How can I stop Thunderbird checking for new messages automatically within an IMAP setup?
I have purchased Mailwasher Pro to identify spam before it is downloaded to my computer. The problem is that even when I untick the option to "check for new messages every x minutes" new emails are still being downloaded. This means that I am not able to stop certain messages being downloaded to my computer before I have a chance to vet and delete them via Mailwasher Pro. Just in case, I have also unticked "Allow immediate server notifications when new messages arrive" - I don't know what that does so unticked it in case it was causing the problem but still the emails download automatically.
Can anyone advise me please what might be causing this problem? I have contacted support at Mailwasher Pro and they have assured me that the app does not interfere with the way Thunderbird downloads emails. Also the support person I was emailing told me that he had his settings the same as mine and his emails do not get downloaded automatically.
Thank you
All Replies (2)
It is almost impossible unless you set Thunderbird to startup offline and leave it that way except when you choose to get mail. IMAP from reputable providers like Gmail uses push notifications to send mail to the client when it is received rather than the traditional check every whatever minutes. Although it is still done to check of changes in what is in what folders.
Now I will ask the obvious elephant in the room question. Why are you trying to stop spam being downloaded to your computer? 20 years ago we had expensive data costs and anything to reduce bandwidth costs was to be embraced. Now we tend to have all you can use data. So that have little ongoing value.
There are all sorts of urban myths and old wives tails about with regard to SPAM, but the reality is it is a nuisance. Nothing more. It is not inherently of any greater risk to you or your device than any other mail. It like all other mail is a completely inert text file. It is only what the reading software does with that text that can lead to issues.
Thunderbird does not allow scripts, so opening mail really represent no risk and certainly does not get reported to the spammer. If you have remote images disabled there is not even a chance that the spammer will be notified you opened the mail. I know this part works because ebay wanted to stop emailing me my saved searches because I never opened them. (Thanks Thunderbird for doing your job there)
The real risk Item in all mail is attachments and opening them. That is the part we need the anti virus for and to use extreme caution with certain file types. Nothing else is much of a risk at ll really.
Thanks for the information Matt.