Email Address Finder

[onepieceking]

Is there a way to extract all the email addresses from a POP3 server?

 

[Arkette]

If you have administration rights on the server then yes although the method will differ depending on the which server software is running. If you're asking for a method to harvest email addresses from someone elses mail server, then forum rules prevent me from using the kind of language needed to explain what you should do.

 

[LeonR]

LOL, very politically put there

If its not for a *bad* use, then what is the purpose? Exchange? Lotus? Have you checked they don't have a function or include a program/utility that can export users to excel or a text file etc?

 

[onepieceking]

LOL.. I ask the question coz me and my friend were talking about email stuff and he also mentioned that he saw a website that discuss about email finding (cannot rem what site it is).

So I was thinking how it is possible for them to do it since there should be some security measures to prevent people from doing it. The topic sort of got me interested to find out more.

 

[LeonR]

I would think it all depends on the admin, and how the server is setup. But i can't see anybody in their right mind making any of the address details accessible to public users. I would also imagine by default, all servers would deny all access to the database/console whatever you can see them with, unless you are an admin.

 

[onepieceking]

okay. that is what i thot so too. but, how does those junk mails work? for sure, they have get the people's email addresses from some program that will give them valid addresses and then mass-email the junk to them.

 

[JohnH]

There are email addresses to find in just about any webpage. Like search engines do, the web can be crawled by checking ip ranges, finding if there is a webserver, getting first page, scanning for email addresses and links to other pages etc. Also advertizing business is known for selling address lists. I don't think they break into public servers to get addresses, that would be a faster way of getting out of business.

 

[onepieceking]

Ya, I read something about email verification. They were saying that you can key in an email address and they will verify for you. It works in the way that the program tries to send a dummy email to the email address but is not actually sending it "physically". Is this possible to do using vb.net?

 

[LeonR]

If you went to basics, and had NO email address etc...

You could just make a massive list of first and last names, and valid email domains etc etc..

bob smith
john doe


email to bob.smith@domain.com
bob.doe@domain.com
john.smith@domain.com
john.doe@domain.com


etc etc, it might not be very efficent and assuming the pop3 server didnt block your emails from the host (your smtp server), they would probably get away with it.

It doesnt take long for a computer to do the above remember.

Spam is evil


I think all emails need to be linked to a registered database of some description. That way cients could be told to ignore all emails from that linked account, As it stands, its open, and if a host is blocked, just use another IP...