Email Not HTML 1.0b Help www.zzee.com | Contents | You are here:

• 1. Requirements
• 2. Installation
• 3. Introduction
• 3.1. What's wrong with HTML and MIME e-mail messages
• 3.2. How Email Not HTML solves the problem
• 4. How the program works
• 5. What e-mail software the program is compatible with
• 6. Registration information

1. Requirements

Windows 95 / 98 / ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 / XP. 

Program supports any POP3 e-mail software, such as MS Outlook.

2. Installation

Extract the distribution file into the clean folder. Run "setup.exe" and follow the prompts. Please always extract ZIP file prior to installation, do not run "setup.exe" from inside ZIP file.

Note users of Windows NT 4.0, 2000 and XP: you may need some administrative rights for the installation. If you can't install the software, ask your system administrator or log in under administrator account.

To uninstall the software, use Add/Remove Programs link from Control Panel.

3. Introduction

3.1. What's wrong with HTML and MIME e-mail messages

HTML based e-mail messages may cause various problems:

• They may contain harmful scripts, or iframes contents, or ActiveX controls, or applets that e-mail client can execute.
• They may have "web bugs", that is embedded images, or style sheets, or whatever linked files that are used by the sender (usually junk mailers) to track who read their e-mail messages.

Also MIME based e-mail messages may contain executable files as the attachments, which can be launched by exploiting possible vulnerabilities in the e-mail client or by an incautious user.

3.2. How Email Not HTML solves the problem

While keeping all the information sent and preserving readability of the message, program gracefully handles HTML parts and attachments to prevent e-mail client from automatic launching HTML or executable code. It performs the following steps:

• Forces selection of clear text parts if they are alternatives to other "fancy" parts. Alternatives are provided by the senders themselves, and therefore the information is not lost.
• Translates all inline HTML parts to clear text and at the same time moves original HTML part to the attachments. Thus the readability of the message is kept, plus original information is retained intact. Therefore you could see the original HTML sent and its source in the case you would need it. Built-in translator understands all HTML 4.0 tags and renders tables.
• Moves all inline parts except clear text to the attachments. This prevents e-mail client from automatic rendering of the possibly dangerous stuff and keeps all the information intact.
• Zips all attachments except already compressed. This makes sure that the e-mail client doesn't render the part inline or doesn't launch exe file that may be attached.

These steps ensure that e-mail client displays only clear text parts inline. All other information is moved to attachments and possibly zipped.

Program recognizes "message/rfc822" parts and can process them recursively. This is needed because an intruder can, for example, forge the delivery report message and include harmful e-mail message into it as an attachment.

Program also recognizes "message/delivery-status" parts and leaves them untouched, thus allowing automatic e-mail processors to parse delivery reports. 

All settings are tunable, and you can switch off, say, zip compression.

4. How the program works

Once being set up, the program then puts itself to the start-up folder and then is launched every time the computer starts. It silently sits in the system tray [near by clock], waiting for connections from e-mail clients. You can click its icon to bring up its window in the case you need to stop, restart or reconfigure it.

Email Not HTML works in the middle between your e-mail client and the incoming mail (POP3) server, changing e-mail messages going through it on the fly. E-mail client programs (such as MS Outlook) treat the program as the mail server, Email Not HTML, in turn, acts as an e-mail client when it connects to remote POP3 server. This is called "POP3 relay".

This version of the software accepts only connections from e-mail clients located on the same computer, so you can not connect to it from the other computer.

Note, that in almost all cases the length of the modified message is different from the original length. This doesn't actually matter, as POP3 protocol has a special "end-of-message" sequence.

See also: Introduction.

5. What e-mail software the program is compatible with

The program is aimed to work transparently with your favorite e-mail client. It acts as a POP3 relay, therefore it is compatible with any POP3 e-mail client and any POP3 e-mail account. It was tested with the following e-mail programs [click on links to see set-up instructions]:

• MS Outlook
• Netscape Messenger / Communicator
• Eudora
• The Bat

To determine if your e-mail program is supported, see if it is compatible with POP3 protocol. Also make sure that your e-mail account is of POP3 type.

If you use web e-mail account and your service provider allows to download messages via POP3 protocol to your desktop e-mail program, like yahoo.com does, then you can use the program in conjunction with your web based e-mail account and the e-mail client software. See the provider's instructions how to set up POP3 capabilities with your web e-mail account.

The program supports multiple accounts simultaneously.

See also: How to set up e-mail client.

6. Registration information

The program is a shareware, registration cost is $29. You can evaluate it during 30 days only, after that you must register it. To register your copy please visit our web site:

http://www.zzee.com/enh/?r=enh#register

Unregistered copy has the following limitations:

• Each 30 minutes program automatically clicks "Stop" button. You have to click "Run" button to accept connections again. This in no way affects running POP3 connections.
• "Kill current connections" button is disabled.

See license.txt file for legal information.