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Electronic Mail

My Attachment Didn't Get Through

SUMMARY: Reasons why e-mail attachments sometimes don't reach their destinations.

Many people like sharing files, such as screensavers, mini-games, or greeting cards, with their friends and families via e-mail. However, nowadays, more and more attachments are not getting through. In fact, you may have sent an email to someone with an attachment and found out later that the attachment, and quite possible the email itself, never made it to its destination.

For various reasons, some companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and some individuals have started to filter out all email containing attachments from ever reaching their inboxes. Why?

1. Attachments normally take a while to download, causing slowdowns for dial-up users.
2. Many attachments tend to be games or in the entertainment category, a real no-no for some companies.
3. With the growth of viruses and worms spreading over the Internet via attachments, many people and organizations, instead of virus scanning every individual attachment, tend to filter them out altogether.

So next time you want to share a game or other attachment with someone, first make sure it's ok with the recipient to send the file. Then, after sending the file, ask the recipient if they got the attachment. If not, you now at least have an idea why that may be the case.

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The MalekTips website was created in 1998 by Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. The page's goal is to freely disperse computer-related tips, hints, and informative articles. Tips are organized to be easy to find, and are presented clearly, in easy-to-understand language. MalekTips also provides information and links to public-domain, open source, freeware, shareware, and commercial software available for download. < more >