How to Use Email - Using Email Safely & Avoiding Spam

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Using email

Email is a simple, powerful and cheap communication tool that allows you to send and receive digital messages and attachments, often for free. Realising the benefits of email is simple - by setting up an email account either with your internet service provider, or using a separate email system such as webmail, you are immediately able to communicate in a whole new way.

Emails are sent across the internet, allowing you to reach other email users regardless of geographical location. It allows you to send written communications in a much faster way than traditional methods to any email address worldwide. Emails are often delivered almost instantly, although those with larger attachments can take a little more time.

The BBC provides a guide to using email as part of their webwise internet courses. This online guide provides simple, clear information regarding the way email works. For more information visit: www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/course/email/menu.shtml

Webmail

To start using web based email (or as it commonly referred to, webmail) you should first take some time to decide whether you want to use a free or a paid service. It may be wise to use a free service to begin, and see if it incorporates all the features that you require instead of immediately opting for a paid service.

Choose a webmail provider

Next, you will need to choose a webmail provider. The biggest three webmail providers are Google Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. Visit the websites of these and any other webmail provider you are considering and look for the relevant email webpage. From here, each should provide an overview of the features they offer including the amount of storage space you will have, maximum attachment size supported and the security methods employed. Take some time to familiar yourself with each before choosing which to use. If choosing free services, you can of course setup a web based email account with each provider and see which you prefer.

Create an email account

When you have chosen which provider to use, you can create an account on the relevant website. You will need to enter details such as name, chosen email address, password and security questions (in case you forget your password). If using a free service, you should not need to provide any credit card or banking details. The provider will check that the email address you would like is available and that the password you have chosen is strong enough. It is a good idea to choose a memorable password that contains both numbers and letters in a mixture of upper and lower case to make your password as strong as possible.

Once you have provided these details, your account will be created. You will now be able to login, using the email address and password you specified when you setup your account, and begin sending and receiving emails.

Protect your email

A good idea to protect yourself is to only ever give you main email address to trusted sites and contacts. For sites that you are less comfortable with that demand an email address for registration or other information, setup a separate account. This way your main email address is less likely to be a target for spam or virus emails.

Free service providers:

Further information

For more information on webmail visit:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-web-based-email.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webmail

Spam

What is spam?

"spam" is unsolicited commercial email which many consumers find annoying and time consuming, whereas others have lost money to bogus offers that have arrived in their email in-box.

Spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who wouldn’t choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. Spam costs the sender very little to send, with most of the costs picked up by the recipient or the carriers rather than by the sender.

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of spam blockers and anti spam filters. Their success has been very limited as the damage of stolen bandwidth and unauthorized use of network and private computer resources persist when the spam is merely blocked at the final destination. Even with the widespread use of spam filters, and despite a massive decline in volume (82.22%) since 2010, independent studies show 72.9% of all global email is still spam.

How to stop spam

For more information on spam and how to deal with unwanted email visit:

The Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG)

The Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group MAAWG is an industry group formed to fight messaging abuse such as spam and fraud e-mail. For more information visit www.maawg.org

This business information might also be of interest: Spam, Using email at work

Avoiding email scams

Many of us have been on the receiving end of an email scam, or know people who have.

Read our tips on how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of an email scam:

1. Make sure you have anti-virus software installed onto your computer, and update it at least daily or each time your computer is switched on. Also, install a personal firewall. This will reduce the risk of potentially dodgy emails from entering your inbox

2. Never open emails from people you don't know. Delete them and empty the deleted folder / recycle bin straightaway

3. Only download software from reputable sources. Free games and screensavers might be hiding software that could infect your PC.

4. Never reply to phishing emails*. No real financial institution will ever ask you for your credentials in an email. If in doubt, call your bank to verify the information is required

5. Before you click on any link, check the website address contained within the emails. Open a browser window and use a search engine to find the site. If the addresses don’t match, it's probable that the site you are about to visit is fake

6. Check your bank and credit card statements regularly and carefully to spot any unnatural activity. Report any unfamiliar transactions to your bank straightaway.

What are phishing scams?

* Phishing scams are when criminals create emails that appear to come from legitimate banks, insurance companies, eBay and so on. Unsuspecting users will click on a web link in an email, which then takes them to a fake web site where they enter their name, password, credit card details etc., unaware that this personal information is going straight to a criminal gang.

This personal information might also be of interest: Scams

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