When sending, receiving or replying to e-mail messages, you should take care! The following best practices are meant to help you exercise good habits on Netiquette (online etiquette), privacy protection and online safety.
- Avoid writing e-mail messages using all CAPITAL LETTERS as it may seem like you’re shouting at the recipient even if it is unintended.
- Do not forward a chain letter even if it offers you rewards for doing so or claims you will be distributing useful information. There are usually no rewards and the information might not be reliable at all.
- If you’re sending a commercial e-mail advertisement or publicising a business, service or product, clearly identify it in the subject line with the prefix <ADV>. That way, people who are not interested can delete it immediately. And don’t think you don’t have to bother about this if you’re not the business owner and that you’re only sending it for someone else, as both the commercial entity and the sender are responsible! Find out more about this in Singapore’s new Spam Control Act.
- Avoid attaching large files in your e-mail messages, as it is very time consuming for the recipient to scan the entire file for viruses before downloading it. You should inform the recipient before sending such file so he/she can allocate time to open your e-mail attachment.
- After receiving an e-mail from someone you know, reply to the sender to assure him/her that you have received or read it.
- Use the Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) field if you are sending a mass e-mail many unrelated recipients. The BCC field hides the list of recipients from other users. If you put the e-mail addresses in the “To” field, spammers might harvest them for their mailing lists.
- Do not send e-mails containing vulgarities or racist views (even if they are meant to be jokes) as they may offend the recipient. Remember: the e-mail can be used as evidence to prosecute you!
- Never respond to e-mails that request for your personal financial information. You should be suspicious of any e-mail that asks for your password and account details or includes links for smiliar purposes. Banks and e-commerce companies do not send such e-mails.
- If you’re not using your own personal computer and you’re trying to log into your e-mail account, do not check the ‘Save my e-mail address and password’ option box to prevent other users from accessing or hacking into your e-mail account.
- You should clear the Web browser cache regularly, because your details can be tracked from caches.
- If you receive an e-mail from someone you don’t know, refrain from opening it as it may contain malware such as viruses or spyware.
- Keep your computer secure and safe from phishing e-mails and spyware by installing anti-virus and anti-spam software. And remember to keep them up to date. This will prevent your e-mails from being used to spread malware to others.
- You should run e-mail filtering software at the e-mail gateway, or subscribe to one from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This will help protect you from spam, e-mail-borne spyware, viruses and worms.
When sending, receiving or replying to e-mail messages, you should take care! The following best practices are meant to help you exercise good habits on Netiquette (online etiquette), privacy protection and online safety.
1. Avoid writing e-mail messages using all CAPITAL LETTERS as it may seem like you’re shouting at the recipient even if it is unintended.
2. Do not forward a chain letter even if it offers you rewards for doing so or claims you will be distributing useful information. There are usually no rewards and the information might not be reliable at all.
