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Decoding embedded uuencode text in a message

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Man-wai Chang

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Dec 24, 2010, 5:46:58 AM12/24/10
to

Is there an add-on that would automatically decode uuencode text
embedded in a message and shows the result as an attachment image?

Yes, the sender mail client DID not follow RFC guidelines.

*** begin message source ****
From: "=?Big5?Q?=A4E=C0s=C6W?=" <=?Big5?Q?=A6Q=A7A_=A1I?=>
Newsgroups: 3business.finance
Subject: =?Big5?Q?Merry_Christmas_=A7r=A1I_=A6U=A6=EC=AA=A9=A4=CD_=A1I?=
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=Big5; format=flowed
X-Newsreader: Android Usenet Reader 1.18
NNTP-Posting-Host: 202.4.201.6
X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 202.4.201.6
Message-ID: <4d14...@news.3home.net>
Date: 24 Dec 2010 17:19:18 +0800
X-Trace: news.3home.net 1293182358 202.4.201.6 (24 Dec 2010 17:19:18 +0800)
Organization: 3home.net
Lines: 3119
Path: news.3home.net
Xref: news.3home.net 3business.finance:1823993

聖誕快樂 ！！

begin 666 christmas-tree.jpg
M_]C_X 02D9)1@ ! 0$ 8 !@ #_VP!# 8$! 0%! 8%!08)!@4&"0L(!@8(
... removed ....
M2@: 4 @$ @$ @$ @$ @$"0- (! (! ($4#0" 0"!( H&@$ @$ @$ @$ @2!H
K! (! (! (! D#0+J@:!=$!U0- (! (! (! (! D @:!0@: 0" 0" 0?_V0$!

end
*** end message source ****

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.36.2
^ ^ 18:39:01 up 7 days 1:55 1 user load average: 1.11 1.09 1.06
不借貸! 不詐騙! 不援交! 不打交! 不打劫! 不自殺! 請考慮綜援 (CSSA):
http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa

Mike Easter

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Dec 24, 2010, 6:32:45 AM12/24/10
to
Man-wai Chang wrote:

> Is there an add-on that would automatically decode uuencode text
> embedded in a message and shows the result as an attachment image?

I don't understand what this question has to do with what you posted.

> From: "=?Big5?Q?=A4E=C0s=C6W?=" <=?Big5?Q?=A6Q=A7A_=A1I?=>

That stuff is big5 quoted-printable mime encoding, which I'm assuming
that you know and aren't asking about.

> Newsgroups: 3business.finance

That newsgroup is not carried by giganews nor any news servers
listed/accessed by NewzBot.

newzbot: search - group '3business.finance'
Sorry, I couldn't find any hosts that carry the newsgroup
'3business.finance'.

So, I couldn't access the message to see how it would be handled.

> Path: news.3home.net

Apparently it is a group only carried by the news server news.3home.net
http://www.3home.net/

> begin 666 christmas-tree.jpg

This stuff under is (supposed to be) a uuencoded binary.

If you isolate it and save it as a .uue file, you can de-uue it and
display the binary.

--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter

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Dec 24, 2010, 6:59:07 AM12/24/10
to
Mike Easter wrote:
> Man-wai Chang wrote:
>
>> Is there an add-on that would automatically decode uuencode text
>> embedded in a message and shows the result as an attachment image?
>
> I don't understand what this question has to do with what you posted.

> If you isolate it and save it as a .uue file, you can de-uue it and
> display the binary.

A normal uue encoding will be displayed in Tbird's message if you check
View/ Display attachments inline.

There is no mime attachment structure. Text can be contained in the part
before the 'begin nnn file' part.

I don't know what is the significance of mode nnn being 666 or 664 or
whatever.


--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter

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Dec 24, 2010, 7:14:27 AM12/24/10
to
fups to .general

Mike Easter wrote:

> I don't know what is the significance of mode nnn being 666 or 664 or
> whatever.

The mode is octals for file permissions read write execute for owner
group others, so 6 is read write and 4 is read.

666 owner/group/others can read&write
664 owner/group read&write; others read

I think.

--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter

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Dec 24, 2010, 7:25:06 AM12/24/10
to
Mike Easter wrote:
> fups to .general

oops. I forgot to do that.

--
Mike Easter

Big_Al

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Dec 24, 2010, 12:58:23 PM12/24/10
to
Man-wai Chang said this on 12/24/2010 5:46 AM:

I'm not sure about an add-on, but I use a third party program called
NewsBin to download binary data. Its a cheap program but you can try
it for 30 days or something like that.

Not only will it decode the single message but if the binary is large
and scattered over multiple messages it can also decode each and join
them into one binary file.

There are others on the web and some just might be free. I found this
after a while and have had it for some 10 years maybe.

Evan Davidson

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Dec 24, 2010, 5:58:41 PM12/24/10
to
Big_Al wrote:
> Man-wai Chang said this on 12/24/2010 5:46 AM:
>>
>> Is there an add-on that would automatically decode uuencode text
>> embedded in a message and shows the result as an attachment image?
>>

> I'm not sure about an add-on, but I use a third party program called

> NewsBin to download binary data. Its a cheap program but you can try
> it for 30 days or something like that.
>
> Not only will it decode the single message but if the binary is large
> and scattered over multiple messages it can also decode each and join
> them into one binary file.
>
> There are others on the web and some just might be free. I found this
> after a while and have had it for some 10 years maybe.
>

IZArc ( http://www.izarc.org/ ) is free and it will decode a .uue
attachment.

Ralph Fox

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Dec 24, 2010, 8:09:02 PM12/24/10
to
On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:46:58 +0800, in message
news://news.mozilla.org/ZM2dnYffQLK554nQ...@mozilla.org
Man-wai Chang wrote:

> Is there an add-on that would automatically decode uuencode text
> embedded in a message and shows the result as an attachment image?

Thunderbird will automatically decode uuencode text, but only when there
are no MIME headers such as "Content-Type". Other clients can handle
the combination of MIME headers and uuencode text embedded in a message
body.

For this case, you may need to manually decode the uuencode text using a
UU-decoder.

> Yes, the sender mail client DID not follow RFC guidelines.

Just FWIW, the RFC guidelines are silent on the combination of MIME
headers and uuencode text embedded in a message body.


> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=Big5; format=flowed

This header is why Thunderbird chose not to automatically decode the
uuencode text embedded in the body.

--snip--

> begin 666 christmas-tree.jpg
> M_]C_X 02D9)1@ ! 0$ 8 !@ #_VP!# 8$! 0%! 8%!08)!@4&"0L(!@8(
> ... removed ....
> M2@: 4 @$ @$ @$ @$ @$"0- (! (! ($4#0" 0"!( H&@$ @$ @$ @$ @2!H
> K! (! (! (! D#0+J@:!=$!U0- (! (! (! (! D @:!0@: 0" 0" 0?_V0$!
>
> end

--
Kind rtegards
Ralph


Man-wai Chang

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Dec 25, 2010, 11:41:25 PM12/25/10
to
> A normal uue encoding will be displayed in Tbird's message if you check
> View/ Display attachments inline.

Not the sample message I posted. The inline UUEcoded text was not
deciphered as an image.


--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.36.2

^ ^ 12:34:01 up 8 days 19:50 1 user load average: 1.06 1.08 1.02

Mike Easter

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Dec 26, 2010, 5:13:26 AM12/26/10
to
Man-wai Chang wrote:
<my cite>

>> A normal uue encoding will be displayed in Tbird's message if you check
>> View/ Display attachments inline.
>
> Not the sample message I posted. The inline UUEcoded text was not
> deciphered as an image.

The 'normal uue encodings' I was assuming/referring (which .uue encoded
graphic attachment I was looking at being displayed in Tbird's message
when I was posting my reply) did not have a Content-Type header line - a
Tbird 'discrepancy' or issue described by Ralph Fox in this thread.

If you don't want to isolate the uuencoded part and decode it
'separately', you should be able to save the .mbox/.eml/.txt message
file and open it with a text editor and delete the Content-Type header
line and resave it and reopen the .mbox/.eml with Tbird.

--
Mike Easter

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