Responsible Computing
Over the last few weeks I have received several emails from various people, groups and organizations about this cause or that cause. I mean, everything from fetal tissue research to legislation that does not exist. Then there are the ones about "send this to 20 people you know or you will receive bad luck for the next 100 years!" Oh, and the one I just love, the email tracking device that microsoft (or whoever is the flavor the week) is testing. You'll get money for sending it on to 20 other people and clogging up every email server on the internet! The tracker is a hoax folks. Read why email can't be tracked.
With computers now in the majority of homes, it has become a very useful tool for some to get the message out about tragic events and things that really need to be stopped. However, it has also become a tool for spreading blatant lies and half truths.
We all need to do our part as responsible computer users. Before your forward that email to 100 people check it out and make sure it is real. It's very simple. Research it. That is the only way you can make an informed and responsible decision.
Next would be the CC (carbon copy) and BCC (blind carbon copy) options to send email. While around the world in 100 days might be good for the Backstreet Boys tour, it is not good for private email addresses. A lot of times you send something to a group of people and then they forward it and around it goes, all those addresses on public display. There is a simple solution to this. Use your BCC option. When sending mail to more than one person place the addresses in the BCC line. This will send the mail to everyone but it will not display the whole list to everyone who receives it. On the other hand, CC with display all addresses to each recipient.
OK, so you found something really cool that someone forwarded you and you want to send it to a bunch of people you know. Like that really funny joke you just can't stop laughing at? Now you know that first of all you should chose your BCC option to address the people in your address book. Next you need to use the cut and paste option. This handy feature will keep your friends from having to scroll through a bunch of previous email address (where somebody did not use BCC). All you have to do is highlight the text you want to send. Place your cursor over it, right click, and hold to highlight. With that done now you right click and choose copy. Open a new email to send, go to the text area, right click, choose paste. Bingo! Your friends will love you for it!
One last thing . . . as our computer guy Ron has stated . . . Keep your antivirus soft ware updated frequently. I was hit with the sir cam virus three times in one week. Fortunately Nortons detected and stopped it before my computer spread it to everyone I know. Trust me, if you have never had to reformat your computer, it is not fun. It can take months to retrieve all the information on your hard drive that you will lose, and some of it you never can recover.
