History of Email

• The history of email is quite interesting. It's said that email actually came before the Internet. Back in 1961 a group of developers at MIT created the Compatible Time Sharing System, or CTSS. This was a customized IBM main-frame that allowed remote computers to store files on one central computer. Students and developers were able to share files no matter which computer they were at. A few years later, this technology was expanded to allow people to send files back and forth between the computers themselves, without the mainframe. When the Internet became popular in the early 1990's, email soon became a bonafied way of communicating for mainstream America, even if we did have to pay for Internet usage by the minute.

History of Spam

• Spam is the modern version of junk mail: easy to send and mostly unwanted by the recipient. There are many rumors on the origin of spam, ranging from the almost plausible-spam was created by a bored MIT computer lab tech-to the ridiculous-spam was made by an artificial intelligence. But according to the actual SPAM luncheon meat producers, Hormel, email Spam got its name from an old Monty Python skit where some Vikings in a diner repeatedly sang "Spam, Spam, Spam" to annoy other customers. This became a metaphor for email spam which "drowns-out" other important emails.

Protecting Yourself Online

• Spam seems to be increasing all the time, and now there is an actual anti-spam conference every year. Lucky for us, anti-spam software is keeping pace with the spammers. The trick is to find software that is legitimate. You need to be careful because some of the free anti-spamware software that is available is produced by the spammers! Instead of protecting your inbox, the software installs spyware and other data-collection programs on your computer. There are some free anti-spam software available, like Mailwasher, but always be suspicious of whatever you download. A good rule of thumb is, if you don't know or trust the source then don't install it.

My Secret Identity

• Shopping online can do more than max out your credit card: it can also fill up your inbox with unwanted email. In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, the nobility wore disguises when shopping so that they would not be recognized. One email organization tip updates this practice for the Information Age: create multiple email accounts for online shopping. You can set up an email account to shop online, so the spam and junk mail doesn't clutter your "good" accounts.

Organize Your Email in Minutes

• You can organize your email in minutes. It just takes a bit of discipline and the bravery to use the Delete button.
  - Activate your spam or junk email filters. Most email servers such as Yahoo and Gmail have built in filters that get better at trashing junk email the more you use them.
  - Set up folders. You can designate certain email addresses to be forwarded directly to specific folders, like family, friends and business.
  - Set a good example. Only send out the types of email that you wouldn't mind receiving. If you mail out twenty chain letters, expect to get some in return.
  - Delete email from senders you don't recognize. Even if they have your name in the subject line.
  - Check your email at regular, timed intervals through out the day.

Archiving and Keywords

• Email services such as Yahoo and Gmail are adding features like archiving and keyword searching, which lets you find out who said what and when. By entering a keyword, such as "birthday" you can find all instances of the word "birthday" in the messages that you have stored in your email archive. This email organization tool let's you find your favorite grandchild's subtle or not so subtle hints for a birthday present.