Thunderbird shows me boxes where flowers should appear (Final edit)
Final edit: I've removed unnecessary comments to let it read to the point:
I received an email wishing me Happy Easter and followed with a row of four rectangles, each with two tiny characters in the center of each box and 2 more directly underneath. Curious to know what this was all about, I copied the four boxes and pasted them into Firefox' search bar. Here they were transformed into flowers! I was proposing to ask Google "[][][][] What are these symbols?" (I am using open and closed square brackets to mimic the images I see. Please see my screen shot for the real thing.)
The incoming email encoding setting was "Western," my outgoing was set to UTF-8. Another thread in here moderated by Matt, I believe, contained the moderator's advice that Western is the worst possible setting in email. The standard is Unicode (UTF-8). So I changed my settings and have adopted UTF-8 coming and going. Incoming was Western when this message came in.
The source code shows UTF-8 encoding and the message text is encoded base64. Since Firefox sees flowers, I took a copy of those flowers and pasted them into my Write window. I still see boxes. I thought if I copy the flowers from the browser and send them to myself (UTF-8), I might now see flowers in the inbox. I scrapped sending that message because they weren't flowers to be sent.
I am running Linux Mint 17.3 (64 Bit), Thunderbird 52.7.0 (64 Bit) and Firefox 59.0.2 (64 Bit). The incoming email was generated on a Microsoft product, sent from Hotmail and received at my personal domain name, with an email hosting service utilizing Apache 2 server on a Linux OS. -- if any of this means anything.
Here is my email source code. The names have been _____ and the email user names are **** as well as the end of my domain.
The email content, including the text and flowers is Base64 encoding. Consists of Happy Easter, How's your day and Catch you soon.
________
From - Sun Apr 1 09:54:27 2018
X-Account-Key: account1
X-UIDL: UID193-1244586945
X-Mozilla-Status: 0001
X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000
X-Mozilla-Keys:
Return-Path: <*****@hotmail.com>
Delivered-To: *********@us60.***
Received: from www16.qth.com
by www16.qth.com with LMTP id aI2tKgblwFoQCgYAl14zGg
for <*********@us60.***>; Sun, 01 Apr 2018 08:56:22 -0500
Return-path: <*****@hotmail.com>
Envelope-to: *********@us60.***
Delivery-date: Sun, 01 Apr 2018 08:56:22 -0500
Received: from mail-oln040092004038.outbound.protection.outlook.com ([40.92.4.38]:61808 helo=NAM02-CY1-obe.outbound.protection.outlook.com)
by www16.qth.com with esmtps (TLSv1.2:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384:256)
(Exim 4.89_1)
(envelope-from <*****@hotmail.com>)
id 1f2dT4-001fZi-Jh
for *********@us60.***; Sun, 01 Apr 2018 08:56:22 -0500
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=hotmail.com;
s=selector1; h=From:Date:Subject:Message-ID:Content-Type:MIME-Version; bh=Pmv6nNxwxz1wBgwm3fec/3khFQa5UD0o8Iz6Q0iR6kA=; b=sIkxDPyH0x1n1xMBAVqpm8X7MC9tVNuZ2RQrCf33E1oHk+D3FiFJvBkYLopJyXZ+sBjdjdTkAaQy2Xwr24geei4ZbRkB31nzBnwTtgAhhfFvEbaj3kM2fxRvFcl961UPs67H3WYd3fHfj9i2stGetQzYnqDxM5GcpAmaSlgPPQGf/zoeZg9MlZP0lcJPHIvbqYhKubSxLTN/0ZErkOrBp352QYkuLfv9q7KWeontCpCUZLPmzHAEhX1LG6uIkirZLHYm3wlld9T1mgIaEJHCWgDM/m4TX3fkeTHRc4xWaEuyaoXIzbIVIxDGa61f5rtf1YS/yf7oqmDKTKM0l5a3WA==
Received: from CY1NAM02FT053.eop-nam02.prod.protection.outlook.com
(10.152.74.58) by CY1NAM02HT003.eop-nam02.prod.protection.outlook.com (10.152.74.239) with Microsoft SMTP Server (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P384) id 15.20.631.7; Sun, 1 Apr 2018 13:56:21 +0000
Received: from BN6PR1101MB2113.namprd11.prod.outlook.com (10.152.74.55) by
CY1NAM02FT053.mail.protection.outlook.com (10.152.74.165) with Microsoft SMTP Server (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P256) id 15.20.631.7 via Frontend Transport; Sun, 1 Apr 2018 13:56:21 +0000
Received: from BN6PR1101MB2113.namprd11.prod.outlook.com
([fe80::c87d:8c21:4e58:f475]) by BN6PR1101MB2113.namprd11.prod.outlook.com ([fe80::c87d:8c21:4e58:f475%2]) with mapi id 15.20.0631.013; Sun, 1 Apr 2018 13:56:20 +0000
From: ___________ <*****@hotmail.com> To: _____ <*********@us60.***> Subject: Thread-Index: AQHTycBcn2iKFyUyTU2vckicNsfkxg== Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2018 13:56:20 +0000 Message-ID: <BN6PR1101MB2113FC5E3D161B46C0DD4DF1BDA70@BN6PR1101MB2113.namprd11.prod.outlook.com> Accept-Language: en-US Content-Language: en-US X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: x-incomingtopheadermarker: OriginalChecksum:3CE0D34656233929EF68EB65BD872646C9DEB3780447941CC428CD0B56BE2576;UpperCasedChecksum:58A4F6815595BC82C83C70F0227B7B3C8E4324BF384F42CE0B2B6593A0BAC3BE;SizeAsReceived:6891;Count:43 x-ms-exchange-messagesentrepresentingtype: 1 x-tmn: [IMVICh5zfH0uHXTAGk5Q7PuYnuxlgsGk0rWRBb2f/NyVO5ZTwEJmHaVPB+VKLnEO] x-ms-publictraffictype: Email x-microsoft-exchange-diagnostics: 1;CY1NAM02HT003;7:s7zAF1PT2NOdF/14LTZSY+uRSnVBJ+hhOyPL4INeovPAwnDEDMDjKVLw7D+ZD1g6Vmix6rUead/eWJ4yPa7xH1Fz6VdzQrwA4K3EvLw/YMyiy18HwaQtEXmNue4ZPisj43lpy1nnrA9l9TSz2DK7pjxYPf1If+GMwmPzWpH40PxK+hxWIsQzJ7wWq+BYXe5/Ts5P1DxwhvrPRhteh5Y2v1w8OG9bPwZWcoY6nCwMOxWSK+jJOMUNNfKVhL4FkhwO x-incomingheadercount: 43 x-eopattributedmessage: 0 x-microsoft-antispam: UriScan:;BCL:0;PCL:0;RULEID:(7020095)(201702061078)(5061506573)(5061507331)(1603103135)(2017031320274)(2017031324274)(2017031323274)(2017031322404)(1601125374)(1603101448)(1701031045);SRVR:CY1NAM02HT003; x-ms-traffictypediagnostic: CY1NAM02HT003: x-ms-office365-filtering-correlation-id: 8b8fb047-8a59-4567-8c7c-08d597d85934 x-exchange-antispam-report-cfa-test: BCL:0;PCL:0;RULEID:(444000031);SRVR:CY1NAM02HT003;BCL:0;PCL:0;RULEID:;SRVR:CY1NAM02HT003; x-forefront-prvs: 06290ECA9D x-forefront-antispam-report: SFV:NSPM;SFS:(7070007)(98901004);DIR:OUT;SFP:1901;SCL:1;SRVR:CY1NAM02HT003;H:BN6PR1101MB2113.namprd11.prod.outlook.com;FPR:;SPF:None;LANG:; x-microsoft-antispam-message-info: bbG7fBwEMqohbhuEQwdmSFPoWDsc1XV9tPCv6NhMkF3Kvn1g7YO0git+pzUe2FYAGBAfcl3STED547fnq5SCRb01ky3qnyNKx2GDq2myEbFxDOMO6FIReCV8WVy1Z8T5xSnYhF4P9qWVp2IslrB2MP2bpBEu/AiCUoGny5E4QkzTQtOzHLXXWWZ/kwhofsYa spamdiagnosticoutput: 1:99 spamdiagnosticmetadata: NSPM Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_000_BN6PR1101MB2113FC5E3D161B46C0DD4DF1BDA70BN6PR1101MB2113_" MIME-Version: 1.0 X-OriginatorOrg: hotmail.com X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-Network-Message-Id: 8b8fb047-8a59-4567-8c7c-08d597d85934 X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-originalarrivaltime: 01 Apr 2018 13:56:20.7670
(UTC)
X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-fromentityheader: Internet X-MS-Exchange-CrossTenant-id: 84df9e7f-e9f6-40af-b435-aaaaaaaaaaaa X-MS-Exchange-Transport-CrossTenantHeadersStamped: CY1NAM02HT003
--_000_BN6PR1101MB2113FC5E3D161B46C0DD4DF1BDA70BN6PR1101MB2113_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
SEFQUFkgRUFTVEVSICDwn5KQ8J+Mu/CfjLfwn4y+DQoNCkVuam95IHlvdXIgZGF5IQ0KDQpDYXRj aCB5b3Ugc29vbg0K
--_000_BN6PR1101MB2113FC5E3D161B46C0DD4DF1BDA70BN6PR1101MB2113_ Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
PGh0bWw+DQo8aGVhZD4NCjxtZXRhIGh0dHAtZXF1aXY9IkNvbnRlbnQtVHlwZSIgY29udGVudD0i dGV4dC9odG1sOyBjaGFyc2V0PXV0Zi04Ij4NCjwvaGVhZD4NCjxib2R5Pg0KSEFQUFkgRUFTVEVS Jm5ic3A7IPCfkpDwn4y78J+Mt/CfjL48YnI+DQo8YnI+DQpFbmpveSB5b3VyIGRheSEmbmJzcDsg PGJyPg0KPGJyPg0KQ2F0Y2ggeW91IHNvb24NCjwvYm9keT4NCjwvaHRtbD4NCg==
--_000_BN6PR1101MB2113FC5E3D161B46C0DD4DF1BDA70BN6PR1101MB2113_--
_______
Thank you.
Modified by Linux_Mint_Firefox
Chosen solution
All Replies (7)
In my experience, working in an office where Outlook is the working standard, I get a great many messages with letters and strange symbols in place of the intended pictures. Microsoft insist on using non-standard fonts such as Wingdings which are not web safe.
Alternatively, it's possible that while these messages are indeed encoded using UTF-8, you are using a font that doesn't support these particular glyphs. Given that you appear to be using Ubuntu, this seems unlikely. Moreover, you're also unlikely to have the requisite Windows mickey mouse fonts used by the original sender.
I'm using a tablet right now, but later on when I get a real computer up and running, I'll try to decode your base-64 and see what they were up to.
Hmm, there is nothing in that base-64 encoding that you haven't already seen:
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body>
HAPPY EASTER <br>
<br>
Enjoy your day! <br>
<br>
Catch you soon
</body>
</html>
Unfortunately, there is no mention of the 4 image characters. simply means a non-breaking space character. Something has gone missing here.
The four little boxes in your original screenshot snip are indicative of missing glyphs, meaning that the font being used in Thunderbird doesn't have these symbols. It might be worth checking what fonts Firefox uses and if the same fonts are called up in Thunderbird. The mystery is that there is no reference to them in your email source.
Another difference between Thunderbird and Firefox is that Firefox is more likely to link to images hosted elsewhere, whereas Thunderbird is cagey and doesn't like to bring in outside content. However in this case, you'd see a symbol representing a broken image, and that doesn't fit with the boxes you do see in Thunderbird.
Modified by Zenos
Thank you Zenos for looking into that for me. Very odd there was no content in the source code to generate either flowers or symbols, for how else can anything appear in the output!
I do have Base64 tools in my repository. I should install and work with them.
Chosen Solution
Matt, I took my source code saved in a text, and put it in your online decoder web link, then I took a picture of it. This way we leave the forum out of it! I marked Zeros solved and undid that marking when I saw your post. I may be a bit premature in choosing a "solution."
Oh, I've blown up the flowers characters so I can see the numbers in the two boxes and added that screenshot. The
Zeros saw is now reduced to "r>" and could account for the "hanging" bracket. My email message apparently had the
at the end of HAPPY EASTER, for the line-spacing in the text is double-spaced.
I did one more take on this, getting straight from the Thunderbird source screen to the base64 website, nothing different: Still the hanging r>.
I have some work to do. I will set Thunderbird to display the same fonts as Firefox and report back any findings!
Thank you both for your due dilligence.
Matt, I don't know how you put flowers in your post. My first posting of OP was titled with one quote mark. The flowers I put there truncated the title, as it did the rest of my post when I pasted them there. Not all of your flowers were decoded on that top line either.
One last thing, too -- On my cell phone I do EVERYTHING to avoid the emoji keyboard. I have enough trouble texting plain English. :) (fingers too big, etc!)
Modified by Linux_Mint_Firefox
And you got what I got, a hanging > after the characters. So I think we must put it down to bad HTML generated by the sender. I assume outlook.
Zenos said
In my experience, working in an office where Outlook is the working standard, I get a great many messages with letters and strange symbols in place of the intended pictures. Microsoft insist on using non-standard fonts such as Wingdings which are not web safe. .....
Microsoft has deliberately made their product inferior so that you have to use said superior [sic] product to be able to read the output of itself. :)
The business world mandates the use of said inferior product, so we who use standards-compliant and SUPERIOR garbageware [sic] can't make head or tail of it! [sick] :D
Thank you for letting me poke fun at Gatesware!