Short
for electronic mail, e-mail is the transmission of messages over
communications networks. These messages can be notes entered from the
keyboard or electronic files stored on disk. Most mainframes,
minicomputers, and computer networks have an e-mail system. Some
e-mail systems are confined to a single computer system or
network, but others have gateways to other computer systems,
enabling users to send electronic mail anywhere in the world.
Internet E-mail
According to the research firm IDC, about 31 billion
e-mails are sent worldwide
every day −
and that number is expected to rise to more than 60
billion by 2006. With the capability to send pictures, documents or even
video messages to anyone in the world who has an
e-mail address, it has become a massively popular form of
communication. For many it has replaced traditional communication
methods such as telephone conversations, facsimiles and even postal
mail.
How Does Sending & Receiving
E-mail Work?
Using an e-mail
client (software such as Microsoft Outlook or Eudora) you can compose an
e-mail message
and send it to another person anywhere, so long as you know their
e-mail address.
All online services and
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer
e-mail, and support
gateways so that you can exchange
e-mail with
users of other systems. Usually, it takes only a few seconds for an e-mail to arrive at its destination. This is a
particularly effective way to communicate with a group because you
can broadcast a message or
document to everyone in the group at
once.
Although different e-mail systems use different formats, there are
some emerging standards that are making it possible for users on all
systems to exchange messages. In the
PC world, an important e-mail
standard is MAPI. The
CCITT standards organization has developed the
standard, which attempts to provide a universal way of
addressing messages. To date, though, the de facto addressing
standard is the one used by the
Internet system because almost all
e-mail systems have an Internet gateway.
When you initially set-up your e-mail client
you will need specific information from your ISP, such as your
network user ID,
SMTP and
POP server address. The network ID will
provide you with your e-mail address, the SMTP server handles the
communications as you send an e-mail message, and the POP server
provides the transmission for receiving e-mail.
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol
When you send an e-mail message, your
e-mail client connects to your ISP's mail server, which is an SMTP
(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server. It is common for your e-mail
message to be broken down into small
packets of
data (for a speedier
transmission), which is reassembled when it reaches its destination.
The SMTP server will generally hand-off the message to another
server that is able to translate the
domain name of the recipient's
address and find the correct
IP address to deliver the message to.
This process may be repeated multiple times until the e-mail is
routed to the correct destination server.
POP - Post Office Protocol
While SMTP provides the protocol for sending
an e-mail, it is a different server that receives your e-mail at your ISP.
POP, short for Post Office Protocol, is a protocol used to retrieve e-mail
from a mail server. Your ISP will have set up a
mailbox on the POP server
for all its customers. When incoming e-mails are received by the POP server, it
is then filtered down to the correct user mailbox. When you use your e-mail
client and connect to the POP server, you log in with your ID (network username),
which allows the server to locate your mailbox. Access to the contents
of the mailbox is granted by entering in your
password. The POP server will
deliver your e-mail to your
local system and will delete the messages from
the server as well.
Most e-mail applications use the POP
protocol. There are two versions of POP. The first, called POP2, became a
standard in the mid-80's and requires SMTP to send messages. The newer
version, POP3, can be used with or without SMTP. While most people will
refer to POP with a version number (e.g. POP3), when using the term
POP without a number, like any other protocol, it is generally assumed you would be referring to the most recent version
anyways.
IMAP: Internet
Message Access Protocol
The Post Office Protocol is designed to be a
simple protocol offering only a basic set of commands, and it is still the
most widely used protocol. Similar to POP is
IMAP (Internet
Message Access Protocol), which is also a protocol
for retrieving e-mail messages, but supports some features not found in POP.
For example IMAP allows you to search e-mail messages for keywords while the
messages still reside on the server. You can also store messages on the
e-mail server, and better manage multiple accounts and set message flags.
IMAP was developed at Stanford University in 1986.
Web mail vs. POP Mail
Web
mail is a
Web page interface used to access e-mail through a
Web browser.
In order to use Web mail, your ISP needs to provide this service or
you can get a subscription to a Web mail service (some free, some
paid subscriptions). Web mail is a secure Web page that you load in
your Web browser and log in by entering your username and password.
Web mail is popular as it allows you to send or receive e-mail from
anywhere, so long as the computer you are using is connected to the
Internet and has a Web browser. It is an excellent option for those
traveling or working outside the office.
Web mail systems differ depending on
the service provider, but you can expect to find some common
features on most systems. Web mail is left on the server, and as a
result you'll usually find
anti-virus support and built-in
spam
filters, which you have some editing control over. Most Web mail
systems provide an address or contact book,
folders
for filing e-mail, and some may provide POP mail retrieval allowing
you to check your Web mail account through any e-mail client. This, however, is not a more common Web mail feature and if you use
a free Web mail service, this is probably something you'll only get
with an upgraded (paid) subscription.
While benefits of Web mail are plenty
and the systems very easy to use, Web mail does have some
disadvantages. The amount of space you can have on the system may be
limited (meaning you have to occasionally delete e-mail messages and
attachments) and you may experience slow connections to the Web mail
service provider during peak Internet usage times. Lastly, one big
disadvantage to Web mail is experienced mainly by those using a
slower modem
connection and by those paying per minute or those who have a
limited Internet usage time. To use Web mail you must be connected
to the Internet to read or compose more than one e-mail message
−
although it is possible to write your
e-mail messages
offline
in and cut and paste the messages after you've logged on and into
your Web mail account to save time and money for those not using a
dedicated
broadband Internet account .
Common E-Mail Problems and Issues
Spam
There is no doubt that one of the biggest black clouds hanging over
e-mail is spam. Spam can be considered any electronic junk mail
(generally e-mail advertising for some product) that is sent out to
thousands, if not millions, of people with an e-mail address. In addition
to wasting people's time with unwanted e-mail, spam also eats up a lot
of network bandwidth. Consequently, there are many organizations, as
well as individuals, who have taken it upon themselves to fight spam
with a variety of techniques. But because the Internet is public, there
is really little that can be done to prevent spam, just as it is
impossible to prevent junk mail.
Many individuals are able to use spam
filters in their e-mail clients to help filter some of the annoyances
out of their inbox, but for some corporations more strict anti-spam
measures are needed because of the sheer volumes of junk mail that must
be filtered out of legitimate customer e-mail.
Microsoft, for example,
receives about 10 million e-mails per day via the Internet. Of those 85
to 90 percent is filtered out as spam. Having an e-mail client download
this huge number of spam mail would simply take too long. For this reason many corporations and companies
will use spam filters at the server level (instead of the client)
to help keep the spam e-mails from ever reaching an employee's computer.
Phishing
It is becoming
increasingly common to tune in to the news or load your favorite news Web
site and read about yet another Internet e-mail scam. An e-mail scam is a
fraudulent e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate Internet address with
a justifiable request — usually to verify your personal information or
account details. One example would be if you received an e-mail that appears
to be from your bank requesting you click a hyperlink in the e-mail and
verify your online banking information. Usually there will be a repercussion
stated in the e-mail for not following the link, such as "your account will
be closed or suspended". The goal of the sender is for you to disclose
personal and (or) account related information. This type of e-mail scam is
also called phishing.
[
Read more about Phishing and how to combat it here ]
Changing E-mail Addresses
Much like changing your postal mail address, having to change an e-mail
address requires planning. If you know ahead of time that you will be
switching to a new ISP, changing schools, or jobs, it is important to notify
your contacts of your new e-mail address. One easy way to help make the
switch is to take advantage of using an e-mail signature (see below). This
way every e-mail you send will provide details on your new contact
information.
Unless your provider is able to forward your
e-mail to a second e-mail address, you alone have to take on the
responsibility of making sure people know how to contact you. If it is
possible you can try to keep the old e-mail address and use it to send out
an automatic responder. When a person sends an e-mail to the old address,
they would receive an e-mail notification with your new e-mail address and
contact information. One way to avoid changing an e-mail address is to use a
Web mail service which is ISP-independent, and would be available to you
for a much longer period of time (unless the Web mail service provider goes
out of business of course).
E-mail Headers
In many disciplines of computer science, a
header is considered a unit of
information that precedes a data object. The first part of an e-mail
message containing controlling and
meta data such as the
subject, origin
and destination email addresses, the path an email takes, or its
priority. The header will contain information about the e-mail client,
and as the e-mail travels to its destination, information about the path
it took will be appended to the header. When sending e-mail there are a few standard
areas on the message composition window which you need to fill out to ensure
correct delivery of your e-mail. These key fields are a part of the e-mail
header, and are contain specific data you will provide when
you compose an e-mail.
To (or) Recipient
When sending e-mail this is the field in your e-mail client where you
enter the e-mail address of the person you are sending the message to. When
receiving e-mail it will display your e-mail address along with the e-mail
addresses of any other recipients of the e-mail. To (or) Recipient information
is a part of the e-mail header.
From (or) Sender
When sending e-mail this is the field in your e-mail client which will show your
name or e-mail address as you entered it when setting up your e-mail client.
When receiving e-mail it provides you with the the name or e-mail address of the
person who sent you the e-mail. The From (or) Sender information is a part of
the e-mail header.
Carbon Copy (or) cc
When sending e-mail, this area is where you can type in any
additional e-mail addresses of people you wish to send a copy of the e-mail
to. Using cc will show the e-mail addresses to everyone the message is going
to. The carbon copy or cc information is a part of the e-mail header.
See also copy
Bcc (or) Blind Carbon Copy
When sending e-mail, this area is where you can type in any additional e-mail
addresses of people you wish to send a copy of the e-mail to. Similar to a
carbon copy, you can insert e-mail addresses in this area, but recipients will
not see the e-mail address entered in the blind carbon copy field. The Blind Carbon
Copy information is a part of the e-mail header.
See also copy
Subject
When sending e-mail this is the field in your e-mail client where you enter a
subject (or title) for the e-mail you are composing. The Subject information is
a part of the e-mail header.
Common E-mail Client Functions
While simple text
editors used to be the way to send an e-mail, today we
have a plethora of software one can choose for sending and receiving
e-mail. Each software package will differ slightly but
they do offer standard features which are generally the same. For
those making a switch from Web mail to an e-mail client you most
likely will come across some standard e-mail functions that were
referred to by another name on a Web mail system. Here are
a few e-mail terms you should be familiar with to help make using a
Windows-based e-mail client easier:
attachment
A
file attached to
an e-mail
message. When sending an e-mail you are able to send an attachment
— which is a file separate from the e-mail message itself. An attachment
may be an image file, photo, document, or even a video. When you choose
to send an attachment, a 'browse' window will normally pop-up allowing
you to select the file from your hard drive.
hard bounce
When
e-mailing,
hard bounce is used to describe an e-mail that has bounced back to
the sender undelivered without having been accepted by the recipient's
mail server.
You will usually receive an e-mail telling you that the e-mail did not
reach the recipient.
forward
Forward is an option in your e-mail client which allows you to forward a
received e-mail to another recipient. The e-mail will be sent with the
body of the e-mail showing as 'quoted text'. Recipients of a forwarded e-mail can usually tell the e-mail is a
forward. Some clients will place the letters "FWD" in front of the
Subject field.
redirect
A redirect is similar to a forward, but the body of the text is not
normally shown as quoted text. Additionally the From (or) Sender
field will show the e-mail address of the original sender, and in
brackets after it will show your information. For example if you
received the e-mail from "me@me.com" and your e-mail address is "thisisme@me.com",
when you redirect this e-mail to another recipient, the from (or) Sender
information might read something like this:
From: me@me.com ( by way of "Your
Name" <thisisme@me.com> )
e-mail signature
An e-mail signature is a block of text which is appended to the end
of an e-mail message you send. Generally, a signature is used to provide
the recipient with your name, e-mail address, business contact
information, or Web site URL. Some people, however, will use a signature
to sign off their e-mail message with a closing statement, funny quote
or other message. A signature file, or sig as it is commonly called can
easily be created in most e-mail clients. You will have the option to
always attach the signature to all outgoing e-mails, or add the
signature in specific outgoing e-mails.
filters
Most e-mail clients provide a way to help you filter junk and spam
mail out of your e-mail. A filter will allow you to specify a string of
text or keywords found in subject headers which is known to be spam. For
example, if you suddenly start to receive junk mail about "Viagra" you
can add Viagra to to your filter keyword list to help keep these
messages out of your inbox. When you download your e-mail, the filters
(as you can have more than one) will file the matching e-mail in a junk
box or the trash can, depending on your specifications. Filters can also
be based on a sender's e-mail address or you can be more aggressive in
removing probable junk mail by sending everything which does not contain
your e-mail address in the To field to the junk mail box. While filters
may allow the odd legitimate e-mail to be filtered out, you can have the
filter hold these e-mails in a temporary e-mail box in your client, and
you can then take a quick look through them at any time before deleting
to ensure important e-mail will be read.
return receipt
A return receipt is an e-mail
notification that informs you when and if the recipient has
opened your message. This is one way to know if an e-mail you
sent was received. It is important, however, not to rely on this
alone for confirmation, because when you receive an e-mail with
a return receipt notification, many e-mail clients will allow a
user to send a return receipt "now," "later," or "never."
reply
Reply is an e-mail client function which allows you to send
an e-mail reply to a message you have received. By using reply
the main e-mail headers are filled in, with the To (or) Sender
field information being filled in based on the From (or) Sender
information of the e-mail you are replying to. The reply e-mail
will usually quote the received message and it will be sent to
only the person who sent the initial message.
reply to all
Similar to
reply with the exception that the new
e-mail will be sent to the original sender and anyone listed in
the cc field.
address book (contact list)
Some e-mail clients will allow you to create an address book
in which you can store the e-mail address and contact
information for friends, family, and clients. This allows you to
easily find an e-mail address and can make sending e-mails to
multiple recipients faster (as opposed to typing in each
person's e-mail address one at a time into the To (or) Sender)
field.
