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E-mail counter needed — Parallax Forums

E-mail counter needed

john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
edited 2011-10-23 11:50 in General Discussion
I try to locate a piece of hardware that does exactly that - it should count the number of e-mails that has been sent from an individual PC.
It has to be some kind of hardware contraption however. Is there such a device or perhaps somebody has an idea on where should I start to build one using BS2, Prop or....?

Thanks,
John

Comments

  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-10-22 17:30
    I do not think an external hardware device to count emails sent from a computer is possible. Even if it is possible it would be close to the level of a computer in complexity.
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2011-10-22 18:19
    I won't say it isn't possible, but...

    There are a lot of ways to send mail; web mail, smpt, imap,...

    On top of that a user could create an SSL tunnel, VPN connection, etc. and the traffic would be encrypted.

    They could use remote desktop (RDP) to another machine...

    C.W.
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-22 18:26
    I'd say - every time an email is sent a PC issues a 'tadaaaa' serial signal that can be detected via usb / Rs232 / or whatever i/o port it's equipped.
    That part is a software "snooping' plug inside a PC. Next, there's a device that sits next to that PC that's capable of receiving that [email-sent ACK] signal and it counts emails using its own unrelated logic.

    That's very simplistic of how I'd approach it in case I need to... But first I'll keep looking and asking around .
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-22 18:33
    C.W.,

    All I'm after at this moment is to count E-mails sent from Outlook Express...
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2011-10-22 19:47
    I found the following by searching for the words...
    computer monitoring software

    "Knowing EVERYTHING They Do on the Computer and Internet Is As EASY as Checking Your Email"...
    http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/eBlaster_Windows/index.asp
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-22 19:53
    Bill, I guess it's just a software... I'm after a 'black box' hardware counter

    Thanks anyways,
    John
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2011-10-22 21:05
    Do you have a plan to get the information from the computer? building the counter is the easy part.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-10-22 21:13
    john_s,

    How do you plan to connect the "black box" to the PC? Are you looking for something that monitors network activity, or can there be a program running on the PC itself that sends the count to a display of some sort, connected via USB, say?

    -Phil
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-22 22:11
    Phil, Franklin,

    I sort of hoped that somebody came up with such a gadget already.

    I prefer a standard serial port in a form of either USB or RS232, but any kind of connection between that hardware 'black box counter' and a PC should be just fine as long as it does not require any PC hardware modification. Plus a program that runs on a PC that communicates every time it sends an email should work.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-10-22 22:39
    I can tell you how I would do it, but you may not be prepared to go this route:

    1. Combine a MoBoStamp-pe, 7-Seg-DB, and MoBo Extrusion Kit. This will create a nice-looking desktop accessory that plugs into -- and is powered by -- a USB port and that provides four digits of counter display.

    2. Program the MoBo to receive count data from the PC and display it on the 7-segment LED.

    3. Write a program in Perl that uses this module to read your "Sent Items.dbx" file and call msgcount periodically to update the number of sent messages. This program would then send the count to the MoBo desktop display.

    4. Install a shortcut to the Perl program in your Windows Startup directory so it begins running in the background when you start Windows.

    -Phil
  • CameronMCameronM Posts: 57
    edited 2011-10-22 22:56
    Would it be possible to just use a spinneret? When you send an email from outlook express just cc or bcc it to the spinneret and have it keep track that way.
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-22 23:17
    CameronM wrote: »
    Would it be possible to just use a spinneret? When you send an email from outlook express just cc or bcc it to the spinneret and have it keep track that way.
    I like it - not sure how to cc or bcc to spinneret though.... I need to learn it first.
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-22 23:22
    Phil, I'd be glad to start with MoBoStamp-pe ... very nice kit ... Perhaps one day...

    Thanks,
    John
  • Mike GMike G Posts: 2,702
    edited 2011-10-23 07:10
    It is possible to setup a localhost relay (Windows) and listen to In-bound Protocol and Out-bound Protocol events. Simply count the events.

    You could also copy the code that I already posted for you on the Spinneret forum. It displays the email count on an email server plus you can drill into the email and read the senders IP address.

    Lastly, most routers have a log utility that reports the source IP, destination, and port. If you have a router then most likely you already have an external hardware device that captures sent emails from a particular PC.
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-23 08:45
    Mike G wrote: »
    It is possible to setup a localhost relay (Windows) and listen to In-bound Protocol and Out-bound Protocol events. Simply count the events. ...

    Mike, can you expand a bit on how to 'setup a localhost relay' ? I did not program in windows environment and need some clue...

    I appreciate your comments a lot, and started this topic in General Discussion as well to find out some other ways of counting emails beside using Spinneret (that I plan to use anyways).

    Thanks, John
  • BitsBits Posts: 414
    edited 2011-10-23 08:49
    Sounds like you may be able to use this.

    Then possibly setting up the propeller as a virtual server to count the email even monitor all traffic.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-10-23 09:15
    john_s wrote: »
    I'd say - every time an email is sent a PC issues a 'tadaaaa' serial signal that can be detected via usb / Rs232 / or whatever i/o port it's equipped.
    That part is a software "snooping' plug inside a PC. Next, there's a device that sits next to that PC that's capable of receiving that [email-sent ACK] signal and it counts emails using its own unrelated logic.

    That's very simplistic of how I'd approach it in case I need to... But first I'll keep looking and asking around .

    I should know better than to say something is not possible on this forum. Never even thought of using the sound output. There are a lot of good suggestions posted here but a variation on the one quoted above is probably the simplest if the computer and software can output sound.

    Record the tones of a sequence of numbers from your telephone.
    Connect one of the tone decoder chips to the audio output of the computer.
    Send the output of the tone decoder to a uC that determines if it is for a sent/received email and increments the appropriate count(s).
  • Mike GMike G Posts: 2,702
    edited 2011-10-23 09:27
    First you need the correct flavor of Windows,like XP pro. Here's an article that talks about deleting messages but the concept applies to what you're doing.
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837851

    If you plan to use the Spinneret then simply read the email on the server every X minutes. Count the target IP by date and time sent.
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?135321-How-to-use-email-to-control-Spinneret-OUT-port&p=1045728&viewfull=1#post1045728

    Email Header 
    Received: from [192.168.1.102] ([68.99.244.218])
	by doghorn.arvixe.com
	; Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:33:50 -0700
  • john_sjohn_s Posts: 369
    edited 2011-10-23 09:39
    kwinn wrote: »
    I ..Never even thought of using the sound output...

    kwinn, that 'tadaaaa' idea just jumped on me out of nowhere - the only problem was that people tend to mute the speaker when it annoys them too much. But I thought it to be worth investigating. And again - all I need is a mailer to send a 'tadaaa' when it sends an e-mail. It does it 'bleep' alright when receiving an email, but not when sending.... I keep searching.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-10-23 11:50
    @john_s, that "tadaaa" idea was a good one. It's too bad there is no way to have a sound file play when a message is successfully sent. If it were possible a simple device could plug in to the headphone connector to detect and count various tone sequences.

    The external device would consist of tone decoder chip and a uC. The tone decoder chip would output bcd digits to the uC, which would perform an an action based on the sequence of digits received. This could be useful for other things as well.
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