical)... So many important email messages contain the remote content, that you just can't get anything done unless you turn it on.
Applescript is not the answer. Nor Automator. Filters don't work, because you'd need something more complex than the "ALL vs ANY" option (partial solution which ultimately leads to a dead end). I can't manage the number of filters it would take to properly screen this, or the complexity of such a screen.
This is a very important feature. As Mick points out, it is used to combat spam.
Email Spammers (and malicious hackers) use Remote Content to identify which email address have a real person at the other end (YOU). Remote content typically is not a simple link to a location used by everybody, say:
Instead, is a custom link with your unique email address (identity) encoded in the link, so that THEY KNOW when and if you read the email.
Once you open the message (remote content turned on), they know you are a real email address and that a human being on the other end is looking at what they sent. Now that they have confirmed that your email address is real, they can get money by selling your validated email address to other spammers (or malicious hackers).
Solution:
So, what can we do on our Mac to fix this? Is it a practical solution? And if/when there is a solution for the Mac, will the iPhone and iPad implement that same solution? (my 3 standing questions for every topic here)
So many times, there is only a partial solution. I guess it's the price you pay for keeping things simple.
But in this case, why even have the option (rhetorical)... So many important email messages contain the remote content, that you just can't get anything done unless you turn it on.
Applescript is not the answer. Nor Automator. Filters don't work, because you'd need something more complex than the "ALL vs ANY" option (partial solution which ultimately leads to a dead end). I can't manage the number of filters it would take to properly screen this, or the complexity of such a screen.
All or none unfortunately.
Ok. Thank you for your reply
You are welcome.
I've been scouring the Internet for this capability as well and have come up dry, too. A lot of older Applescripts to do this in earlier versions, but nothing for Yosemite that I can find. We need some Devs with time on their hands! :-)
Well, maybe someone else can get this working better, but I have a rule set that will Load Remote Content when you click on Apply Rules and are seeing the email in the Preview window. Of course that kind of defeats the purpose a bit, but I used the program Mouse Position Menu to click on an area of the screen where the button is located. Here is the script info.
set x to 1830
set y to 118
set l to 1
do shell script "
/usr/bin/python <<END
import sys
import time
from Quartz.CoreGraphics import *
def mouseEvent(type, posx, posy):
theEvent = CGEventCreateMouseEvent(None, type, (posx,posy), kCGMouseButtonLeft)
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, theEvent)
def mousemove(posx,posy):
mouseEvent(kCGEventMouseMoved, posx,posy);
def mouseclick(posx,posy):
mouseEvent(kCGEventLeftMouseDown, posx,posy);
mouseEvent(kCGEventLeftMouseUp, posx,posy);
ourEvent = CGEventCreate(None);
currentpos=CGEventGetLocation(ourEvent); # Save current mouse position
for x in range(0, " & l & "):
mouseclick(" & x & "," & y & ");
mousemove(int(currentpos.x),int(currentpos.y)); # Restore mouse position
END"
My screen is a 21.5" running at the native 1920x1080 resolution. So my coordinates were 1830,118 and I plugged them in to the AppleScript above.
Here is the link to the original click thread with the credit of who came up with the above scripting info.
If you specifically want to run the Apply Rules command, you could try UI scripting.
tell application "Mail" to activate
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Mail" to keystroke "l" using {command down, option down}
This replicates the keyboard shortcut for Apply Rules.
Hope it helps,
H
I would like this functionality too. It would make a lot of sense to manually approve certain senders and then have them always load remote content. Mostly, I've turned it off to combat spam. At the very least, you shouldn't have to turn it on again and again for the very same email if you're seeing in in Preview mode, and then as an "open" email, etc... But the better solution, is to let the user dial this in. We could use a setting here like "always load remote content from trusted senders."
Mick
load remote content in mail only for approved addresses
