Volume 8 , Issue 48

How to FWD Emails

Great Information. We can all learn something from this! Do you really know how to forward e-mails? This was written by a system administrator for a corporate system. It is an excellent message that ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL of us who send e-mails. Please read the shortletter below...

Do you really know how to forward e-mails? 50% of us do; 50% DO NOT. Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail (Spam)? Do you hate it? Every time you forward an e-mail there is information left over from the people who got the message before you and sent it to you, namely their e-mail addresses and names.

As the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds, and builds. All it takes is for some poor sap to get a virus, and his or her computer can send that virus to every e-mail address that has come across their computer. Or, someone can take all of those addresses and send junk mail to them or sell them to spammers in the hopes that you will go to the site and they will make five cents for each hit that they sell. That's right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel and because someone included visible email addresses in their forwarded message!

How do you stop it? Well, there are a few easy steps:

• (1) When you Forward an e-mail, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That's right, DELETE them. Highlight them and delete them or backspace them or cut them - whatever it is you know how to do. It only takes a second. You MUST click the "Forward" button first though and then you will have full editing capabilities for the body and headers of the message. If you don't click on "Forward" first, you won't be able to edit the message at all.
• (2) Whenever you send an e-mail to more than one person, do NOT use the To:or CC: columns for adding e-mail address. Always use the BCC: (Blind Carbon Copy) column for listing the e-mail addresses. This way the people you send to only see their own e-mail address and no one else's. 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: and that's it, it's that easy. Or click on view and click on all headers you will then have the bcc: column. When you send to BCC: your message will automatically say "Undisclosed Recipients" in the "TO:" field of the people who receive it, providing extra security and privacy to all the people in your Address Book.
• (3) Remove any "FW:" in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even correct spelling.
• (4) ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual e-mail you are reading. Ever get those e-mails that you have to open 10 FW: pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual, final page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many e-mails just to see what you sent. (Many people will not open all those emails for fear of getting a virus so your message may go unread.)

Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to Forward it to a number of people or your entire Address Book. The email can be Forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses.

FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient(s). Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email address on a petition - and, again,you will protect the privacy of those in your Address Book and provide them additional security against viruses and spammers.

So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail and the viruses by working together and respecting the privacy and security of one another.
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