E-mail is short for electronic mail. It is digital correspondence.
E-mail gives you the ability to send and receive text messages to/from anyone
with an e-mail address. You can attach other files, pictures, or programs to
your message.
E-mail is more like a conversation than a formal correspondence. It is a speedy
way to get a message to someone. It should be concise and to the point, as well
as, well written. Do not forget to check your spelling and grammar and
punctuation. Your teachers were right. Spelling counts!
E-mail is fast. It is easy. It is inexpensive.
When someone sends you a message, that message is sent to your Internet Service Provider, and stored there. When you log on and check your e-mail, the message is sent from the server to your computer.
• You need to be able to go online.
• You have to connect your modem to your telephone line.
• You must have an account with an Internet Service Provider.
• You will also need an e-mail software program (usually provided by your ISP
or included in the Web browser). • You have to have an e-mail address.
The two most popular e-mail programs are Internet Explorer's Outlook Express and
Netscape's Messenger. You automatically get an e-mail address when you sign up
with an ISP or online service, such as AOL, Compuserve, or Prodigy.
Setting up is simple. The exact steps you follow to access mail, and send and
receive mail, will vary from program to program. However, the email options are
always prominently displayed on the Menu screen and in their own pull down menu.
The Internet Service Provider assigns an e-mail address to you. Usually you
can choose your user name.
The first part -of the address (before the @) is a user name. The second part,
or domain name, defines the Internet provider where the mail is sent. The two
parts are separated by an @ sign (pronounced "at").
The domain name is followed by an extension that indicates the type of
organization to which the network belongs.
Here is an example of an address: fmbigal@comcast.net
To send mail:
• Start your e-mail program.
• Click the Compose New Message option. Depending on your e-mail program, the
name of this button may vary.
• In the To box, type the address of the recipient or click on a name in the
address book.
• Type a short description of your e-mail on the Subject line.
• Click the message area and type your message.
• To send the message, click the Send button.
Most people compose all of their e-mail messages offline. This saves connection
time that you buy from your ISP. Before you can actually send the message, you
need to go online.
If you are not sure if you really sent a message, there is a way to find out.
Look through your icons or menu choices for the Out Box. In some mail programs,
when you open that box, you will see some indication that your message has been
sent.
In most mail programs the message is marked with a check mark.
There may also be a Sent Message file in your filing cabinet that you can
check.
Outlook Express takes messages from the Out Box, sends them, and files a copy in
the Sent Message file.
To check for new mail:
• Start your e-mail program.
• Check for new messages. When new mail arrives, you will hear a sound, get a
message and/or see a little envelope in your system tray.
• Your mail program collects all the messages on your mail server and displays
them in your In Box.
• To read a message, double-click it.
Most people read all of their mail offline. This saves connection time. Once you
have read a message, your e-mail program will give you choices for handling the
message. You can read and close the message, or you can choose to print the
message. You can also reply to the sender, reply to everyone listed in the
header, or send it to someone else. Or you can delete the message.
Most mail programs allow you to store frequently used addresses in an address
book. There is no need to memorize each address. You do not even have to type in
the whole address each time.
Start your address book by putting in your own address.
In Outlook Express:
• Open Tools menu.
• Choose Address Book.
• Choose New Contact and fill in the blanks.
You can manually enter each name and e-mail address by opening the address book
and entering the information or if you receive e-mail from someone simply
right-click on the sender's name and choose "Add to Address Book".
After you have a person's e-mail address in your address book, you can simply open your address book and double-click on the name of your choosing. The program will bring up a screen for you to compose e-mail to that person. What a time saver!
To reply to an e-mail message:
• Click on the piece of mail to open it.
• Click on the Reply button. This will automatically copy the original message
and address it back to the sender.
• Type your message.
• Click the Send button.
To forward e-mail:
• Click the Forward button.
• In the To Box, type the address of that person.
• Click the Send button.
If you want to send two or more people the same message, and you do not mind
if they know whom else is receiving it:
• Type one address in the To box.
• Type the other addresses in the CC (carbon copy) field.
To send a bulk mailing without disclosing the list of recipients, put yourself
in the To box, and everyone else in BCC (blind carbon copy). If you put
recipients into the BCC field, their names and addresses are masked from all
others.
However, everyone, including those in BCC can see who's in To and CC.
To send a file, like a word processing document, spreadsheet, or an
image:
• Look in the mail menu for Attach File or Send Attachments.
• You will be prompted for the file name and its location on your hard
drive.
• Once you navigate to the file, double-click on it. A copy of it will be sent
to your e-mail. When you actually send your e-mail, the attached file will be
sent right along with it.
When someone sends you an e-mail with an attachment, you will generally see
it as an icon at the bottom of your e-mail, with a name next to it. In most
cases, you can just double-click on the icon.
Do not open an attachment if you do not know who sent it to you. Some
attachments can contain viruses that can harm your hard disk.
As an example, my husband recently received an e-mail from an acquaintance. The
e-mail included a greeting card titled "Happy99.exe". When he opened
it, it was a fireworks animation. Very pretty. It was a virus. This particular
virus hid in his computer and sent itself to people on his e-mail list without
his knowledge.
No. E-mail is never confidential. Without encryption, the possibility exists
that e-mail can be accessed and read by others.
Your recipient can forward it to others.
Do not send anything that you would not mind reading about on the front page of
your local newspaper.
It is a good practice to log onto the Internet, retrieve your mail, and then
log off. Your mail is available for you to read when you are offline.
You may also respond to your mail or write new mail while you are offline. Then
log on to send your e-mail.
A virus is an unwanted file or set of instructions that attaches itself to files in your computer system, usually causing harm to your computer. It replicates itself as the file is shared from computer to computer. Viruses are not naturally occurring bugs. People, who want to damage your computer system, create them. You can protect yourself from viruses by always checking programs and files that you download from the Internet with a virus protection program. You can purchase protection programs from a computer store.
In the days before E-mail, most viruses were transmitted by floppy disks
passed from computer to computer. Now, most viruses are transmitted by E-mail in
attachments.
You can protect yourself from viruses by opening E-mail attachments only if you
can answer yes to all four of the following questions:
• Do you know the person who sent it to
you?
• Did the person who sent it originate it?
• Do you know what it is?
• Do you you know what it does?
If you can't answer yes, delete it or ask the originator the above questions
about the attachment.
You can protect yourself from viruses by always checking attachments with
an "anti-virus" program, which you can purchase from a computer store.
Even people you know and trust can accidentally send you a virus, so you really
should use your virus protection program regularly. Installing the program is
not enough, you need to update the virus definitions from the vendor's site
regularly.
Various email programs (also called email clients) have different ways to
back up your email.
Email programs Outlook and Outlook Express need a second program for complete
backup. The programs are called Express Assist and Outback Plus. Find out more
about these at http://www.netoffices.com/articles/computing/e-mail_addons/index.htm
plus links where you can download the programs. Not only do they back up your
e-mail, but all of your e-mail settings, message rules, filters, blocked senders
lists, registry settings, IE Favorites, account information, etc.
Juno uses a proprietary e-mail system. Juno Version 5.0 or later has it's own
backup wizard to backup all e-mail folders, address book, settings., etc., as
well as a feature to restore all information.
Before you leave, check the home page of your ISP. Look for "Web mail" or something similar. If you can not get your mail there, here is a URL that works with any mail when you are away from home: http:///www.mail2web.com