What Is an Email Header Canva?
An email header is an important part of every email you send or receive. It contains crucial information that helps your email reach its intended destination and provides useful details about the sender and the email itself.
What Does an Email Header Contain?
The email header can contain a variety of information, including:
- From: The name and email address of the sender
- To: The name and email address of the recipient(s)
- Date: The date and time when the email was sent
- Subject: The subject line of the email
Why Is Email Header Important?
The email header plays a crucial role in ensuring smooth communication through emails. Here are some reasons why it is important to understand and analyze email headers:
- Email Routing: The header contains information about the servers that the email passed through before reaching your inbox. This helps in tracking the path taken by an email.
- Email Authentication: Email headers contain important authentication details such as DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework) signatures. These help in verifying the authenticity of an email and identify any potential spoofing attempts.
- Email Filtering: Email headers often include spam detection results, which help mail servers determine if an incoming message should be classified as spam or delivered to the inbox.
How Can You View Email Headers?
To view an email's header, you can typically find an option under your email client's "More" or "Options" menu. Once you locate the option, click on it to reveal the complete header.
Viewing Email Headers in Gmail
To view email headers in Gmail, open the email you want to inspect. Click on the three dots located at the top-right corner of the email window and select "Show original" from the dropdown menu. The email's full header will be displayed in a new tab or window.
Viewing Email Headers in Outlook
In Outlook, open the email you want to examine. Click on "File" in the menu bar and select "Properties." The email header information will be displayed under the "Internet headers" section.
Understanding Email Headers
Reading an email header might seem daunting at first due to its complex structure, but it can provide valuable insights into an email's origin and path. Here are some key components you might encounter:
- X-Mailer: The software used by the sender's email client to compose and send the message.
- Received: A series of entries that indicate each server that handled the email during its journey.
- MIME-Version: Specifies the version of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) used for encoding the message content.
- Content-Type: Describes how different parts of an email, such as text and attachments, are formatted and encoded.
Understanding these components can help you identify any anomalies or potential security threats within an email.
In Conclusion
An email header contains vital information about an email's origin, routing, and authenticity. Analyzing this information can help you ensure secure communication and identify potential issues. By understanding how to view and interpret email headers, you can better manage your inbox and protect yourself from phishing or spoofing attempts.
