Every email that you receive comes with headers. The headers contain the information about the routing of the email and the original IP of the email. Not all emails you receive can be traced back to the original point and depending on how you send emails determines whether or not they can be traced back . The headers don't contain any personal information. At most, you can get the original IP and the computer name that sent the email. The originating IP can be looked up to determine from where the email was sent. A quick search on google can come back with varied results but some times you may even get a snap shot of there premises on google earth.
How do I get the email header?
Each email program will vary as to how you get to the email options.
- Outlook
Right click the email while it's in the inbox and choose Message Options. A window will open with the headers in the bottom of the window.
- Windows Live Mail
Right click the email while it's in the inbox, choose Properties, then click Details .
- GMail
Open the email. In the upper right corner of the email you'll see the word Reply with a little down arrow to the right. Click the down arrow and choose Show Original.
- Hotmail
Right click the email in the inbox and choose View Message Source.
- Yahoo
Right click the email in the inbox and choose View Full Headers.
You can see that no matter the email program, the headers are usually just a right click away.
I've got the header, now what?
Usually the first IP listed is where the email originated. There are exceptions to this. You'll have to look at the information logically to work out the original IP.
Can any email be traced?
Yes and No. someone who sends an email to your hotmail account shows in the X-Originating IP section of the headers. However, someone who sends you an email from GMail can ONLY be traced back to the GMail server.
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