One of the best things about the Internet is the ability to send/receive email from your account. You can communicate with anyone online!

That's the good news.

The bad news is that they can do the same with you! Which means when (note - not "if") your name gets on a spammer's list, you'll start receiving email from here to enternity.

But there are ways to really enjoy your email experience. And here they are.

Before You Begin - eMail Can Include

You might think email is simply sending and receiving great big bunches of words and sentences that ideally mean something. Well, of course, it is that....but it can also be so much more.

Besides the message body, email can include:

• Your Signature - Sure, you can sign your email "Fred." (unless your name is not Fred, in which case you can sign it "Ethel." (unless your name is not Ethel, in which case....)) But you can also devise a signature that automatically gets appended to every message you send out (removing the task of typing it again and again).

  Signatures are wonderful. If you have a business, you can include it in your .sig (the traditional name of a signature). My colleague's original .sig, C Code. C Code Run. Run Code, Run.....Please! has been immortalized in C program manuals everywhere. Now it's something more business-oriented:

  Barbara T. Ling            | Teaching Businesses the Netiquette Way
  The Internet Virtual Coach |   Have you banned complacency today?
  http://www.barbaraling.com |        You should...because...
  btl@barbaraling.com        |        Success Is An Attitude!
  

  Once you've crafted your signature, every single email you send will automatically include it. That's instant advertising! 'Way cool.

• From: Address - You can change the way your From: address appears. For example, you might use an email service such as SpamCop.net .... but have a business or vanity account such as joe@FoodIsGreat.com . In your email preferences on Spamcop.net, you can set your outgoing email as "joe@FoodIsGreat.com", and then set your joe@FoodIsGreat.com account to forward to your Spamcop.net account.

  Why on earth would you want to do this? Well, if you have several online services (aol, msn, fool.com ,etc.), you can mentally designate a primary email service and then forward all of your incoming email to that address. Voila, no more checking a bazillion accounts for your email! 'Tis consolidation at it's finest. And the best thing is it's transparent to anyone who receives your emails.

• Attachments - In other words, files like Microsoft docs, spreadsheets, cute pictures, etc. You can send/receive just about any kind of file online. Thing is, though, you should never ever open an attachment unless you know for certain (as in, a phone call to the person in question) it was intended for you. Many computer viruses are spread via attachments that contain malicious evil-doing head-thumping confusion-generating distraughtness-generating programs that will wreak havoc on your computer.

  With that gentle warning aside, you can now send to your friends/family pictures, ecards and the like. It's a nice way to reach out and touch someone.

There's lots more you can do with eMail, but the above should be enough to whet your appetite! Here's how you take advantage of them.

Step 1 - Set Up Your Signature

Certainly you want to have a relevant, dashing, useful signature, right? Perhaps it can include your email address, your website, a quote you love and adore, a link to a cause you support, etc.

Next, determine your mailing program. It might be Microsoft Outlook, it could be Yahoo Mail or Google Mail, it could be quite a number of things, actually.

Let's say that you use Outlook. To configure your .sig:

• Click on Tools
• Select Options
• Select Signatures
• Click on New
• Enter in your new signature!
• Select Add signatures to outgoing messages
• Click on OK

And there ye go.

Hotmail users would login in and:

• Click on Options
• Click on Personal Signature
• Enter in your new signature!
• Click on OK

No matter what email service provider you are using, you can search their help for signature to get tailored instructions on how to create one.

Step 2 - Get Familiar With Attachments

Open your email client now (Outlook perhaps, or simply open another browser window to access your email online).

If you're using Outlook, create a new email and then select the Paperclip icon at the top of the message screen (or simply choose Insert | File Attachment from the top menu. Find the file you want to attach, click OK and you're on your way.

A few things to keep in mind - attachments can be quite huge and take time to download. Send information responsibly.

If you're using an online email client such as Hotmail or Google Mail or what have you, you can click on their Help link and search for Attachments. That should bring up a step-by-step method of securely attaching your files.

Step 3 - For More Information

Sending email is great...receiving email can be fraught with danger, if you are sent a virus by some unsuspecting individual. Here are some resources for your email pleasure:

• About.com's Email Resources - lots of useful resources

• Coolsig - excellent site for all sorts of signatures

• eMail Etiquette - a must read for creating effective emails

• eMail Security Test - See how secure your email really is

Considering pocket email devices? Consider:

Landel LT-302W MailBug Email Appliance
Feature: ... Send and receive e-mail with an ordinary phone line; Caller ID with name, number, time, and date; Auto-dialing phone directory with 100 names and numbers; Full-size QWERTY keyboard; Get quick and easy access to news, sports scores, stock quotes, weather, and more; for use in United States; not compatible for use in Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands ...more
Customer Reviews — [1] Rating: 5 Date: 2008-11-13 Summary: Great product ... I ordered this for my 82 year old mother who had previously been using a mailstation that quit connecting and for which 7 calls to a customer service group based in India was of no help. The box arrived with this machine in it. I had it out of the box, hooked up and working within 10 minutes, including the time to open the box. I sent up the address book for my mom and within minutes of that, she had sent her first emails from the mailbug. The keyboard is also a very nice one and the visual display is easy to read. ...more
[2] Rating: 5 Date: 2008-10-07 Summary: great product ... This is a great way for a senior citizen to communicate with her family when away. Love it. ...more
Editorial Reviews — ... Review | If you'd like to send and receive e-mail but don't want to bother learning about or paying for a computer, the MailBug may be perfect for you. With the MailBug, checking your e-mail is a easy as pressing a single button. To set up the MailBug, we connected the AC power and plugged in the telephone line cord. The MailBug's screen came to life and instructed us to press a button so that it could call a toll-free number to set the date and time. After setting the time, the MailBug informed us that we...more

JVC HC-E100 Pocket Email Device
Feature: ... Sends and receives e-mail; Works with most home, office, hotel, analog cellular, and pay phones; Acoustic technology with proprietary error correction algorithms; Screen with 8-line, 40-character scrolling displays up to 4,000 characters total; Full QWERTY keyboard ...more
Editorial Reviews — [1] ... Product Description | Sends and receives e-mailWorks with most home office hotel analog cellular and pay phonesAcoustic technology with proprietary error correction algorithmsScreen with 8-line 40-character scrolling displays up to 4000 characters totalFull QWERTY keyboard...more
[2] ... Product Description | Featuring one-touch transmission, the JVC HC-E100 pocket e-mail device sends and receives e-mail from most home, office, hotel, analog cellular, and pay phones. Utilizing acoustic technology with proprietary error correction algorithms, the JVC HC-E100 can send or receive a 1,000-character message in less than 30 seconds, even considering issues such as handshaking and error correction. This device lets you send messages to e-mail addresses, fax machines, and alphanumeric pagers with standard...more

Totalsecure Email 250 Appliance
Feature: ... Sold Individually ...more
Editorial Reviews — ... Product Description | SonicWALL TotalSecure Email provides complete protection for both inbound and outbound e-mail by providing award-winning anti-spam, anti-virus, anti-phishing, and policy and compliance management in an easy-to-use solution. For organizations with up to 750 users there is simply no easier way to get complete e-mail protection.To select the appropriate SonicWALL TotalSecure Email solution for your organization, choose the platform, appliance or Windows software, and the number of users in...more

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