Ask Leo!: Using Email

Does forwarding email introduce risk?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:23:15 -08:00

I have several mail accounts. One is on an exchange server and usually accessed with Outlook, which works poorly and is not accessible from outside a certain protected network. I therefore asked for my email to this exchange account to be automatically forwarded to my mail account on Google. The exchange server administrator agreed, but now he is whining that this is a security risk. How on Earth can simply forwarding mail messages be a security risk??

]]> Ah, those whiny administrators. Why can't they just get out of the way and let us do our work, right?

Having worked in a corporate environment in the past, I do understand your frustration. Not all of the decisions or rules make sense.

The problem is I can also understand your administrator's position.

It all boils down to the definition of "security risk".

How many copies are made when I email a picture?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -08:00

When I insert pictures into an email from my hard drive and then send that email, are those pictures saved to my hard drive again? And when I receive a reply with the same pictures inserted, are the pictures now on my hard drive three times?

]]> Quite possibly. Plus one, even.

It's going to depend on your email program, and what options you may have selected, and how the picture was inserted into the email.

Let's run down the variations.

How do I access my email remotely, from more than one place?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:58:07 -08:00

My brother-in-law asks me "if I buy a laptop for use at the cottage, can I access my computer at home to read my email?" Not having a cottage or a laptop, I'm not sure.

]]> Your brother-in-law is asking an increasingly common question. With connectivity nearly ubiquitous, and people relying heavily on email it's not at all uncommon to want to access your email from someplace other than your desktop at home.

The question is: how?

The answer depends on the email solution you use, and the tradeoff's you're willing to accept.

Why do vertical bars appear on the left of some emails I send?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:45:01 -08:00

We use Outlook (not express, regular Outlook)for our e-mail. My daughter uses Gmail where she lives.

She says every time she receives an e-mail reply from me there is a vertical line down the left side of it, and if she "removes format" (or something like that), the line goes away, but then she then gets all those "carrot" signs and has to go in and remove those!

Yet, when she sends an e-mail to me, it looks fine. I don't think I ever remember seeing that vertical line or carrots from her e-mails.

I have received e-mail from others that look like that though.

What's the story on this! How and why does this happen to some and not others?

]]> In a word: reply. You said it yourself .

What you're seeing is common among email programs, and is an indicator that you're replying to a message.

It's useful, if you understand how it works. And even better, it's configurable.

I closed my email account, but people are still getting email from it. Why?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:34:33 -08:00

A hacker got into my previous email account. I canceled the account. I received information from friends that they are still receiving email from it. Is this account shut down completely to prevent emails being sent out in my name? This email from the hacker is a virus.

]]> There are several things that could be going on here, and at least one misconception.

It's possible your account was never hacked.

It's possible your account was never closed.

It's possible your account, once closed, was reopened.

Let's look at those one by one.