This is advice from a Network Administrator responsible for all of the computers at a very large corporation. It is an excellent message that ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL of us who send emails.
Do you really know how to forward emails? 50% of us do; 50% DO NOT.
Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail? Do you hate it?
Every time you forward an email there is information left over from the people who
got the message before you, namely their email addresses and names. As the
messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds,
and builds, and all it takes is for some poor sap to get a virus, and his or her
computer can send that virus to every email address that has come across
his computer.
Or, someone can take all of those addresses and sell them or send junk
mail to them in the hopes that you will go to the site and he will make five
cents for each hit. That's right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel! How
do you stop it? Well, there are several easy steps.
Try the following if you haven't done it before:
(1) When you forward an email, 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, backspace them, cut them, whatever it is you know
how to do. It only takes a second. You MUST click the 'Forward' button
first and then you will have full editing capabilities against 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 email to more than one person, do NOT use the To: or Cc: fields for adding email addresses. I would prefer it if the other people in your address book don't see my personal info. and besides, it is no one else's business who else you're sending email to. It also leaves your name and email address vulnerable to spammers. So please, if you're forwarding something to more people than me, please be courteous and use the BCC and keep my name and email address anonymous! Always use the BCC:(blind carbon copy) field for listing ALL the email addresses. 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.
(3) Remove any 'FW :' in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling.
(4) ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual email you are reading
.Ever get those emails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page
with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual page you wish someone
to view, you stop them from having to open many emails just to see what
you sent. Also, while you're in 'forward' mode and deleting previous names and
addresses, scroll to the end of the message and delete all the ads and
anti virus information. Its frustrating to read a joke, then have to scroll
down past pages and pages of this stuff to see if there is any more of the
message.
So, when you forward, delete the junk before AND after the intended
message.
(5) Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a
position and asks you to add your name and to forward it to 10 or 15
people or your entire address book. The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect
thousands of names and email addresses. A 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. DO NOT put
your email address on any petition. If you want to support the petition, send
it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may
carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email
addresses on a petition. (And don't believe the ones that say that the
email is being traced; it just ain't so!)
ACTUAL FACT: Most e-mail petitions are worthless because they do not fully
identify the signer by street address, etc. nor does it prove that the
signer really signed it. It could be just one person writing all those names on
the list...Don't forward them.
Some of the other emails to delete and not forward are:
a. The one that says something like, 'Send this email to 10 people and
you'll see something great run across your screen.' Or sometimes they'll
just tease you by saying 'something really cute will happen.' IT AIN'T GONNA
HAPPEN!!!!! I repeat.... IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!!!! (No matter how many
you send it to or how long you wait.... IT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!! We are still
seeing some of the same emails that we waited on 10 years ago!)
b. I don't let the bad luck ones scare me either, they should get trashed
as should the ones that try to guilt you into thinking that if you don't
forward certain emails that you are ashamed of Christ and He will therefore be
ashamed of you! Come on..... if you choose to delete and not spread the
spam, there is no way that Christ will be ashamed of you, and forwarding it doesn't
automatically get you into heaven!
c. Before you forward an 'Amber Alert' , or a 'Virus Alert' , or some of
the other emails floating around nowadays, check them out before you forward
them. Most of them are junk mail that's been circling the net for YEARS! Just
about everything you receive in an email that is in question can be
checked out at Snopes. Just go to
www.snopes.com
http://www.snopes.com/
It's really easy to find out if it's real or not. If it's not, please
don't pass it on.
So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail and the viruses. Also get rid of the advertisements at the bottom of your emails! You pay for your internet why advertise free for them? If they want advertisement let them pay you to use your space!!!!
Here are some simple instructions for making the BCC field show.
Making The BCC Field Show In Outlook Express With Your Screen Reader
Updated on ... February 25, 2015