(or ?) Short for Electronic Mail The transmission of messages over networks

Account is an Internet service, so you get your account from your ISP Your address is made up of: Your account username symbol The ISP domain name

Server Your account is known by your ISP’s server The server collects messages for its domain and stores them in mailboxes until the user connects and collects them

Types of Connections The 3 most common Protocols used to make connections are: POP IMAP WebMail

connections - POP POP (Post Office Protocol) 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 software like Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger or Eudora The client software enables you to read, process, and store s locally on your computer

connections - IMAP IMAP (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 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

connections IMAP (cont.) Since the mail is stored on the server you can have multiple client connections (home, office, school, etc.) to access the same 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 software like Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger or Eudora

connections - Web Web-based (Web Mail) is not a protocol It uses POP to send mail to an mailbox that your web browser can access Your browser is your client There is no configuration needed. Enter the URL of your site Entering your username and password initiate the downloading of 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 WEBPOPIMAP 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 AbilitiesMore client software currently available Online performance optimization Any computer w/ Internet connection and browser Static usability - single computer More mobile - synchronizes multiple computers

Client/Server Models Two models of using client/server electronic mail map directly into POP or IMAP The offline model The online model

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

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 server The protocol that servers use to communicate with each other to deliver messages (outgoing) is SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Configuring Your Client Configuring an client means telling it the essential information it needs to know, such as: The IP address of your mail server The name of your account The type of connection to make (POP, IMAP)

Using Along with reading , 3 common tasks are: Composing and sending a new message Forwarding messages you’ve received to someone else you know Replying to messages received

Using Most systems have a form used for composing messages It includes a simple text editor You identify the recipient by specifying the recipient's address in the “To” field of the form You then send the message by activating the send button on the form

Using clients have a shortcut which allows you to forward a message to another user. You enter the address of the recipient and a copy of the message, along with your header will be sent

Using 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 Adding a Name to Your Address Book Addressing to Someone Listed in an Address Book Addressing to Groups of People Address Books To avoid having to look up a person’s address every time, you can record it in an address book

Using Searching 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” takes up disk space - yours or the server’s

Using Mail Attachments A mail attachment is a file that you attach to an 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 Reading an Attachment: If the recipient of the file doesn’t have the software needed to open the attachment he/she will be unable to read it Each file appears as an icon toward the bottom of the message. To open the file, simply double-click its icon

Using A signature file is a specific attachment that appends itself to every message you send You set it up in your client and it remembers to attach it to your messages It can say anything, but should identify you Name, Title Contact information

Using 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 There are two ways to deal with unwanted

Using Dealing with Unwanted Prevention is the best medicine - avoid giving your address to unknown recipients Spammers use software programs that “troll” the Internet looking for addresses Organizations sell their list of addresses to other groups It can be wise to have more than one address, one specifically for unfamiliar sources

How to Avoid Catching Viruses from 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 Using Mail Filters You can block mail from unwanted sources by using mail filters A mail filter blocks mail that comes from addresses that you forbid You can also block mail by filtering key words in the subject line

Using Spell Checking It’s important to spell check each you compose There are built in spell checkers with most client software Remember that spell check does not find all mistakes, so make sure you reread before you send

Using 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 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