E-mail Basics

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By Richard Merino & Keith McVean

Has anybody used e-mail before? Is there anything in particular you are hoping

to learn?

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Today we’re going to cover: What is e-mail Where can you get an e-mail address How to read e-mail How to send e-mail What are the different types of e-mail How to use an address book Junk mail (a.k.a. spam) Security issues Etiquette Feedback (Don’t forget to give us feedback!)

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Yahoo Mail

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The training purposes today we have signed up everybody for a free Yahoo mail account

This was done to provide common ground for everybody to learn the basics of e-mail

The basic concepts that will be covered for Yahoo mail will be the same for any e-mail client or service

You are not obligated in any way to use the Yahoo e-mail account after today all though you’re more than welcome to

Warning! These instructions are going to cover the

current Yahoo Mail (currently the largest free e-mail provider)

Over time this service will change in appearance and functionality

Your screen may look different at home than what the screens look like in these screen shots

The concepts taught in this workshop can be applied to any e-mail program or service

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What is E-mail? E-mail is a message that you send via the

Internet from one person to another thatusually arrives in minutes if not seconds

E-mail can also include pictures, sounds, andother types of files which you can add onto an e-mail known as an attachment

If you have Internet access there is no furthercost to using e-mail

All e-mail has a sender (“from”) and a receiver (“to”)

Senders and receivers need an e-mail address that has a username (1.), an at symbol (2.), and a domain (3.)

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abc@abc.com

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Two Examples of E-mails

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Junk Mail (A.K.A. Spam) Unsolicited e-mail (i.e. junk mail) that tries to

sell you something is called spam Spammers typically get your e-mail address

from free services or software the require you to register with your e-mail address

To avoid spam be careful whom you provide your e-mail address to

Always delete junk mail before opening it – never open it

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Different Formats of E-mail E-mail comes in one of two formats – plain text or HTML HTML can have pictures, music, or anything else

embedded in the body while plain text can only have text Regardless of format any type of file can be attached Be aware that not everybody can read HTML formatted e-

mails all though all most all e-mails today are HTML formatted

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Plain TextHTML

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) typically include a free e-mail address with your service

There are many free services that will provide e-mail service. The three most popular free e-mail providers are1 (in order of popularity): Yahoo

http://mail.yahoo.com Hotmail (Microsoft)

http://www.hotmail.com Gmail (Google)

http://www.gmail.com

1. http://www.hitwise.com/datacenter/rankings.php

Note:If you switch ISPs any e-mail addresses you get with your ISP is lost. This is why some people prefer to use free e-mail services such as Hotmail instead of the e-mail provided by their ISP

How To Check Your E-mail

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Visit mail.yahoo.com Enter:

1. Username (your Yahoo ID in this case)2. Password3. Click “Sign In”

This will bring you to this screen

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How To Read E-mail To read your e-mail:

1. Click the inbox2. Click on the bolded text of the

e-mail you wish to read3. Read your e-mail

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Received E-mail

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When you get an e-mail you have several options1. Reply to it2. Forward it (i.e. send a copy to somebody else)3. Get rid of it (delete it)4. Mark it as spam (i.e. junk mail)

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Reply To An E-mail To reply to a message you are reading is a

three step process:1. Click the reply button2. Type your response3. Click the send button

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Forward An E-mail

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To forward any e-mail is a 1. Select the e-mail you want to

forward2. Click on the forward button3. Enter the e-mail address you want to

forward the e-mail to4. Click send

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4.Note:If you want to forward an e-mail to more than one person put a comma in between the e-mail addresses. For example:abc@abc.com, 123@abc.com

Delete An E-mail

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There are a lot of reasons you may not want to keep an e-mail any more (i.e. you’ve read it, it wasn’t important, etc.)

To delete any e-mail:1. Select the e-mail you

want to delete2. Click delete

Deleted e-mails go to your trash bin where they will stay there for a time before being deleted permanently (similar to your recycle bin in Windows)

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Mark An E-mail Spam

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Marking an e-mail spam permanently deletes the junk e-mail and flags anything from that same person as possible junk

To mark any e-mail spam:1. Select the e-mail you suspect is spam2. Click on the spam button

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How To Send E-mail (1/2) To send an e-mail:

1. Click New E-mail2. Enter the e-mail address you want to

send the e-mail to3. Enter a short, descriptive subject for your e-mail4. Enter your message5. Click send

Typically a copy of anything you send will be saved in the “send” folder

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1.

Note:The rest of the screen shots are on the next page!

How To Send E-mail (2/2)

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2.3.

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Click Send

Try sending yourself an e-mail!

How To Use An Address Book An address book is where you store contact

information like e-mail addresses of people you want to contact later

There are several ways to add somebody to your address book:1. Add somebody who’s sent you an e-mail2. Add an e-mail address as you’re e-mailing3. Adding directly into the address book

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Add Somebody Who’s Sent You An E-mail

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To add the contact informationto your address book of some-body that has sent you ane-mail:1. Click Add2. Enter the contact’s information3. Click Save

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Note:You can use your address book to store more than e-mail addresses. Mailing address, phone numbers, birthdays, etc. can all be stored

Add An E-mail Address As You’re E-mailing

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To add an e-mail address you’re e-mailing:1. Type and send your

message2. Add any additional

contact information you want to store

3. Click Ok

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Adding Directly Into The Address Book

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To add directly into the address book:1. Click Contacts2. Click Add Contact3. Enter the contact information4. Click Save

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Using Your Address Book

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Using your address book:1. Click The To Field2. Select the person

you want to e-mail3. Click Ok 1

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Security Issues

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Only open e-mail from sources you know and trust

Be extra cautious with opening attachments, even from sources you do trust, as they may contain viruses

Sometimes criminals will attempt to trick you into giving either money or personal information (i.e. name, bank account, PIN number, etc.)

Etiquette

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Always provide a short, accurate subject Don’t necessarily forward jokes or chain e-

mails to all your friends Keep in mind that who you send your e-mail to

may not be the only person who sees it (i.e. they can forward it on to people)

Generally sending racist, discriminatory, or sexually explicit e-mails may not be a good idea

Your E-mail

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Yahoo E-mail

Username

Password

E-mail Address