email (or e-mail ?) short for electronic mail the transmission of messages over networks
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Email (or E-mail ?)
Short for Electronic MailThe transmission of messages
over networks
Email Account
Email is an Internet service, so you get your email account from your ISP Your email address is made up of: Your account username The @ symbol The ISP domain name
Email Server
Your email account is known by your ISP’s email serverThe email server collects messages for its domain and stores them in mailboxes until the user connects and collects them
Types of Email Connections
The 3 most common Protocols used to make email connections are: POP IMAP WebMail
Email connections - POPPOP (Post Office Protocol) email is down-loaded, or ‘popped’, from a mail server to a client computer. Once delivered, the message is typically deleted from the POP server unless setup otherwise Used with client email software like Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger or Eudora The client email software enables you to read, process, and store emails locally on your computer
Email connections - IMAPIMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) has all the features of POP plus some additional ones
Allows your client to connect to your mail server and receive only the email message headers (date, from, subject)
A copy of the message is not downloaded to the client until you click on the message header
Even after the client gets a copy, the message remains on the server until you delete it from the server
Email connectionsIMAP (cont.)
Since the mail is stored on the server you can have multiple client connections (home, office, school, etc.) to access the same email server account and the same messages in the inbox
Mail folders can be stored on either the client computer or the server. Mail folders on the server can also be accessed by multiple clients
Used with client email software like Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger or Eudora
Email connections - WebWeb-based email (Web Mail) is not a protocol It uses POP to send mail to an email mailbox that
your web browser can accessYour browser is your email client There is no configuration needed. Enter the URL
of your email site Entering your username and password initiate
the downloading of email from the server to the client
Your client space resides on their web server which allows access from anywhere in the world that you have an Internet connection
POP, IMAP & WEB Comparison Table
WEB POP IMAP
No software configuration
Less complex protocol than IMAP
Remote feature manipulation
Functional, feature rich and mobile
Less complex to implement than IMAP
Multiple folder support
Branding Abilities
More client software currently available
Online performance optimization
Any computer w/ Internet connection and browser
Static usability - single computer
More mobile - synchronizes multiple computers
Email Client/Server Models
Two models of using client/server electronic mail map directly into POP or IMAP The offline model The online model
Email Client/Server Models
The offline model is used by the POP3 protocol In this model, a client application periodically
connects to a server, downloads all pending messages to the client machine and then deletes these messages from the server
The connection is only periodic, even though the computer may maintain connection to the Internet throughout
You process all of your mail locally on your client computer
Email Client/Server Models
The online model is most commonly associated with the IMAP mail protocol In this model, a client application manipulates
mailbox data on a server, maintaining a connection throughout the session
The client stores no mailbox data and only retrieves data from the server as needed
IMAP does allow you to download messages to process locally like POP
SMTP
POP & IMAP are only for incoming mail communication between the client and the serverThe protocol that email servers use to communicate with each other to deliver messages (outgoing) is SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Configuring Your Email Client
Configuring an email client means telling it the essential information it needs to know, such as: The IP address of your mail server The name of your email account The type of connection to make (POP, IMAP)
Using Email
Along with reading email, 3 common email tasks are: Composing and sending a new message Forwarding messages you’ve received to
someone else you know Replying to messages received
Using Email
Most email systems have a form used for composing messagesIt includes a simple text editor You identify the recipient by specifying the recipient's email address in the “To” field of the form You then send the message by activating the send button on the form
Using Email
Email clients have a shortcut which allows you to forward a message to another user.You enter the email address of the recipient and a copy of the message, along with your email header will be sent
Using Email
Email messages shouldn’t stay in your inbox forever. If you don’t want to delete them, you can file (store) them You can create electronic folders for mail You can file mail in any folder on your
computer You can browse or search folders for old
messages
Using Email
Adding a Name to Your Address Book Addressing Email to Someone Listed
in an Address Book Addressing Email to Groups of People
Address BooksTo avoid having to look up a person’s email address every time, you can record it in an address book
Using Email
Searching Email Messages When you have a lot of accumulated
mail, you will eventually lose track of where everything is. Happily, you can search your mail messages to find things
“Old” email takes up disk space - yours or the server’s
Using Email
Mail Attachments A mail attachment is a file that you attach to an email message When you send the message, the attached file gets sent along with it File attachments can be any kind of file that you use on your computer
Using Email
Reading an Email Attachment:If the recipient of the file doesn’t have the software needed to open the attachment he/she will be unable to read itEach file appears as an icon toward the bottom of the message. To open the file, simply double-click its icon
Using Email
A signature file is a specific attachment that appends itself to every message you sendYou set it up in your email client and it remembers to attach it to your messagesIt can say anything, but should identify you Name, Title Contact information
Using Email
Just delete it Spam continues because it's proven to
reach a mass audience. If it didn't work, spammers wouldn't waste their time
Send a reply indicating your disdain for the unwanted mail (to a known source)
Dealing with Unwanted Email There are two ways to deal with unwanted
email:
Using EmailDealing with Unwanted Email
Prevention is the best medicine - avoid giving your email address to unknown recipients
Spammers use software programs that “troll” the Internet looking for email addresses
Organizations sell their list of email addresses to other groups
It can be wise to have more than one email address, one specifically for unfamiliar sources
How to Avoid Catching Viruses from Email Attachments
Most viruses spread through attachments when you open them
Use caution whenever you click on an attachment, especially if it’s an executable filetype (extension = .exe, .bat, .vbs)
Some viruses are automatically executed when you download them
The virus must be a script that your machine recognizes and you must have your machine set up to allow this to happen
Microsoft OS comes set up this way
Using Email
Using Mail Filters You can block mail from unwanted sources by using mail filtersA mail filter blocks mail that comes from email addresses that you forbid You can also block mail by filtering key words in the subject line
Using Email
Spell Checking It’s important to spell check each email you composeThere are built in spell checkers with most email client softwareRemember that spell check does not find all mistakes, so make sure you reread before you send
Using Email
HTML enables you to include in a message bolding, italics, underlining, colors, fonts, and special symbols that do not get transmitted in plain text messages Some email clients may not be able to read HTML so make sure you know if the recipient can read it before you use this
Sending Mail in HTML format