Email headers contain the essential information about an email’s origins, recipients, and pathways. Learning how to read email headers can be beneficial in detecting spam or tracing suspicious emails. This article will guide you through seven steps to better understand and navigate email headers.

1. Access the email header:

Most email providers and applications allow users to view the source or “raw” content of an email, including its headers. To access an email header, locate the option within your email client that allows you to view “source” or “header information.”

2. Understand the basic components:

An email header typically consists of several lines of data, including the following key elements:

– From: The sender’s email address

– To: The recipient’s email address

– Subject: The subject line of the email

– Date: The date and time when the message was sent

3. Identify routing information:

The vital part of an email header is its routing and tracking information. Some main fields included in this section are:

– Received: Details when and from where the message was received (there will often be several Received lines for a single email)

– Return-Path: Showcases the path that bounce-backs will travel if undeliverable

4. Analyze timestamps:

Email headers contain timestamp details for each server it passes through, which can help identify delays or inconsistencies related to spam or phishing activity.

5. Decode encoded information:

Sometimes header information is encoded (e.g., using Base64), mainly when international characters are used in fields such as subject lines. Online tools can help decode such encoded data to get a clear understanding of the content.

6. Watch for red flags:

Look out for signs indicating potential security threats like discrepancies in sender addresses, unusual source IP addresses, or sloppy formatting – these can all be warning signs of spam or phishing emails.

7. Employ external tools:

Several online tools are available to help analyze email headers and reduce the complex information into more accessible insight. These tools can effectively reveal the email’s real sender, IP information or highlight inconsistencies that signify malicious content.

By following these seven steps, you will be better equipped to read and understand email headers and recognize potential threats before they cause harm.