Fifteen years ago phone and fax ruled as the main way of communicating in the business world.  However, as the Internet became available to the general public, email soon became one of the preferred ways of communicating.  While email was a quick, easy way contact someone, it also opened up the door for a whole host of problems.

While nearly everyone uses email these days, it doesn't mean that everyone follows best practices. I’ve outlined some general guidelines below that will help you protect yourself from viruses and spam, as well as improve your email etiquette. 

Reduce Virus and Spam Exposure
Viruses all too often are spread through e-mail.  By using one of the dozens of antivirus programs out there, such as McAfee, Norton, AVG, and Avast, you can significantly reduce the spread of email viruses.  While some antivirus programs cost money, many offer free versions, such as Avast which I personally use.  In addition to using an antivirus program, you can also protect yourself and others by only opening email and attachments from trusted senders, and not forwarding emails with suspicious attachments.

Spam is defined by dictionary.com as a disruptive, especially commercial message posted on a computer network or sent as email.  This is the unsolicited junk that ends up in your inbox.  Besides cluttering up your inbox and driving you crazy; it also clogs up servers and networks across the globe.  According to a Commtouch report, in the first quarter of 2010 there were 183 billion spam messages sent every day.  In fact, Microsoft reports that 97% of all email is spam, costing businesses billions of dollars each year.

So do your part – don’t forward chain messages, be careful where you post your email address, and avoid signing up for offers on random websites.

Avoid Phishing Attacks
Phishing scams are designed to obtain personal information. They often use a fake message to trick you into entering private information, such as your credit card number, social security number, or your account login information. 

Typically banking and ecommerce websites are safe, but you should always be careful when divulging important business or personal information online – never, ever submit sensitive information if you have any questions about the inquiring company.  If a company asks you to submit your username and password, or other information they should already have, call them first.  Companies will NOT ask you to verify these online.  Be sure to look at the URL or web address to make sure it does not change.  Always look for an https in the address bar and a lock when entering personal information. 

Phishing emails will also often have an actual company’s logo and appear to have come from them; however, the sender more than likely took the logo from the company’s site to make their email appear legitimate.  If you suspect an email may be fake, call the company directly using a telephone number from their site or a printed invoice or statement.

Manage Your Inbox
Do you get so many emails that trying to navigate your inbox becomes a job in and of itself?  There are several ways that you can make managing your emails easier: 

• Create specific folders for companies or people that you correspond with on a regular basis so it’s easier to find important emails. 
• Instead of constantly organizing an ever-growing number of messages manually, Outlook users can use the Rules Wizard to automatically process and organize their messages. 
• By sorting your email by sender, date, subject or priority, it’s easier to find important messages, and you can do this in any of your folders. 
• Delete messages that you no longer need.
• Archive old messages that you want to keep but don’t access on a regular basis.

Write Appropriate Subject Lines
Writing an appropriate subject line that summarizes your message can be tricky, but you should always include one.  People will more often than not skim over long or wordy subject lines, and they often won't completely show up in your email program.  Just be sure to avoid words that might be considered spam, such as “hi”, as well as irrelevant subject lines.

ANOTHER THING THAT YOU SHOULD AVOID IS USING ALL CAPS.  This is like screaming at the recipient, and should never be done in the subject line, or body of the email for that matter.

Responding to Your Messages
Email etiquette also says that you should respond to an email in a timely manner.  Typically you should respond to professional emails within a business day, even if it's just to say you've received the message and will follow up later.  And, when you receive an e-mail that contains responses from multiple recipients, always be sure to read the entire thread before responding so you don’t repeat a question or response.

Forward Messages Responsibly
When it comes to forwarding an email, make sure that all recipients need to receive it.  Also be careful when forwarding proprietary or confidential information to non-company or unauthorized recipients.  You should always review the contents and recipient list before sending the message

Attach With Caution
Attachments are the easiest way to send files, however you need to pay close attention to the size and number of files you’re sending.  Email attachments can quickly become storage space and bandwidth hogs, and are usually the way viruses are spread.  Always be sure to follow these guidelines when sending attachments:

• Don't attach large files to an email; anything over 2mb shouldn't be sent via e-mail.
• Don’t attach any more than 5 files to your message.
• When you receive an attachment, save it to your hard drive and delete the e-mail.
• Don't open attachments from people you don’t know.
• Never open an attachment without scanning it with an antivirus program first.

By following these simple guidelines, you will save yourself time, avoid the hassles of dealing with spam and viruses, and be on your way to becoming an ideal Net Citizen!