Thank you for the magic brought to the lives of the internet users by MIME, a group of internet standards originally designed to pass binary data over the internet through email. This also functions as helper application to open graphics, word processing files and spreadsheet files that contain sophisticated macros.
When email has just been introduced, the only kinds of messages sent were in the form of text or purely numbers and letters with no pictures yet. Until later people started sending out movies, graphics, figures, illustrations, sounds and almost all sorts of files. These non-text messages are usually grouped together and known as binary data. MIME is the way to standardize the moving of binary and non-binary information. Email used to have its own way of handling binary data.
One good thing about MIME is when you try to send a piece of binary data (known as “body part” in MIME lingo) you can specify what application to use in order to create the data. If you would send someone an Excel spreadsheet from your laptop and your MIME mailer properly labels it, it can be read on the personal computer provided that it has the software installed. The software will display an Excel icon and whoever received your file will just click the icon to launch the Excel and open the spreadsheet.
MIME became more popular when programmers integrated it into web protocols. Whenever you click a link on-line you will get a MIME message transferred to your computer. Depending on the situation, sometimes it contains HTML tags and if they have pictures it has GIF or JPEG files. The entry will depend on the browser that feeds this binary data to applications. The operation should be safe especially the simple ones like displaying pictures or play movies. Applications today are a lot smarter compare to yesteryears and the macros now that are part of the document are a lot more dangerous and more sophisticated.
Using Microsoft Word tries opening a document and for all you know you could be executing a Visual Basic script to send your Quicken files out through the email. In much the same way a virus can also be included in the file and once you open it - it goes directly to your hard drive and damages it. Thank that solutions to these problems are now readily available.
Email readers will launch applications to read MIME body parts in the same way that web browsers do; and since Netscape and Microsoft have both built Java script into their browsers that enabled web browsing Java-enabled to make the programming language easier and be understood in its general purpose.
The intention is to allow the browsers run Java programs from sources not known to the user and get into a secure environment. Theoretically, the parts of the Java that can write and read files from the hard disk to make an outgoing connection will be disabled. But Java programmers are just human and cannot perfect their work and the codes. There will always be security issues like a Java file taken from the internet by viewing a site with Java applet can be used to spy on what you are doing on-line.
In the latter part of the 90s, to counter this harmful Java applets, Finjan Software introduced a security program called SurfinBoard, the purpose of this Israeli startup is to monitor any Java applet that enter your computer's system.
Make sure you know how your browser works and what it does to keep your system safe. Check on the Settings or this is also refer as Preferences or Options in your menu bar to see what helper applications can be used. When you use a helper program be sure that you know where this coming from. Avoid scenario in which you will be asked to download a file or program by following a link but this version is not from the site known to you and it does not serve its purpose.
If you do not want to install a Java security program then turn off the browser's Java capability and remember to always back-up your files. You may want to send your own files to your own email and keep it safe on the web rather on your hard disk. MIME messages on the web help extend the safeties of your file. But remember, there is no absolute security but somehow it lessens the burden of inconveniences.
