Summary
Including plaintext versions of emails can increase bot activity due to several factors. Firstly, plaintext's simpler structure, as defined by RFC 5322, makes it easier for bots to crawl, parse, and extract information, especially links, due to the absence of complex HTML formatting. This simplicity facilitates quicker data collection and potentially inflates click-through rates. Secondly, corporate malware filters and spam filters may scrutinize plaintext versions more aggressively or follow links in both plain and rich text versions. Additionally, plaintext emails lack obfuscation and advanced tracking mechanisms, which makes them more vulnerable to bot-driven attacks and harder to differentiate between genuine user engagement and bot interactions. Moreover, email parsing libraries may be more vulnerable when handling plaintext emails, and the absence of digital signatures enables easier impersonation and malicious content injection. Ultimately, plaintext emails prioritize accessibility over security and sophisticated tracking, making them a more attractive target for various types of bots and potentially skewing engagement metrics.
Key findings
- Simpler Structure: Plaintext's simpler structure facilitates easier crawling, parsing, and information extraction by bots.
- Target for Malware: Corporate malware filters and spam filters may scrutinize plaintext versions more aggressively, or simply double-check if HTML versions are also present.
- Lack of Obfuscation: Plaintext emails lack obfuscation features and advanced tracking mechanisms, increasing their vulnerability to bot-driven attacks and making it harder to differentiate bot interactions from genuine engagement.
- Parsing Vulnerabilities: Email parsing libraries may be more vulnerable when handling plaintext emails.
- Absence of Digital Signatures: The absence of digital signatures enables easier impersonation and malicious content injection by bots.
Key considerations
- Monitoring Traffic: Continuously monitor email traffic and engagement metrics to identify unusual bot activity and potential security threats.
- Security Measures: Implement additional security measures to mitigate the risks associated with plaintext emails, such as advanced bot detection and filtering techniques.
- Accessibility vs. Security: Balance the accessibility benefits of plaintext emails with the potential security vulnerabilities and bot activity concerns by carefully considering the content, links, and tracking mechanisms included.
- MX Analysis: Review recipient domains and MX records to detect suspect data patterns.
What email marketers say
8 marketer opinions
Including plaintext versions of emails can increase bot activity for several reasons. Plaintext's simpler structure allows bots to easily crawl and extract information, especially links, without the complexities of HTML. This lack of complex coding facilitates easier parsing, potentially inflating click-through rates and skewing engagement metrics. Moreover, the absence of advanced tracking mechanisms in plaintext versions can trigger bot detection systems and make it harder to differentiate bot interactions from genuine user engagement. Some older email security systems might also flag emails without HTML as suspicious, leading to additional bot-driven security checks. Ultimately, plaintext's simplicity and reduced tracking capabilities contribute to higher apparent bot activity.
Key opinions
- Simpler Structure: Plaintext emails offer a simpler structure for bots to crawl and extract information compared to HTML emails.
- Easier Parsing: The lack of complex code in plaintext makes it easier for bots to parse links and content, potentially leading to skewed engagement metrics.
- Trigger Bot Detection: Plaintext versions might trigger bot detection systems more often due to the absence of advanced tracking mechanisms.
- Security Checks: Older email security systems might flag emails without HTML as suspicious, causing additional bot-driven security checks.
- Lacking Tracking: The lack of tracking in plaintext makes genuine users harder to distinguish from bot engagement.
Key considerations
- Engagement Metrics: Be aware that engagement metrics for plaintext emails might be inflated due to bot activity.
- Security Systems: Consider the impact of older security systems flagging plaintext emails and triggering additional checks.
- Tracking Limitations: Recognize the limitations in tracking and differentiating bot interactions from real user engagement in plaintext emails.
- Risk Management: Understanding the risk of high bot activity and skewing metrics should factor into campaign strategy.
Marketer view
Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that plaintext email versions might trigger bot detection systems more often due to the lack of advanced tracking mechanisms available in HTML. Without tracking pixels and sophisticated link tracking, systems might rely on simpler metrics that bots are more likely to trigger, leading to inflated bot activity reports.
4 Jun 2023 - StackOverflow
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit explains that some spam filters and security systems are designed to analyze plaintext versions of emails more aggressively. They hypothesize that a higher incidence of malicious links or content found in plaintext emails over time could lead to increased scrutiny by these systems, resulting in bot-like behavior such as link crawling.
11 Dec 2023 - Reddit
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Including plaintext versions of emails can increase bot activity because they are easier for bots to scan for links due to the lack of formatting. This simplicity allows for straightforward link extraction, potentially leading to more bot traffic. Corporate malware filters may also follow links in plaintext emails, especially if there are links in both plain and rich text versions, effectively doubling the number of links and increasing the likelihood of them being followed. Identifying recipient domains and looking up MX records can help understand the traffic patterns.
Key opinions
- Easy Link Extraction: Plaintext emails are easier for bots to scan for links due to their lack of formatting, leading to increased bot traffic.
- Malware Filters: Corporate malware filters follow links, and having links in both plain and rich text versions doubles the chances of them being followed.
- MX Records: Examining recipient domains and MX records helps in understanding traffic patterns and identifying potential bot activity sources.
Key considerations
- Data Analysis: Dig into the data to understand which links are being followed, which messages are triggering bot activity, and which MXes are involved.
- Domain Analysis: Investigate recipient domains by looking up their MX records to identify potential sources of bot activity.
- Plaintext Simplicity: Recognize that plaintext's simplicity makes it easier for bots to quickly access and extract links, leading to increased bot-related engagement.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that plaintext emails are easier for bots to scan for links due to their lack of formatting. This simplicity makes extracting links a straightforward process, potentially causing more bot traffic.
28 Aug 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that some users prefer or require plaintext emails. However, this does not directly address the question of increased bot activity. Some bot developers may only review plain text for quick access to links to allow for faster data collection.
26 Sep 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Including plaintext versions of emails increases bot activity due to their simpler structure, ease of parsing, and lack of security features. RFC 5322's defined syntax makes plaintext emails readily parsable, allowing bots to easily extract links and content. This lack of obfuscation also makes them more vulnerable to bot-driven attacks, as they lack the code-hiding capabilities of HTML. Their readily indexable nature, as noted by Google Webmaster Guidelines, further contributes to more frequent bot visits. The vulnerability of email parsing libraries, coupled with the absence of digital signature support, exacerbates these risks, allowing bots to exploit vulnerabilities and impersonate senders.
Key findings
- Simpler Structure: Plaintext emails present a simpler structure for automated parsing, making it easier for bots to extract data.
- Lack of Obfuscation: Plaintext emails lack the obfuscation features of HTML, making them more susceptible to bot-driven attacks.
- Readily Indexable: Plaintext's easily indexable nature leads to more frequent bot visits compared to HTML versions.
- Vulnerable Parsing: Email parsing libraries are sometimes more vulnerable when handling plaintext emails due to their simpler structure.
- No Digital Signatures: Plaintext emails do not support digital signatures, making it easier for bots to impersonate senders or inject malicious content.
Key considerations
- Security Risks: Be aware of the increased security risks associated with plaintext emails due to the lack of obfuscation and digital signatures.
- Parsing Vulnerabilities: Consider the potential vulnerabilities of email parsing libraries when handling plaintext emails.
- Bot Activity: Anticipate higher bot activity levels for plaintext emails due to their easy accessibility and parsing.
- Compliance Concerns: Balance the accessibility benefits of plaintext with the potential security vulnerabilities and bot activity concerns.
Technical article
Documentation from Apache James Project notes that email parsing libraries are sometimes more vulnerable when handling plaintext emails due to simpler structure and the absence of error-correcting HTML tags. This might lead to bots exploiting these vulnerabilities when interacting with the email server.
28 Aug 2024 - Apache James Project
Technical article
Documentation from SANS Institute explains that plaintext emails do not support digital signatures in the same way as HTML emails using S/MIME. This makes it easier for bots to impersonate senders or inject malicious content without detection, which might be interpreted as increased bot activity.
31 Jan 2023 - SANS Institute
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