http://malektips.com/electronic_mail_help_and_tips.html Tips on recovering e-mail, choosing e-mail addresses, electronic mail attachments, dealing with e-mail hoaxes and scams. and electronic mail etiquette. en-us Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:52:28 GMT Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:52:28 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Custom webmaster@envprogramming.com (Andrew Malek) webmaster@envprogramming.com (Andrew Malek) http://malektips.com/graphics/logo_88x30.gif http://malektips.com/electronic_mail_help_and_tips.html 88 30 http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-read-plain-text.html Force Windows Live Mail to render all messages as plain text.

When you receive messages via Windows Live Mail in HTML, fonts, hyperlinks, and other features are displayed in the messages for a more rich text experience.

If you are concerned about phishing or other malicious hyperlinks (note that Windows Live Mail does come with phishing protection), hidden text inside e-mail messages, or possible security problems in the software that may be exploited by malicious HTML, this feature can be disabled. Or you just may rather turn off HTML formatting as a personal preference. All messages will be rendered as plain text, no matter the format used when sending....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:52:25 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-read-plain-text.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-keyboard-section.html Switch between viewing Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Feeds, and Newsgroups in Windows Live Mail with these keyboard shortcuts.

Do you frequently switch between the main sections of Windows Live Mail - Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Feeds, and Newsgroups? If so, navigate through your messages quicker with these keyboard shortcuts to switch sections:

Mail: Ctrl + Shift + J...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:29:02 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-keyboard-section.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-font-mail-news.html Use a different default font in Windows Live Mail besides 10 pt. Arial.

Tired of all your messages appearing in 10 pt. Arial in Windows Live Mail? When writing news and mail messages where HTML mail sending is enabled, you can change the default font to Times New Roman, Georgia, Impact, or another of your choosing.

1. Access the Windows Live Mail menu by clicking the menu button (see the screenshot to the right) or press Alt + M....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 9 Jun 2009 19:12:55 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-font-mail-news.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-force-spell-check.html Configure Windows Live Mail to force you to deal with suspected spelling errors before sending messages.

Windows Live Mail automatically checks messages such as e-mail as you type, underlining suspected problem words with the now familiar red squiggles. This way you can see while composing your message if any words need to be examined for correctness.

By default, although Windows Live Mail performs this automatic spell check, you can completely ignore it and send your message anyway. Sometimes you may do this intentionally; other times you may be sending batches of e-mail and not even notice the squiggles. By making the following small configuration change you can have Windows Live Mail force you to deal with the problem words before sending your messages....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 3 Jun 2009 14:52:29 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-force-spell-check.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-junk-level-filtering.html If too much junk e-mail is reaching your Inbox in Windows Live Mail, or if too much mail is accidentally marked as Junk, change the filtering settings.

To help prevent unsolicited e-mail from clogging your Inbox, Windows Live Mail can perform junk e-mail detection, moving suspicious content to your Junk e-mail folder.

With the ever-increasing amount of unsolicited e-mail, it may prove necessary to change Windows Live Mail's settings to be more aggressive in detecting junk, even going to the point of only allowing people or domains on your Safe Senders List to reach your Inbox. Alternatively, if too much legitimate e-mail is reaching your Junk E-Mail folder, you may have to tone down this aggressiveness....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 29 May 2009 17:02:52 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-junk-level-filtering.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-default-mail-news.html Configure Windows Live Mail to be the default application for Mail or News.

If you run multiple applications for mail or news handling, or if you frequently try out new applications, Windows Live Mail may not be set as the default program for these services. If you would like to change this, do the following:

1. Access the Windows Live Mail menu by clicking the menu button (see the screenshot to the right) or press Alt + M....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 26 May 2009 18:34:43 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-default-mail-news.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-request-read-receipt.html Request recipients to notify you whenever they read your e-mail.

If you're not sure that e-mail sent via Windows Live Mail is reaching its destination and getting read, you can request receipts for all messages you send.

When your messages are read by supporting products such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Live Mail, read receipts will be generated and sent back based on the client users' settings. Note that others can prevent their software from automatically sending read receipts unless toggling this feature is disabled by their system administrator....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 21 May 2009 17:05:48 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-request-read-receipt.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-message-previewed-read.html Windows Live Mail marks a message as read when previewed for one second - change this behavior.

By default, Windows Live Mail will mark a message such as e-mail or an RSS item as read (graying it out) after you have displayed it for only one second. This basically assumes that every message you display, you want marked as read.

Some people would rather have Windows Live Mail wait a few more seconds before marking the message as read, and others would rather completely disable this 'feature'. To change the default behavior:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 18 May 2009 15:51:16 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-message-previewed-read.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-message-store-folder.html Change where messages downloaded via Windows Live Mail are stored on your computer.

Windows Live Mail by default places its message store (where e-mail, RSS feed entries, calendars, and other items are downloaded / located) in the "Microsoft\Windows Live Mail" folder underneath the current user's Application Data folder. For example, for Windows XP this folder would be:

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 14 May 2009 15:48:46 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-message-store-folder.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-stop-sounds-new-messages.html Prevent Windows Live Mail from playing a sound whenever a new e-mail or other message arrives.

By default whenever a new e-mail or other message reaches Windows Live Mail, it plays a sound to alert you of the new message. This way you can run other applications keeping Windows Live Mail running in the background and be audibly notified when you need to check your Inbox.

While some people appreciate this feature, others find this sound annoying. This can be especially true if you are working with applications involving sound and music such as a Skype phone call or recording audio from the Internet....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 12 May 2009 20:01:41 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-stop-sounds-new-messages.html http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-delete-meeting-inbox.html Prevent Outlook 2007 from deleting a meeting request from your Inbox when you respond.

By default, whenever you respond to a meeting request in Microsoft Outlook 2007, the request is removed from your Inbox. This assumes that a reminder in the calendar is all you will need of the request.

If desired, you can keep meeting requests in the Inbox as a second reminder of the upcoming meeting, allowing you to later delete the Inbox request manually as/if needed....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 6 May 2009 20:01:59 GMT http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-delete-meeting-inbox.html http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-warning-permanent-delete.html Prevent Outlook 2007 from showing a warning before permanently deleting an e-mail message, calendar entry, task, or other item.

When you remove items such as e-mail messages, calendar entries, contacts, and tasks from the "Deleted Items" folder in Microsoft Outlook 2007, or when you hold down the Del key when deleting items, Outlook prompts you if you really want to remove the items. This helps prevent you from "permanently" removing items, because once an item leaves the "Deleted Items" folder, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover. If you use Microsoft Exchange, some items may be recoverable, however.

If you tire of these warnings, and if you wish that holding down the Del key permanently removes an item without prompting, you can disable them....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 1 May 2009 20:07:27 GMT http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-warning-permanent-delete.html http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-change-reminder-sound.html Change the sound Outlook 2007 plays when reminding you of an upcoming item.

When Microsoft Outlook 2007 needs to remind you of an upcoming item such as a task or calendar appointment, it displays the reminder and plays a sound to alert you.

If desired, you can disable this sound if you are performing tasks where it may be annoying, such as playing a podcast or participating in a Skype phone call. Or you can also change this sound to one of your choosing....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:23:48 GMT http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-change-reminder-sound.html http://malektips.com/pros-cons-free-electronic-mail-providers.html Thinking of using a free e-mail provider to handle your personal or business e-mail? Read this first.

Nowadays, more Internet users are turning away from software-based e-mail programs run on their own computers such as Outlook and Windows Mail and towards web-based e-mail services like Yahoo! Mail, Google's Gmail, and Microsoft's Hotmail. Some sign onto free e-mail services just for their personal accounts and access software-based e-mail at the office, yet others rely upon these websites for professional use as well.

While these free services offer many benefits, people trust them to very important e-mail without realizing any possible security and privacy ramifications. Thus, if you are considering migrating from software-based e-mail to one of these web-based providers, or even if you currently use these services, be sure to consider the following pros and cons carefully. ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:17:59 GMT http://malektips.com/pros-cons-free-electronic-mail-providers.html http://malektips.com/emb0022.html Find out whether that e-mail you just received is actually an urban legend.

Many of us have received e-mail from friends, family members, or coworkers that seemed too shocking, funny, or weird to be true. Will private cell phone numbers soon be provided to telemarketers, causing you to pay for everything from aggressive insurance sales calls to credit card companies asking you to perform balance transfers? Is Apple, Google, or Microsoft giving away huge sums of cash to people who can forward the most e-mails? And is every e-mail discussing a political candidate's background, beliefs, or former colleagues true?

Unfortunately, many frequently distributed e-mails can be categorized as "urban legends". Urban legends are myths, non-factual information presented in such a way, usually with a small bit of factual information, making the entire story seem plausible. They can take on an air of truth when forwarded enough times by reputable people, and also when covered by media professionals or bloggers looking for a hot story but failing to perform enough background research. However, due to changes in technology or someone attempting to create a "copycat crime", some urban legends have actually become true....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:21:22 GMT http://malektips.com/emb0022.html http://malektips.com/emb0011.html Be VERY careful about electronic mail attachments - even if the sender seems to be a friend or family member! You need to read this tip.

Did someone you know just send you an electronic mail attachment that you weren't expecting? Perhaps it's a picture to go along with a joke, a song they want you to hear, or a program that displays fireworks on your screen. Surely your co-worker checked the file out first? Of course your mom would not send you a file that would harm your computer, right?

Nowadays, no matter who you think sent an e-mail attachment, you MUST be safe. Before opening a surprise attachment, why not first ask your friend, coworker, or family member in a friendly e-mail if they really meant to send you the file?...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:01:35 GMT http://malektips.com/emb0011.html http://malektips.com/get-your-electronic-mail-email-read.html Help prevent your electronic mail from getting automatically tossed into spam folders.

While e-mail is an extremely important tool that helps friends, family members, and coworkers communicate, the rampant spread of unsolicited commercial e-mail has made this communication medium less useful. Depending on which security researcher you believe, spam now accounts for 85-95% of all e-mail traffic on the Internet.

Due to so much junk clogging our inboxes, more users, e-mail software programmers, and Internet and e-mail providers have become extremely aggressive in using filters to help trap spam. While good filters can prevent a large chunk of spam from entering e-mailboxes, they may also trap legitimate commercial and non-commercial e-mail as well....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:05:37 GMT http://malektips.com/get-your-electronic-mail-email-read.html http://malektips.com/xp-outlook-express-display-change-message-store.html Display or configure where Outlook Express keeps its Message Store.

There are many instances where you may want to know and/or change where Outlook Express in Windows XP stores messages such as your Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, etc.

* You may have a separate data partition or drive away from the operating system's partition or drive and wish to store messages there. ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 4 Feb 2009 03:23:57 GMT http://malektips.com/xp-outlook-express-display-change-message-store.html http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-notes-font-color-size.html Change the default size, color, and font for Notes in Outlook 2007.

By default, when you create Notes in Microsoft Outlook 2007, they appear as medium-sized yellow notes using a 10 pt. Comic Sans MS font. If desired, you can change the appearance of Notes by doing the following:

1. Select "Tools" - "Options"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:35:29 GMT http://malektips.com/outlook-2007-notes-font-color-size.html http://malektips.com/xp-outlook-express-default-font.html Change the default font, style, size, color, and effects when composing messages in Outlook Express.

When using Outlook Express in Windows XP, if you send HTML e-mail, you know that you can change the font, color, style, and other text attributes inside messages. If you have a favorite combination you wish to use it can be set as the default by doing the following:

Note that as with other special attributes in HTML e-mail, if the recipient chooses not to receive e-mail as HTML, this default setting will be ignored and the font will be chosen by the recipient's e-mail software....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:21:40 GMT http://malektips.com/xp-outlook-express-default-font.html