Sender check and external images

For every message, INGOS Mail shows whether the sender is genuine, and it loads images from the internet only after approval. Both protect against forged senders, for example in supposed payment instructions from management, and against senders finding out unnoticed when a message was opened.

A small badge appears next to the sender's name, in the reading pane and in the message list. It summarizes the mail server's checks.

• Absender geprüft (Sender verified) (badge with check mark, green): the message was submitted via a signed-in account of your own mail server (internal message), or the checks for external senders were passed.
• Absender nicht bestätigt (Sender not confirmed) (warning triangle, red): at least one check failed, the sender address does not match the actual sender, or the message may contain dangerous code.
• Absender nicht geprüft (Sender not checked) (question mark, gray): the mail server did not fully check the message. This is no proof of forgery, but no confirmation either.

In addition, a check mark appears on the sender picture ("Interner Absender, Absender geprüft" (Internal sender, sender verified)) if the message comes from an internal address and passed the check.

1. Open the message in the reading pane.
2. Click the badge next to the name. By keyboard: move to the badge with Tab and press Enter or Space.
3. The Absenderprüfung (Sender check) window opens below the badge. On the phone, it appears as a sheet from the bottom edge.
4. Close it with Esc, by clicking next to it, or by clicking the badge again.

The window contains:

• A sentence with the assessment (depending on the result, see the examples below).
• The DMARC, SPF and DKIM rows, each with a result:
  • bestanden (passed) (check mark): the check succeeded.
  • fehlgeschlagen (failed) (cross): the check failed.
  • nicht geprüft (not checked) (dash): there is no result for this check.
  • intern (internal) (building icon): not checked, because the message was submitted via a signed-in account of your own mail server.
• Warnings, if applicable (see below).
• Details anzeigen (Show details) / Details ausblenden (Hide details): only present if the mail server supplies check headers. Shows up to 20 headers of the message with the check results (for example "Authentication-Results" and "Received-SPF"). This is the only view of headers in the app.

The message "Dringend: Überweisung heute noch freigeben" (Urgent: approve transfer today) carries the name "Dirk Vater" and his address, but was not sent by him.

• Badge: Absender nicht bestätigt (Sender not confirmed) (warning triangle).
• Sentence: "Bei dieser Nachricht sind Prüfungen fehlgeschlagen. Vorsicht bei Links, Anhängen und Zahlungsaufforderungen." (Checks failed for this message. Be careful with links, attachments and payment requests.)
• Rows: DMARC fehlgeschlagen (failed), SPF fehlgeschlagen (failed), DKIM nicht geprüft (not checked).
• Warning: "Die Absenderadresse passt nicht zum tatsächlichen Versender." (The sender address does not match the actual sender.)
• In addition, for every unconfirmed sender: "Auffällige Nachrichten bitte melden — das schützt das INGOS-Netz und den eigenen Cyber-Score." (Please report suspicious messages — this protects the INGOS network and your own cyber score.)

What to do:

1. Do not click links, do not open attachments, do not approve any payment.
2. Check with the supposed sender through another channel, for example by calling via the person menu on the sender picture.
3. Report the message to the responsible party, for example your own IT or INGOS Support. The window has no button for reporting.
4. Then remove the message from the Inbox with Als Spam markieren (Mark as spam) or Löschen (Delete).

If a message may contain dangerous code, the warning "Die Nachricht enthält möglicherweise gefährlichen Code." (The message may contain dangerous code.) also appears.

Messages from colleagues at the same company are submitted via a signed-in account of your own mail server, for example "Angebot Mondbasis Beta 2: Freigabe bis Freitag" (Offer Moon Base Beta 2: approval by Friday) from Leia Organza.

• Badge: Absender geprüft (Sender verified).
• Sentence: "Interne Nachricht: über ein angemeldetes Konto dieses Mailservers eingeliefert. Die Prüfungen für fremde Absender (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) sind dafür nicht nötig." (Internal message: submitted via a signed-in account of this mail server. The checks for external senders (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are not needed for it.)
• Rows: depending on the mail server, bestanden (passed) or intern (internal).

If there are no check results for an internal message, all three rows show intern (internal):

A message from outside that passed the checks, such as "Unterlagen für den Jahresabschluss" (Documents for the annual financial statements) from the tax firm Steuerkanzlei Zweiundvierzig:

• Badge: Absender geprüft (Sender verified).
• Sentence: "Diese Nachricht stammt wahrscheinlich von einer gültigen Adresse." (This message probably comes from a valid address.)
• Rows: DMARC, SPF and DKIM bestanden (passed).

• Badge: Absender nicht geprüft (Sender not checked).
• Sentence: "Der Mailserver hat diese Nachricht nicht vollständig geprüft." (The mail server did not fully check this message.)
• Rows: nicht geprüft (not checked).

For such messages, always have payment requests and changed bank details confirmed through a second channel.

Images that a message would load from the internet (typical of newsletters) are not loaded at first. The following then appears above the message: "Externe Bilder wurden zum Schutz der Privatsphäre nicht geladen." (External images were not loaded to protect your privacy.) Each image is replaced by a placeholder (tooltip: image description or "Externes Bild — nicht geladen" (External image — not loaded)). Without a notice line, "1 externes Bild wurde nicht geladen." (1 external image was not loaded.) or "3 externe Bilder wurden nicht geladen." (3 external images were not loaded.) appears below the message.

Showing the images of a message once

1. Open the message, for example the newsletter "Neues aus der Orbitaltechnik" (News from orbital technology) from Orbit Aktuell.
2. In the notice line, choose Bilder anzeigen (Show images).
3. The message reloads and shows the images. The approval applies only to this message and is saved.

Always showing a sender's images

1. In the notice line, choose Immer von … (Always from …) with the sender's address, for example Immer von news@orbit-aktuell.example (Always from news@orbit-aktuell.example).
2. The feedback reads "Bilder freigegeben" (Images approved) – "Bilder von news@orbit-aktuell.example werden ab jetzt angezeigt." (Images from news@orbit-aktuell.example will be shown from now on.)
3. The message reloads. Future messages from this sender show their images immediately.

Immer von … (Always from …) appears only if the mail server supplies a sender address. If the approval fails, a notice "Bilder" (Images) appears with the reason, for example "Für diese Nachricht lässt sich kein Absender freigeben." (No sender can be approved for this message.)

How loading approved images works:

• The images are loaded by the INGOS server, not by the browser. The sender sees neither the device's internet address nor browser data. The sender can still tell from a loaded image that the message was opened.
• Only raster images are loaded, including background images (for example a cover image in a newsletter).
• At most 300 images per minute are loaded per person; further images then appear as placeholders ("Bild nicht verfügbar" (Image not available)).

List of approved senders

All senders approved with Immer von … (Always from …) are listed in the settings.

1. At the bottom of the navigation column, choose Einstellungen (Settings).
2. Choose Externe Bilder (External images).
3. The approved senders are listed under Bilder immer anzeigen von (Always show images from).
4. Entfernen (Remove) next to an entry withdraws the approval immediately, without confirmation. After that, images from this sender are blocked again.

• If the list is empty, it shows "Keine Absender freigegeben. Freigeben lässt sich über „Immer von …“ über einer Nachricht." (No senders approved. Approve via "Always from …" above a message.)
• At most 500 entries are displayed.
• The list is stored in the mailbox on the mail server and therefore applies on all devices.
• If removing fails, "Nicht entfernt" (Not removed) appears.

More settings: Settings.

• Reading messages
• Widget column and Team
• Settings
• Error messages and limits