Needle in a Haystack
Conclusions
The script presented here does not spare you the unavoidable task of manually separating the wheat from the chaff. If you run the script on a large mailbox, the result will be many files with either cryptic or very similar names (Figure 3). In the latter case, finding out which file is the true final (or initial) version requires manual examination.
Also, be prepared to fix permissions and ownership of files manually. By default, email folder and files permissions on Linux are set to 600
, which means "only readable by the owner." Depending on how you configure the script, many of the files it extracts will have the same permissions, which may or may not be what you want.
Final thought: Some weird combination of character encodings and recursively embedded messages surely exists out there that would make this extraction script fail and requiring tweaking or other manual work. Unfortunately, there is nothing to be done about this scenario. However, considering that some files from just 15 or 20 years ago are already unreadable, you should be happy that you can still process all email messages ever created without particular problems. This all goes to prove that the best "innovation" is based on simple and really open standards.
Infos
- MIME: https://www.hunnysoft.com/mime/mime-guide.html
- Email format overview: https://wiki2.dovecot.org/MailboxFormat
- Using Mutt as a mailbox converter: https://foolab.org/node/1737
- Save tagged attachments with Mutt: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/37218/how-to-really-easily-save-all-tagged-attachments-in-mutt
- procmail: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/421433/procmail-save-attachment-with-received-date-in-filename @IE
« Previous 1 2 3 4
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora Asahi 40 Remix Available for Macs with Apple Silicon
If you've been anticipating KDE's Plasma 6 for your Apple Silicon-powered Mac, then you're in luck.
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.