490538 - Permanently deleted emails are retrievable via import tools of other email clients.

Status: VERIFIED INVALID

(Thunderbird :: Folder and Message Lists, defect)

Description

[m.gr.b]

User-Agent:       Opera/9.64 (Windows NT 5.1; U; de) Presto/2.1.1
Build Identifier: Version 2.0.0.21 (20090302)

When I permanently delete an email from inbox or junk (by deleting from trash or pressing shift+del) I can use the emai-account-import-tool that comes with Opera browser (Version 9.64) (shame on me ;-)) to get them back!! You just import the account.
(see steps to reproduce for details).

While this seems to be good news for a lot of users, this kills hard disk space
(especially when beeing spammed hard). 

The effect isn't restricted to emails, but affects folders aswell
(,which produces some weird side effects such as beeing able to move files to deleted folders or not beeing able to make a new folder with the name of a deleted one (popup window says: folder already exists)).

An older Version of the client seemed to have this bug as well, which enabled me to retrive every single spam-mail since 2005 !!

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.generate some email in thunderbird 
2.delete it by pressing shift + del (deleting from trash works as well)
3.close thunderbird
4.start opera browser version 9.64 (newer should do as well)
5.in opera browser select tools->email
6.add a new email account
and select to import from existing thunderbird account
(maybe you need to manually select the appropriate prefs.js file)
7.select the inbox (or whatever the name of the folder you deleted your email from in step 1.) of your new opera mail account and voila: theres your deleted email
Actual Results:  
I could resurrect email deleted emails from trash!

Expected Results:  
I shouldnt be able to do so.

I'm using a localized (german) version of thunderbird.
This could be a security/privacy problem since deleted emails could contain confidential information.

Comment 1

[Brandon Sterne (:bsterne)]

For messages to be permanently deleted, you also need to compact your folders:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Thunderbird_:_Tips_:_Compacting_Folders

Comment 2

[m.gr.b]

thx that helped, maybe this option should be turned on by default

Comment 3

[m.gr.b]

by this option i mean the option to automatically compcat folders

Comment 4

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin] (away, back Aug 4)]

Maybe.. it's mainly not because there are various issues with it. See bug 286888.

Comment 5

[m.gr.b]

Just an input:
I've looked through this and perhaps your solution to this to ask yourselves
how other database systems are handling this issue or simply use one that's
ready and known to work (just a first guess: http://db.daffodilsw.com/index.html).