Computer Bytes - No. 13 Email makes communicating quick and easy - however, using email effectively can sometimes be confusing. In our upcoming articles we will cover how to use email effectively. We will explain how to forward, reply, create folders, and how to use CC and BCC. Do you ever wonder how and why you get so much junk mail and where do those viruses come from? Every time you forward an e-mail there is information left over from the people who received the message before you - namely their e-mail addresses and names. It is very easy for someone to take all of those addresses and either sell them or use them to send out junk mail. Also, as the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses continues to build, and all it takes is for some poor soul to unknowingly get a virus and their computer can send that virus to every e-mail address that has come across his computer. We are going to show you step-by-step how to forward an email without sending along the long list of email addresses. 1) Always Forward from the email while you are actually reading it on your screen. Ever get one of those e-mails where you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By forwarding from the actual page you want someone to see, you stop them from having to open layers of emails just to see what you have sent. 2) When you forward an email, Delete all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the forwarded message. These will be located inside the body of the forwarded message at the top. Remember, you must click the "Forward" button first and then you will have full editing capabilities inside the body as well as the headers of the message. If you don't click on "Forward" first, you won't be able to edit the message at all. 3) If sending an email to more than one person, do not use the To: or Cc: fields for adding email addresses. Always use the BCC: (Blind Carbon Copy) field for listing the email addresses. This way the people you send to will only see their own email address. If you don't see your BCC: option click on where it says To: and your address list will appear. Highlight the address and choose BCC:. When you send to BCC: your message will automatically say "Undisclosed Recipients" in the "To:" field of the people who receive it. 4) Remove any "FW :" in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling. Lastly, before forwarding an Amber Alert or a Virus Warning check them out first. Most of these are junk mail that's been circling the Net for years. Just about any and everything you receive in an email that is in question can be checked out at Snopes. Just go to www.snopes.com. This site gives current information as to the authenticity of viruses, email hoaxes, urban legends and the like. Moncrief Web2 Home Page Moncrief Web Design Computer Bytes Index Web Design | Search Engine Optimization | Site Maintenance & Management | Request Information | About Us ~ Sample Sites Send Us an Email | Home Page Copyright 2007 MWD. All rights reserved. Computer Bytes articles may not be reprinted, published, quoted, copied, or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of David Moncrief.