An email will gather together information from each of the computers it passes through on the way to the recipient and this is stored in the email header. In Outlook, right click on the email message and select Options. (Sample as image below):
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Headers are best read from the bottom up, as they are added to as the email passes through the system:
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Note: The "Reply-To" field is added by the originator and serves to direct replies, whereas the "Return-Path" field is used to identify a path back to the originator.
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| Header line | Meaning |
| Microsoft Mail Internet Headers Version 2.0 | Header title |
| Received: from EXIC1.lse.ac.uk ([158.143.216.121]) by ExF2.lse.ac.uk with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.5329); Tue, 15 Jul 2003 12:16:56 +0100 |
Email passed from Exchange gateway servers to staff mailbox server |
| Received: from EXAV2.pc.lse.ac.uk ([158.143.216.132]) by EXIC1.lse.ac.uk with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.5329);
Tue, 15 Jul 2003 12:16:55 +0100 |
Email passed from anti-virus servers to Exchange gateway server |
| Received: From exas1.lse.ac.uk ([158.143.216.135]) by EXAV2.pc.lse.ac.uk (WebShield SMTP v4.5 MR1a);
id 1058267813844; Tue, 15 Jul 2003 12:16:53 +0100 |
Email passed from anti-spam servers to anti-virus servers |
| Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message |  |
| X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4910.0300 |  |
| Received: from web60003.mail.yahoo.com ([216.109.116.226]) by exas1.lse.ac.uk with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.5329); Tue, 15 Jul 2003 12:14:24 +0100
Message-ID: <20030715111424.6388.qmail@web60003.mail.yahoo.com> |
Email received by LSE anti-spam server from originator's email server. This is the point of entry to the LSE. |
| Received: from [158.143.113.49] by web60003.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Tue, 15 Jul 2003 12:14:24 BST | Date and time received by the originator's email servers |
| Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 12:14:24 +0100 (BST) | Date and time sent |
| From: "Daniel Simpson" <djs@yahoo.co.uk> | Originator's email address |
| Reply-To: <d.simpson@hotmail.com> | Reply to address |
| Subject: Test Email | Subject |
| To: <f.muir@lse.ac.uk> | Recipients email address |
| MIME-Version: 1.0 |  |
| Content-Type: multipart/alternative; |  |
| boundary="0-710479544-1058267664=:1719" |  |
| Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit |  |
| Return-Path: <djs@yahoo.co.uk> | Originator's email address |
| X-OriginalArrivalTime: 15 Jul 2003 11:14:24.0580 (UTC) FILETIME=[3F7D6840:01C34AC2] | Arrival time at originators email servers |
| --0-710479544-1058267664=:1719 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --0-710479544-1058267664=:1719 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --0-710479544-1058267664=:1719-- |
Start of the email message |
