email

With respect to our recent discussion on MsgTag and tracking whether or not a recipient has received an email, quite a few Readers emailed me over the weekend with some questions. Infopackets Reader Frank R. had some security concerns about MsgTag. ... He writes: " I was curious about MsgTag, so I went to download it. I was immediately notified that my security settings would not allow that to happen. I use Spyware Blaster and IE-spyad for protection against the 'bad guys', as well as the usual anti-hacker firewall / anti-virus stuff ... so now I'm second guessing the whole MsgTag operation ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Brian 'BigJohn2' writes: " A year ago (maybe longer), I downloaded a freeware program from the web that allowed me to know when my emails were received by the recipient. I have since run into some complications with my computer ... system, had to reformat my entire hard drive, and wasn't able to save any of my downloaded utility programs. The real bummer is that I've completely forgotten the name of this tracking program and am unable to reference it on the web. Are you aware of such a program? " My response: After fumbling through Google for an answer, I came across ... (view more)

If you have an e-mail address, you probably also have at least one 'forwarding friend' to e-mail every joke, urban myth, and karma-building novelty message in circulation. If you don't have a forwarding friend, chances are, you are the forwarding ... friend. Don't get me wrong -- there's no shame in forwarding jokes, stories, and other bits of textual entertainment. There are, however, 3 Golden Email Etiquette Rules one must follow when forwarding messages, and they are: Remove all '>' or '|' tags before sending the message. They make jokes hard to read and they bloat the message size, making ... (view more)

Three days a week I entertain Readers with articles I write based on real life computing problems. This time, I'm the one with a dilemma on my hands. Since April of this year, readership of this newsletter has blossomed from 50,000 to (now) 237,000 ... readers -- with 1,000 new members subscribing each day. Not long ago, things were very different. Up until this past August, the newsletter was sent out in full length / HTML (graphical) format -- but all of that came to a halt when it was no longer efficient or financially feasible. I have since reduced the size of the email newsletter by making ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jim D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I use Windows 98 and Outlook Express to read my email. A buddy of mine thought he was helping me by 'tweaking' my computer system, but now I cannot open any email attachments! What can I do? PS: How ... may I retrieve a file that has been deleted? " My Response: It sounds like your friend "tweaked" your computer by upgrading you to the latest version of Outlook Express -- version 6. By default, Outlook Express 6 will not allow you to open email attachments on the assumption that the email may contain an malicious attachment ( ... (view more)

Continuing our conversation on Steganography from Tuesday's edition of the Gazette, Infopackets Reader Mike D. exclaims how he downloaded a .WAV sound file that also contained a Trojan: " Hi Dennis, As part of a talk I gave some time ago on IPSec ... [the IP Security Protocol Working Group], I wandered into the area of Steganography. The topic was of particular relevance to me because I had only just discovered (thanks to PestPatrol ) that a Star Trek sound file that I downloaded from the Internet contained a Trojan!" Side note: Digital Steganography is the ability to hide a file inside ... (view more)

Side note: I was late getting back from a Holiday this past Tuesday (Canadian Thanksgiving) and was unable to send out Tuesday's edition of the Gazette on time. Without further adieu, please enjoy this "late" edition! Infopackets Reader Ali V. ... writes: " Good morning! Firstly I'd like to I've found your newsletter very helpful in the past and have downloaded thins that have been suggested, so thank you. I wonder if you could help me with a problem I am having. I use Windows 98, BT Open World (my Internet Service Provider), and I am having a real problem opening attachments in ... (view more)

It's been two weeks since the newsletter format has been changed to include "teaser" feature articles and a link to the rest of the story online. Over the weekend, I received a few disheartening emails with regard to the format change. Gan Soon B. ... in South East Asia writes: " Dear Dennis, I am writing to you to register my concern with the new format of your newsletter. Recently, I noticed that you have switched to a format which require users to go online to view the full contents of the newsletter. I figured that you have a valid concern for using that format, and so I didn't ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Frank C. asks: " I have recently upgraded to [a full install of MS Office] and [subsequently] also installed Microsoft Outlook. I have always used Outlook Express for receiving and sending emails, but now Outlook is receiving some ... of my mails ... [while] at other times, the mail comes or goes through Outlook Express. [I would like to only use Outlook Express as my default email client]. What do I do?" My Response: I have also chosen to install the "full installation" of Microsoft Office and have also noticed what Frank is referring to. By default, a full ... (view more)

Sick and tired of junk email and viruses? I sure am! Not too long ago, I received the following email from Infopackets Reader Hugh G., who introduced me to a program called MailWasher: " I just wanted to let you know that I'm using MailWasher, a ... program designed to keep out unsolicited commercial email (IE: Spam) and email viruses away from your computer. MailWasher connects to your Mail Server and allows you to preview and delete emails before they are downloaded to your Inbox! MailWasher also has a really handy feature which allows you to bounce emails back to people so it looks like ... (view more)