HELP..i have a problem need info

OK here is the scenario:

Friend has 2 email accounts in 2 separate places:

[email protected]

[email protected] (Here.com and THere.com are completely unrelated to each other)

I sent an email to [email protected]. Obviously that user doesn't exist in that email address.
So EXACTLY what happens?

See it is a rather sensitive email..and i don't want the administrator of There.com to see it.

I know there must be a way for the administrator for the pop mail server in There.com to see the nondeliverable message...but is it easy to view it?

My friend says that nondeliverable mails will be returned without anyone seeing it...
it'll usually say [email protected] sent me back the message. But the postmaster is like a bot right? It automatically sends it back. Can an administrator see the mail easily?

HELP...someone explain the basics of POP and SMTP to me please.....

Sure it's easy. It depends on the type of mail service it is. And it depends on whether or not the admin reads any of the nondeliverable messages. I used to read some of the non-deliverables as a way to help out some of the neophytes. They'd give out the wrong email address and I would try to correct the problem. The bounce message you get is automated so that doesn't necessarily mean the message was read. Did that help explain a little?

What I DON'T get a nondeliverable message from the postmaster?
I sent the almost 30 minutes ago and haven't gotten a nondeliverable mail yet...

what does that mean?

Yes they can read it...that is if they desire to.
I doubt they'd care though...especially if it's just something personal like his GF is cheating on him or something.
However, if you're a software developper or something and you want to keep trade secrets...then there are always PGP keys, have the e-mail encrypted.

if it's a matter of a fear of going to prison over a crime commited, then I'm sorry I can't really help you....they'll figure something out

hope I helped :)

that simply means there was no [email protected] exists, whether this is your friend or not no longer matters...he has the e-mail

Do net admins USUALLY read that stuff?

Or is it just generally ignored?
How often is that nondeliverable mail list flushed out of the system? In a typical scenario with Microsoft networks.

Its a very very small network actually...and I'm POSITIVE that user name that I mistakened for doesn't exist. What does it mean if it doesn't get bounced back. I'M ABSOLUTELY SURE that it doesn't exist, actually.

I'll say it's 1/10000 ho read the undeliverable mail...that is for larger networks. For a small network of 10-15 people it wouldn't be so bad, but they usually wouldn't. They get hundreds a day and don't care about what they say.
From my experience it bounces a message to you, and filters the e-mail into a file, that gets cleaned every 1-4 days

If you DON'T get a nondeliverable message from the postmaster, the message was probably sent. [email protected] may not be your friends account, but there may be another person who has that account. There have been plenty of times where I have gotten messages for other people because they mistype part of the address. If you never get a nondeliverable message, that means that someone is going to read it. You just don't know who that person is.

then maybe it didn't send....it is a very odd mail server that won't bounce a message back, it's possible of course...it's all up to the admin, but I know the default settings on any mail server software will bounce a "user error" reply