What is an Email Header?
An email header is a very important piece of information added to the actual message. This data is often hidden from the reader but they are required by email clients for various purposes. Some use the information for security while others use the data to determine the sender's location. They use this data for advertising purposes and other business transactions.
Although the email header does not immediately divulge the data about the sender's location (physical address), it can be used to reveal a very important data: the IP address. This is a very small piece of information but can single-handedly reveal the information you want. The IP address is the online equivalent of a physical address. This means you can use the IP address to know where the email came from.
The IP address is not just information added to email messages. This information is added to every device connecting to the internet. Through this information, websites will know the location of their sender. They use the data for business purposes such as customizing their website depending on the user's location. Other websites use the IP address to block specific users who have been abusing the services they offer.
The IP address is very useful for determining the sender's location. Websites that offer this service can immediately provide the physical location associated with the IP address. Aside from location, names and phone numbers are also added.
Extracting additional information through email headers is very important for personal and business purposes. Some use this data to determine senders that might have sent-in threatening emails. This is also used to determine the location of spammers. For businesses, they use this information to determine the veracity of the information they received. As they constantly receive important data everyday, they have to make sure that the information is reliable.
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