An Introduction to Common Internet Communications --  Email, Instant Messaging, Newsgroups, and Chat

Table Of Contents:


An Introduction to Common Internet Communications --  Email, Instant Messaging, Newsgroups, and Chat
   Table Of Contents:
   Pre Lab:
      Goals for the Lab:
   I. Using Email
      What is email?
      How does email work?
      Email Client Applications:
         The email sender or creation functions:
         The email Receiver Client functions:
      Email Servers:
         The Email Server Sender functions:
         The Email Server Recipient functions:
      The Internet Cloud:
      Email Threads
         Thoughts on managing email that is saved:
         Spam (electronic junk mail) and how to avoid it!
         Filters -- Setting up automated rules for processing your email
         Signature Files
         Personal Cards
         Netiquette -- Good manners that your mother taught you work in email
         A Guide to Writing and Using Email Effectively
   II. Introduction to specific email systems:
      Using Netscape Messenger -- an Example of a Modern Business Email Client:
      Getting started -- Setting up Messenger
      Setting up an address book
         Recording, Deleting, and Editing the Email Addresses of Individuals
         Addressbook Operations:
         Creating, Deleting, and Editing Email Lists (i.e. Email Lists of Individuals)
      Composing email:
      Adding Attachments:
      Getting a Receipt:
      Sending Secure Email:
      Signature Files:
      Personal Cards:
      Receiving email
         First decision -- what to read or trash?
         Second decision -- How to respond?
         Reading the Email:
      How do I detach and read/ view/ listen/ etc. to the attachments?
      Additional Features of the Messenger Email Client:
      Folders:
         How to use effectively:
      Filters -- Setting up automated rules for processing your email
      Security:
      Sort:
         Threads:
   III. Web based Email:
      The advent of web mail:
         Some argue web mail is inherently more insecure than email:
         What is in an email address?
         Before signing up for the web mail read the fine print:
   IV. The Dark Side of the Email Communications:
      A Note of Caution
      Email privacy and security
         Internet or Cyber Terrorism:
      Sending Private email (Encryption):
      Email Virus:
      A specific example -- The Melissa Virus
         A surprising and unpleasant discovery -- Microsoft strikes again, a false clue and our privacy violated
         A spell binding collection of web pages about email viruses and their effects.
         Why is denial of service dangerous and so costly?
         The next generation -- mutation and smarter bugs:
      Prevention and Cures for computer viruses:
      The Corporate Fortress Mentality:
         Cyber Blackmail and other industrial crime:
         Corporate intranets and firewalls:
         Proxy Servers:
   V. Newsgroups:
         Discussion Groups:
   VI. Internet Chat:
      Internet Social Behavior and Relationships:
      Finding a Chat Room to fit your interests:
   VII. Instant Messaging:
         The original concept:
      Using a typical instant message application:
      Why is this an important step forward?
      The Pro's and Con's of IM Technology:
         Further Material:
   Self Test of Lab Concepts:
   Example:

   Lab 1 Instructions: An Introduction to the Internet, the World Wide Web, and Email
      Exercise 1 -- Introduction to the U Mass Lowell Email System
      Exercise 2 -- Using the Email Program
      Exercise 3 -- Finding Email Addresses
         Getting the Email Address and other information on U Mass Lowell students, faculty, and staff
         How email addresses are assigned by Academic Computing:
      Exercise 4 -- How do I get Free Email after I leave this class or the University? (Optional)
      Exercise 5 -- Use A Newsgroup:
      Exercise 6: -- Instant Messenger:
      Exercise 7 -- Internet Chat: Log into a Chat Room
         Step 1: Logic
         Step 2: Check out the Chat Room
         Step 3: How to avoid people, ask for a private meeting, etc.
         Step 4: Create a Web Page of your Favorite Chat Rooms
   Summarize your results:
   References:
      Glossary of New Terms:
      Related Tutorials:
         Tutorial on Netiquette and Ethics:
      Tutorials for using email software commonly found on university campuses:
      Additional Internet Tutorials
      Computer Security:
         Computer Virus Tutorial:
         The Melissa Virus:
         The I Love You Virus:
      Browsers, HTML Editors and other starting tools:
      FAQs:
      Applicable Standards:
      Other References:
      Netscape's Manuals Library
   
Email

Pre Lab:

Goals for the Lab:

In this lab the student is given a brief introduction to email and other forms of Internet communications. The assumption is that the student is somewhat familiar with the concepts; but the scope of this experience may vary. This lab, for some,  may appear to be moving over familiar concepts, but the reader is cautioned to pay attention to details. The Internet, as mentioned in prior material, has gone through a series of development stages over the last 30 years. Each successive stage was often surprising to the prior generations of users, developers, and investors. Today, government and businesses are involved in the Internet as never before, and are changing its face in fits and starts. This new involvement has lead to the formalization and standardization of email processes and protocols.

Specific learning goals are:

I. Using Email

What is email?

Email is the electronic equivalent of sending a letter. Email consists of two parts, 1) the header, which contains information about where the message will be sent, and 2) the body, or message. First, the author goes to the head of the email message and types in: Email should be spell checked, if it is not done so automatically, and proof read for grammar and content before sending, unless: Once it is finished to the author's satisfaction, the message may sent. In some email systems, the author can track the email to see when it was received and when or if it was read by all recipients. This feature is becoming more common as businesses increasingly use it to document and track employee work habits.

Some systems allow for a priority to be set to insure that the reader gives it the author's desired level of attention. Note: in business and in hierarchical organizations good manners and common sense dictate that the designation "priority" not be used  unless the message is truly important.

Email can be an extremely cheap way to keep in touch with old chums, or coordinate business groups and social organizations.  Like other communication tools, it can also be overused and become intrusive. Do not Cc: or Bcc: people simply because it is easy to do. Always write crisply and succinctly. If your grammar and spelling are weak, have someone review it before sending it to a professional group. Sloppy grammar and slang will mark the writer as careless, or worse yet, uneducated and unprofessional.
 

How does email work?

 

Email Client Applications:

The email client application is any program on the user's computer that is capable of writing email and of retrieving email from the user's email server. Thus the email client has two basic personalities or functions.

The email sender or creation functions:

The email creation functions are:

The email Receiver Client functions:

The email functions on the receiving end are:

Email Servers:

We see from the above diagram, Email Via the Internet, that the email server has to communicate between: The email server is an electronic version of a normal post office. We shall describe the email server functions in two parts, the functions that are used to process the sender and those of the recipient. There two types of the email servers,
  1. the POP3 server that transfers the email to the client and,
  2. the IMAP that saves the email on the server.
The email post office is responsible for providing its clients with individual postal boxes (directories) that hold the incoming email for the user and a postal drop box to pick up the client's outgoing missives. The email server makes the transmission of the email transparent to the user, i.e. the user sees only the initial send and the final receipt. This again is similar the regular mail service. We do not want to know how it happens just that it does so in a cost efficient and timely manner. The server allows the user to set up directories to organize the email in a file system. The email server mail may automatically save the various emails in a Sent_Mail directory if not the writer may want to use the Bcc: to send a copy for a file copy.

In the process we also want to feel that the postal person is not reading our post cards. Unlike the postal serve the email server can have functions that monitor our email. The postal worker can with, court order only, record who is sending and receiving your letters, i.e. the information on the outside of the envelop -- a cover check. Opening letters is another more serious matter and is almost always requires a court order based on a risk to national security.  In general we can safely assume that mail is not read by our government or our employers. The email server and the Internet are not similarly prohibited at this time from any of these procedures. More and more companies are screening email.

The Email Server Sender functions:

The Email Server Recipient functions:

The Internet Cloud:

We use the term Internet cloud to describe the networks and local area networks that transmit the email. Email is transmitted via (SMPT). The Internet Cloud is the term that carries the vision of how vaguely the network is viewed by most users. How the email is sent over this complex network is normally of little importance. That email is delivered reliably and in a timely fashion is sufficient for most users.

For more Details on Email Mechanics:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) -- How does email work? http://www.ucmb.ulb.ac.be/documents/email_FAQ/email.server2.html
 

Email Threads

The concept of a thread is based on a simple idea. If one person writes an email and sends it to a group, and then individuals within the group reply, and then respond to the replies, then we say that these messages are threaded (all based on the starting message with the thread keeping track of the messages' sequence). Hence, if after reading the original message you are not interested in the topic, you might delete all further messages that are related to the original, i.e. delete the thread from your Inbox. What is my email address?
An email address is made up of two parts:  the user ID, i.e. your account name, and the domain name, i.e. the Internet name of the computer where your mail is sent. The two parts are separated by a @. For example, the instructor's email address is: pkrolak@cs.uml.edu.

What can I do with email?

In short, almost anything you can do with regular mail delivered by the Post Office (called snail mail by email addicts).  Email has some shortcomings. For instance, Mom's care packages of cookies and Dad's check or cash cannot, as yet, can be sent by email. However, as you will learn in this lab, you can do some very exciting things. You can send a video clip, a recording of your latest musical creation, or an enhanced picture or graphic to your friends and family. With the newer email systems you can also send attachments such as complete documents (MS Word or Acrobat), spreadsheets in Excel, and presentations for class or work (such as Power Point files) that allow you to work collaboratively with students and colleagues all over the world.
 

Thoughts on managing email that is saved:

In the modern office environment it is possible to gets dozens of emails a day. Besides developing the discipline to delete as much as possible and to respond to the rest in a timely manner, there is still one more onerous task -- What to save and file? The decision is sometimes made for us by corporate policy or government edict. The what and the how maybe spelled out in detail and all that is left is to carry it out. Assuming that there is no formal policy, good practice would be to set up a filing system that is well organized and the email is accurately labeled. This discipline becomes necessary to avoid overwhelming the computer with clutter. Material that is seldom referred to may be stored on removable disk.

Finally, any material of any value should always be backed up, i.e. copied to a removable disk or tape and stored in a separate area to protect it from accident, fire, or vandalism.

Spam (electronic junk mail) and how to avoid it!

Spam is unwanted electronic junk mail and it is getting to be a major headache. Many of the larger Internet Service Providers  ISP), AOL, MSN, etc. seem to attract Spam. These ISP have attempted to limit or control it, but it is still a major problem Avoid giving out personal information such as social security number, address, phone number, and email address when it is asked for on the Web. Do not allow cookies to be set in your browser (discussed later in term). Always ask to be removed from email lists unless you really want the latest and greatest advertisements! Spam can use up precious storage, bandwidth, and take up everyone's time.

Spam is a breach of good netiquette. It can sometimes cause rational users to do some very ugly things  There are those who hunt down Spammers and destroy their Web sites and do other nasty things. These Anti-Spammers are also violating good netiquette.
 

Filters -- Setting up automated rules for processing your email

The real work in maintaining any mailbox, the real one and the email one, is the sorting everything out: Modern email systems have automated devices called filters that can be used to read the header information and to make such decisions. For instance, suppose you have found yourself on the mailing list from hell. It sends you volumes of unwanted product information. The subject field of every new email starts with: Jerks_R_Us Proudly Offers ... For such a keyword, Jerks_R_Us, a filter can be created to take any email with that keyword in the subject field and move it to the trash. Similarly, threads of long winded messages entitled: " how marketing carried the day" can also can be similarly assigned to the bit bucket (computer slang for deleted). Bcc: memos (sent to yourself for filing of subject trip report) can be assigned to folders. Important letters from family, and/or certain managers could be sent to an Open_First_Email Folder. All  the above filters can be set up with a few keystrokes. Some professor's email systems use the Subject: field to route the emailed online exams to a grading program that then sends it on to be recorded in course database.

Signature Files

Signature files let the email author expand his or her personal information within the email message. Items like business, mobile, and fax phone numbers, business address and billing address, etc. are frequently added. A witty remark or a wise saying are also sometimes added, but these may get old after receiving them the second or third time.

Personal Cards

Netscape has popularized "Personal Cards" or "vcards" that act like a business card. Users fill in their personal business data, i.e. business, mobile, and fax phone, etc. in the preferences section and then send it with email messages. When a recipient wants to add the sender's information to his or her address book he or she just clicks on it and it is added to the address book. No muss, no fuss.

Netiquette -- Good manners that your mother taught you work in email

Typing as a means of communication can lead to misunderstandings, so email, newsgroups, chat and other forms of 'Net-based' social discourse have developed:

A Guide to Writing and Using Email Effectively

Treating email simply as a faster form of the ubiquitous postal letter is a dangerous mistake. Email is rapidly being adopted by society and business, but the user should be careful to understand this phenomena as a new and different form of communication. While this lesson includes a tutorial on an email program to illustrate the features of a typical software product, it is important to examine the issues of how, when, and why to use email.

The student should read and understand the material found at:

before going on to the next section.

II. Introduction to specific email systems:

In the academic world we celebrate diversity and support it even in our approach to email. The campus supports the following email systems cited below (each is linked to an introductory tutorial):
Eudora
Mulberry
MS Outlook Tutorial (Milsap University) Netscape's own Messenger tutorial:  http://home.netscape.com/support/books/netcenter/044000112.htm
Pine

For reasons that only academic institutions in their own arcane way understand, the chosen email system often is a program called Mulberry. Mulberry, based in English culture, is a products of  the University of Cambridge, and as the old saw goes

England and America are two countries separated by a common language.
                          (source Winston Churchill)
The business world is similarly devoted to a diverse array of email products and each has its zealot followers. Microsoft, with its Outlook dominates for business reasons almost as arcane as the academic choices. The Unix world loves Pine and Macintosh users line up behind Eudora.

In a nod to consensus, the course will assume that our email system will be Netscape's Messenger. The reasons for selecting Netscape Messenger are as follows:

The choice of the email system may seem strange in light of the fact that Intralearn also offers many free web email sites. To do all of the Exercises in this course the student is strongly advised to use Messenger.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little Minds"
Emerson in The American Scholar
With due apologies to experienced users, please read the following tutorial carefully. Almost all successful email systems contain similar features but differ in the Computer Human Interface (CHI).
 
 

Using Netscape Messenger -- an Example of a Modern Business Email Client:

 
Orange Message Areas Are for Important Hints or Remarks
Using Netscape's Messenger as an example, we will illustrate how a typical email system is used, when it is used, and why it is used in a modern business setting and for social interactions. The specifics are only for those readers that are using Mulberry for their main email system.

Getting started -- Setting up Messenger

 
Setting Netscape Preferences for email:
Pre-Req:  Go to your Internet Provider Member Services page or Support or Tech Center and search for "email setup."  Find the incoming and outgoing server names.  For example the servers for Earthlink are:

IN =  pop.earthlink.net  OUT = smtp.earthlink.net

Not every provider offers POP/Imap email.  You cannot set Netscape Messenger to receive Internet based email such as Hotmail or Yahoo mail.
Internet based email does allow the user to change preferences, make attachments, create an address book and address lists.

1.  From the menu bar select Edit > Preferences

2. Expand the Mail & Newsgroups category by clicking on the + (plus sign)

3. Click on the Identity category.  The right side of the box will change.  Fill in the text box with correct information.  Don't click ok yet.  Next click the Mail Servers category from the category list on the left.

4. On the right side of the box near the middle-- the section called Outgoing Mail Server-- fill in with correct information. Don't click ok yet. If there is a mail server listed in the Incoming Mail Servers section (top right)... highlight server by clicking on it and press delete button.  When the window is empty click the Add button.

5. A second dialog box will appear over the first one.  Fill it in with the correct information.  Click ok on the this box.

6. The preferences dialog box should now list the safety.com server. Now click ok.  Your preferences have been set to send and receive mail through netscape.  (the difference between POP and IMAP -- pop delivers the mail to you on your pc.  once its downloaded it is no longer on the server.  imap keeps the mail on the server and you view/disposition it from there.-- pop is the easiest way to handle mail.)  ... Now you can choose Communicator > Messenger from the menu bar and use your mail.

This section created Elsie Wheeler. Used with permission.
 
 
 

Setting up an address book

The addressbook is a critical component of any email client. Email client's need to keep track of the email addesses of the user's family, friends, and business associates as these are not often found in easy to use email directories. While some universities and corporations have such directories there is no equilvalent to the world's telephone books. In fact, many people do not want the public to have an easy to access their email address. So one must acquire email addresses by:
  1. asking for them,
  2. getting them off of the emails that are sent to you, and 
  3. using Email searches and directories that may or may not provide email addresses. 
  4. Email address books can be improted and exported from one computer e.g importing  the one at your work to your one at home. The process is called synchronization, --  making one computer have the same information as the other. With the advent of Personal Digital Assitants (PDAs) and other wireless email devices the need to sync addressbooks is becoming sommon place. 
  5. Further, many email clients such as MS Outlook, are beong expanded to become office assistants -- creating a contact list that contains all the methods of contacting the individual - mail, phone(s) & fax, IM, Web URL, etc. Information such as persoanl and business relationships and notes are also part of this data. The addressbook (contacts) becomes part of scheduling, reminder, and other office applications.

Recording, Deleting, and Editing the Email Addresses of Individuals

When creating a new address book, start with the individuals. Click on the Single icon or button--
A window will open directly below the menu bar. Click on the New icon and a dialog box will appear. Fill in the fields with the requested information. If you do not know the person's email address, mailing address, or phone number, you can look many of the items up using the Internet's search engines and other tools (see for example Exercise 4).

To get started:

Click [Communicator]/Addressbook or [Ctrl+Shift+2]
 
The Addressbook Dialog Box
Addressbook Dialog Box

Addressbook Operations:

 
Addressbook Operations for individuals
Creating or Adding a New Individual Addressbook Entry Process
Creating or Adding a new individual
Starting from scratch:
  1. Email address gotten by asking, business card or other correspondence, 
  2. Using corporate or university addressbooks
  3. Using web based email search sites.
Click on [NewCard]
A dialog box will appear that will ask for the individual's information. Note this can be as simple as name & email address or can include mai address, phone contact information, and information about business and personal relationships. 
Click [OK] when finished.
Capturing email addresses from the email you recieve. Use the Right Mouse Button (RMB) and click on the email of the sender or CC: email addresseses. Select Add sender or Add All to contacts. The addressbook will bring up each individual to be added. Note that the information may have to be modified or expanded to include
Capturing email address and other informaztion from signature cards  



 
Addressbook Operations for individuals
Modification of Addressbook Entry  Process
Select the individual by in filling the Names containing text field and selecting the correct individual -- Use Right Mouse Button and slect properties Once the individual's information dialog box appears make the additions and corrections.
Click [OK].






Addressbook Operations for individuals
Deleting an Addressbook entry Process
Select the individual name to be deleted from the addressbook by clicking on the name. Click [Delete] 






Creating, Deleting, and Editing Email Lists (i.e. Email Lists of Individuals)

Once you have created a list of all the individuals, you can begin to think of effective ways to send email to a group, such as your family, your soccer team, your club. Click [Communicator]/Addressbook or [Ctrl+Shift+2] (if the addressbook dialog is not open).  Click the [New List] button  and a dialog window will appear. You should have two windows open -- the addressbook and list dialog boxes.
 
Creating an Email List
Steps Dialog box
Fill in the requested information about the group such as name, etc. List Creation and Editing Dialog Box
From the list of individuals in the Addressbook dialog window, select the first person to be entered. Place the mouse over the individual's name and drag the name into the membership window. Repeat until all the members of the group have been put on the list.  


After the group has been created, the group-list icon will appear in the addressbook window. Note that an arrow appears to the left of the group's icon. If you want to see the list of members, click on icon and the group membership appears.

Composing email:

Click the New Msg button, Create a new email . This will bring up the draft window (below). The draft is a two step operation:
  1. The head of the email -- select fron the addressbook the individuals and lists that make up the To:, Cc:, and Bcc lists. Fill in the Subject field. Select the Priority selector to determine the urgency that the reader should give to the email.
  2. The Body of the email can be either HTML ( using the tool bar between the head and the body) or pure text. Not all email client readers can create or read HTML.
A draft window
Composing Email

Adding Attachments:

Special Actions or Handling:

The writer may have some special needs such as:
  1. Getting a receipt from the person that they have received the email.
  2. Adding a digital signature that will authenticate that the sender used the correct private key.
  3. Encrypting message to ensure privacy.
To access these features click on the special action icon.
Special Action Icon

Getting a Receipt:

Click the special actions icon and then check the Return Receipt

Special  Handling dialog box

Sending Secure Email:

Signature Files:

Signature files let the email author expand his or her personal information within the email message. Items like business, mobile, and fax phone numbers, business address and billing address, etc. are frequently added. A witty remark or a wise saying are also sometimes added, but these may get old after receiving them the second or third time.

Create the Signature file:

Open the Wordpad program or any text editor that you are comfortable with. Using the editor create whatever information that you feel are import for readers of your emails to know. Note a business email address being used by a salesperson may contain a great deal more information than your email used for social or personal correspondence. Save the file as a text document. Click [Edit]/Prefences/Mail & Newsgroups/Identity. The following dialog box will appear. Click [Choose ..] and open the signature file created the Wordpad editor.

Identify Dailog Box

Personal Cards:

Netscape has popularized "Personal Cards" or "vcards" that act like a business card. Users fill in their personal business data, i.e. business, mobile, and fax phone, etc. in the preferences section and then send it with email messages. When a recipient wants to add the sender's information to his or her address book he or she just clicks on it and it is added to the address book. No muss, no fuss.

To add a personal card (vcard) open the Identity dialog box as in the Signature File, i.e. Click [Edit]/Prefences/Mail & Newsgroups/Identity.
Check Attach my personal card to message [as a vCard]. A dialog box will as you to create a new card. Fill in the resulting dialog box. If a box exits Click [Edit Card.. ].

Again fill in the information only if they are absolutely needed for your business.

Receiving email

When we receive mail, it is placed in the Inbox file. Clicking on the Inbox icon lists all new and unread mail. If the email window has be open or to start the email, Click [Get Msg] Get Message Button . See the figure below:
The Mailbox Window


First decision -- what to read or trash?

The Inbox holds all the new and any other unread mail. Upon opening the Inbox, the mail is displayed in some sorted sequence. Normally, the mail is sorted by date, with the most recent at the top of the list. If a user receives many emails per day, he or she must ration the amount of time spent reading and replying to email. Hence, the decision to read or to delete is made based on subject, sender, and priority. In the Mulberry system, email is marked for deletion. Deletion is like throwing something in the trash basket. Until the trash is emptied it can be retrieved. The message can be Expunged (delete so that its gone forever). When one exits Messenger, the deletion becomes expunged automatically, i.e. the trash basket is emptied. Clicking on the desired item highlights it; to delete it, click the delete button.

Second decision -- How to respond?

Reading the Email:

First select the email to open, Click on the email item and it will appear in the Message Window.

The Message Window
(Our message, Sample Email contained:
a message, a signature file, a web page, a file -- an emailModel.gif, and a personal card)

Note that the Message window tells who besides the reader received the message; the To: and the Cc: lists. Also note: the Bcc: field does not appear, so it is impossible to know who may also have received copies. The author of the message appears in the From: field, and the subject and date it was sent are also displayed. Not to fill in the subject field is poor netiquette -- a lack of common courtesy to the reader who must decide how to dispose of your message.

Our Email also had an attached web page whose URL is http://www.cs.uml.edu/~pkrolak/lab1/Sample.html  Netscape displays attached HTML (web pages) inline. Which if we scroll down the message window will appear as:

Web page attached to Sample email

Our Sample Email also had an attached personal (vCard) that appears as the last part of the :

Attached v Card

The [View Complete Card] button will expand the card to provide full addresses, phone, and other business data in the personal card.
The [Add to Address Book] is to make it easy for your customer or colleague to add you to their address book.
 

How do I detach and read/ view/ listen/ etc. to the attachments?

If there is an attachment, i.e. a paper clip icon PaperClip Attachment icon . The icon tells us the message contains one or or more additional files called "attachments." Click on the icon at any time to find the various items that the author attached to the original message. Upon clicking on the icon the email opens up a windows that indicates the attached files:

Email's Attached Files

In some mail systems the attachments are indicated as icons that tell the reader the attachments' name and type. In the Sample Email there were three attached files: 1) the EMailModel.gif, 2) the Sample.html web page, 3) the pkrolak vCard. In any case, after the icons are displayed, the reader can click on the individual icon (file) to hear, see, and display the contents of the various attachments (see section on MIME). The user may get a message asking whether to save the attachment or to open it.

On MS email clients such as Outlook opening any attachment that has an extension of  ".exe" or other script containing file, may contain a computer virus or worm that will immediately cause harm. Make sure your preferences are set to ask before opening the file. Opening can be very costly. Even with an anti-virus program this type of file cannot be guaranteed to be safe and hence to prevent a new virus from doing damage. Remember to not set your preferences to not automatically files to avoid this risk.

Additional Features of the Messenger Email Client:

Folders:

Folders allow the user to organize and store correspondence. User's normally have a sent folder for creating a copy of their correspondence, a draft folder for those emails that require some careful time and thought, and folders for immediate action, etc.
 
 
Useful Messenger Email Folder Operators
Operation Action
Creating Folders:  Click [File]New Folder
Delete Folder Using Right Mouse Button -- Click on Folder to be deleted.
From popup window select -- Delete Folder
Compact Folder Using Right Mouse Button -- Click on Folder to be deleted.
From popup window select -- Compact Folder
Rename Folder Using Right Mouse Button -- Click on Folder to be deleted.
From popup window select -- Rename Folder

How to use effectively:

Suppose you have an email that requires immediate attention as you scan the emails that are currently unread from your list of many. You click on the email and drag and drop it into your "Read Immediate" folder. After you have scanned the list. click on the "Read Immediate" folder. Its contents will appear in your Mailbox window, begin reading in order of al or importance.

Filters -- Setting up automated rules for processing your email

The real work in maintaining any mailbox, the real one and the email one, is the sorting everything out:
 
The Email Receiver's Triage
  • pitching the junk,
  • putting off till later the nice to read, and
  • identifying the needs and responding in a timely fashion to those individual customers, groups, bosses at work and/or family.

Modern email systems have automated devices called filters that can be used to read the header information and to make such decisions. For instance, suppose you have found yourself on the mailing list from hell. It sends you volumes of unwanted product information. The subject field of every new email starts with: Jerks_R_Us Proudly Offers ... For such a keyword, Jerks_R_Us, a filter can be created to take any email with that keyword in the subject field and move it to the trash. Similarly, threads of long winded messages entitled: " how marketing carried the day" can also can be similarly assigned to the bit bucket (computer slang for deleted). Bcc: memos (sent to yourself for filing of subject trip report) can be assigned to folders. Important letters from family, and/or certain managers could be sent to an Open_First_Email Folder. All  the above filters can be set up with a few keystrokes. Some professor's email systems use the Subject: field to route online exams to a grading program that then sends it on to be recorded in course database.
 

Security:

 

Sort:

The email can be sorted by a number of different items found in the header, i.e. the name, date of arrival, priority, subject. The data field that is controlling the sort is denoted with a carrot or arrow in the data field name row directly above the email. To change sort by a different field double click on the new data field name. This will cause the email to be sorted by the selected data field. To reverse the sort order, i.e. from most recent to oldest email to oldest to most recent, double click on the carrot.

Note in the figure below the carrot (arrow) is in the Date field and the email is sorted by most recent to oldest.


 

Threads:

III. Web based Email:

The advent of web mail:

Email originally required you to have an Internet Service Provider (ISP) if you had a dial up connection to the Internet or an account on your Local Area Network (LAN), such as an educational institution or company, that had email privileges. The need for having at least one and many times several email accounts has been growing. Further, the reasons for having an email address that is not on your current employer's POP3 post office is readily apparent if you are negotiating for your next position. If you are frequently: that could be easily closed if it became a spam haven, attracted the wrong cyber date, or any one of a hundred of reasons, then most people get a web mail account. A web mail account is an email account that is provided by web hosting companies normally for free. These web mail accounts give you an email address that can be accessed from anywhere on the Internet and requires no special software program to support it. Most of these web mail accounts offer a sophisticated user interface and functionality. Microsoft 's Hotmail,  ATT Broadband, Yahoo, and Netscape all offer web mail. They do this as part of their strategy to attract repeat visitor to the site's they host. These sites are called portals -- one stop shopping, full  communication service (chat, newsgroups, email, etc.), information services (white pages, yellow pages, maps, travel and ticket information, etc.). These social and business services are sometimes referred to as a community.

In short, a portal, as used in the web hosting sense, is a place that the viewer can come and get what they are looking for without having to use a search engine. If a search engine is needed, they will use one that is designed to exploit their group of sponsors and advertisers. The web host provides all these goodies to the visitor for free in order to get an addicted loyal (branding) and large visitor base. The web host then sells your eye balls, looks, views to an advertiser who wants to have you visit their site directly from the portal.

Some argue web mail is inherently more insecure than email:

Because the email is held on the application provider's web server and not as a mail server that it is easier to attack using well understood flaws in web site technology.

What is in an email address?

A rose by any other name, would smell as sweet
Wm. Shakespeare
What is in an web mail address? In an article, Email Address May be Sending the Wrong Message, by Patrica Wen, Boston Globe Tuesday, (Feb. 1, 2000, pages A1 and B6) raises the issue that -- you are what your email address says you are. The article interviewed many people and asked them what they thought a fictional person's email address said about the person. Microsoft's Hotmail evoked images of illicit mail, i.e. hijacked email, was one of the more silly responses. Some people thought that those that used free email sites  were sophisticated and frugal, others saw them as cheap. The article also cited a real case of  young man who was told by a corporate executive, that his choice of email provider, Hotmail, reflected poorly on him and not to use it if he wanted a job. Again this seems to be an over the top reaction as a reason to reject an applicant. A web mail address does not mean that you are a rootless drifter. Thus the email address seems to say things  about us  to various people, but who knows what or why.

Choosing an  web mail address that can follow you your whole life should be a  rational act.  The best advice is to chose an email provider carefully in terms of the services you need. In setting up the account be careful in your choice of email name or handle. What is cute at 16 maybe send the wrong impression later on. Even if you change email providers some databases retain the information forever. Who wants to be 2cute4u@teen.com at age twenty-five?

Before signing up for the web mail read the fine print:

Where there is smoke,
there is fire.
Old Saying
The license, that is required to be signed before you get you email account from any source, is a legal document and sometimes contains some unpleasant surprises. What does it say about your right to privacy, resale of your affiliations, addressbook, your correspondence? Can they screen your email for content for any reason? Can they delete or save it without your permission. These issues are not covered by a standard uniform code of business practices.

The following rumor while false should give the reader pause -- A false rumor  claimed AOL allows key executives to examine the contents of your hard drive. It was reported on the web and discussed in chat before AOL proved it unfounded. This kind of rumor is one of the so called "Urban Myths" that makes the rounds every so many years. But one is reminded to always read the license and other information that you are accepting to use a company's programs or service. Buried in the small print you maybe granting all sorts of privileges to your data, personal information, and your web habits. Read  the license before you sign.
 
 

IV. The Dark Side of the Email Communications:

The wide spread use of email has provide both the individual and the organization with many positive benefits and has shrunk the world. However, no good things comes for free. Email comes with many drawbacks some of which are derived from the immediacy of the communication form. Other drawbacks come about the vulnerability of the receiving email over something as open and uncontrolled as the Internet.

A Note of Caution

An Officer advances by day
by burning the letters he writes by night
Reef Points -- U.S. Naval Academy Plebe's Handbook (1959)
When composing any email, the temptation to respond immediately and with passion results in intemperate email called "flames". The above quote is saying that an officer (or any one with good manners) always reflects on a memo, document, or an email before sending a reply in haste.

I am reminded of a tragic story of a person who sent an angry email following a letter rejecting him for employment, accusing the potential employer of being too stupid to appreciate the sender's talents. The recipient of  the email belonged to an organization of almost all potential employers in the sender's field, and simply forwarded the message to a list of its members.

The act of using the Internet with professionalism and good manners is what netiquette is all about.

Email privacy and security

The email user should be aware that the privacy and security of the U.S. Mail does not extend to email. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP), or the administrator of your Local Area Network (LAN) all may legally read and may in fact own the email you created. The government records its email and may archive even deleted messages. As in the prior warning, email can be forwarded without your permission. Email cannot be used to send threats, harassment, or child pornography. The use of email for such acts may be against university rules, state or federal laws, or at the very least may constitute boorish behavior. As a golden rule, send nothing through email that you would not want published. If the message is truly private and confidential, then encrypt it so only the intended recipients can read it. In the future, a special message called a digital signature may be affixed to the message to guarantee that it was sent by the person who supposedly sent it. It will become like a signature on a check and will constitute a legal document.
 

Internet or Cyber Terrorism:

Increasingly the Internet is a target for cyber terrorism and in the furture cyber warfare. The Internet is a vital information infrastructure for the global economy and social order. It distruction, disruption, and/or lack of faith in its information would have serious consequences. Because the Internet is such an open and free structure it  has become an attractive target for thrill seekers and terrorists of all stripes. Some of the most common manifestations of  this new age terror is through email and other Internet communiations.

Trojan Horse:
A Trojan horse is program that seems desirable to bring into the user's environment but has a hidden piece of code.Hence the name. This often a game or other program found on the web. This hidden code carries out some action on the user's computer that can range from harmless messages appearing on your screen to the serious as in the destruction of user files, erasing the disks, etc.

Virus:

A virus or  more accurately a computer virus, a program that is introduced into a user's computer from an outside source that can provide an unwanted result. The resulting program's output can be something simple like a message on the screen, modification of file(s), deletion and destruction of files and other storage elements, and even the physical destruction of the hardware (very rare). The virus can also launch other copies of itself via the Internet that can overload the network, infect other machines, and otherwise propagate, i.e. a worm. The virus can also pass information back to the creator that it found on the infected computer such as passwords, confidential materials, and can pose a major threat to those who do online banking and finances.


Worm:
A worm is program or code fragment that rapidly replicates and sends messages over a network. The messages can grow in exponential fashion to create a denial of service by flooding with the network with useless messages. It can also distroy or damage the computer it is  hosted on.

Recently, email has been used to cause users, networks, and corporations a range problems:

To protect your email, computer and its data, and your organization:
  1. Always backup your important email data,
  2. Use an anti viral program and keep it up to date,
  3. Check with your email program developer for the latest bug fixes, and
  4. Be cautious of email that asks you to set your machine up in unusual ways, use Microsoft Office macros, etc.

Sending Private email (Encryption):

The following is the procedure for using Netscape's Secure Socket Layer to send and receive secure email.
http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/security/sslin/contents.htm
 
http://www.mutemail.com/index.html 

For more insight to email safety

Email Virus:

A computer virus is a small program or piece of code attached to a file or program that is executed whenever the carrier program is executed. A virus is created to act and or look like a harmless file or program. The user can bring the virus into the computer by accessing the Internet most commonly as an email attachment, or through removable disks or other storage media used on public sites such as those of a university computer, or by duping the user to activate the code. Virus code can do many things ranging from the simple to very costly damages:
Background Note
 Fibonacci was the mathematician that created the Fibonacci numbers, i.e. 
F1= 1, F2= 1, Fn= Fn-1 + Fn-2  ; for all integer  n> 2.

Technically email is only an ASCII text document and the email client can only display the text so it can not cause any mischief. The trouble is normally in the attachments. Somewhere in the attachment a piece of code is added to the original document. For instance, a macro embedded in a Microsoft Office document. Every time the document is opened the macro is activated to do some action. In the case study below the macro opened the addressbook, erased files, mailed copies of itself to 50 people from the addressbook and hence rapidly spread itself over the Internet.

It should be noted that email systems are now allowing not only text documents but also HTML. This simple addition of HTML opens the door for attacks through JAVA, and JavaScript or other scripting languages that the email client/browser might support.
 

A specific example -- The Melissa Virus

Melissa was no lady. It derives its name from a woman who worked at a strip bar that Melissa's author frequented. The message was harmless looking. The reader was invited to open an attachment that contained the URLs of pornographic sites on the web. The email looked like it came from a friend, or coworker, or family member and probably seemed like strange reading in most cases. If the reader ignored the attachments contents and went about their business, sooner or later they would get a perplexed call from coworkers or family asking, "Why did you send me this filth?". Mellissa had struck. Melissa, using the reader's Outlook mail system and the reader's addressbook, would among other actions send  50 more copies of the original email. At the speed of the Internet soon thousands then millions of copies were being sent. Whole corporate networks were forced to shut down due to the traffic overload. If the network was not yet infected, many network administrators shut down the LAN's Internet connection to prevent becoming infected until a cure was found.

Melissa worked by adding a Visual Basic macro to the word document that was activated when the user opened the attachment.  Denying the opening the macro when MS Word asks for permission to use it will stop the macro from modifying or attacking the user's data or programs. Many sites have already turned off the check and many users ignore the warning and allow the macro to activate. The macro in Melissa read the Outlook addressbook and created personalized and sent email to the first 50 people it found. The program also loaded quotes from the TV show the "Simpsons" into open Word documents.

The nation and the Internet was not without resources to fight back. As soon as Mellissa was detected as a problem, messages were sent to agencies and volunteer groups at the national and international level. Systems administrator's began warning users not to open strange email and to test every attachment with anti virus programs. Some systems administrators simply shut down outside traffic.

Soon, the virus trackers, like their microbe counterparts, joined the hunt for the source. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) is set up to report the nature of  the virus and coordinate a response to the treat. The Internet newsgroups crackled with rumor and finally clues. For any software type, what followed was as exciting to follow as a le Carre novel.

A surprising and unpleasant discovery -- Microsoft strikes again, a false clue and our privacy violated

The hunt took a strange turn when it was found out that the Melissa had a GUIDE similar to one found on the site of a notorious virus author, VicodinES. The world said -- a GUIDE? Then it was revealed that Microsoft had created a Global id that identifies the particular machine and Microsoft program (license) that creates every word document.. So much for writing an anonymous letter to the editor or to your boss!! It turned out that the GUIDE is only written to the document file once at the time it is created. Hence, it might tell us about the source document but not about later more devious editing.
 
Concerned about GUIDE and similar markers or tags
Disturbed by the dialog about Microsoft's clever little GUIDE? If you know its there, then simply replace it with one belonging to one of the usual suspects. Not very nice but as long as the creators treat the customer's privacy so cavalierly then the creators deserve some of the credit.

Ultimately VicodinES was found not responsible, the real author used a prior VicodinES document as a red herring to draw suspicion away from himself. The culprit was tracked down as much by a little luck and many people using Internet coordination through chat and newsgroups to generate ideas and clues, and finally careful tracking by AOL using web site auditing tools.

 

Why is denial of service dangerous and so costly?

Melissa and similar viruses are designed to provide a denial of service attack on a corporation, ISP, or government network and as such can produce tremendous damage and huge costs. A few years ago studies showed that a corporation that lost its network for a week had a significant chance of going bankrupt. The point is, while the cost of closing down a network and the resulting cost of clean up in labor, lost development, and restart are significant; but they are often dwarfed by the opportunity cost of lost revenue, good will, public relations, and in some cases lives put at risk.

The 911 system, the FAA's air traffic control, health care systems are often are more vulnerable and have more to lose through denial of service attacks than loss of secret information. A few years ago a teenager attempting to gain access to the telephone system gained access to a local switching computer and accidentally crashed the computer. The telephone area of service included the local airport, the FAA radio circuits, and the 911 system. While this was not a denial of service through flooding the network with bogus messages, it crash the network. The networks that support landing and air traffic at the airport as well as any emergency that would have been needed for a response. Fortunately the skill and knowledge of the various professionals involved were able to safely restore order. The lesson here may seem muddy, the failure was at the telephone network but the hacker was attacking it through the Internet. The hacker has no way of knowing what is the effect on the cloud of networks. Even systems designed to be private networks are seen in this complex world to be coupled to the Internet in unexpected ways.

The next generation -- mutation and smarter bugs:

The nature of hunting down and stopping the virus is not without its unwanted side effects. The virus is often examined and analyzed in public forums and chats and the nature of how it worked is reported on. When the virus's author is hunted and caught, it is a major news event that adds to the appearance of excitement and glamor surrounding the culprit. This in turn, inspires copy cats. These copycats make small changes and otherwise mutate the virus code to fool the anti- virus programs. Sometimes either knowingly or through unexpected program bugs the virus becomes even more damaging than the original. Thus software mimics biology.

Deadly 'Melissa' copycat virus can bring down networks By Ann Harridan, http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO27595,00.html
 

Prevention and Cures for computer viruses:

The following is a few common sense things to keep in mind and to practice to prevent loss to computer viruses:
  1. Don't use disks that yourself have not created or have used on machines other that your own. Computer labs in libraries and other public places are not to be trusted. Before using disks used on public computers make sure your critical material on your personal computer is backed up and then scan the disks with an anti virus program before using them on the computer.
  2. Anti virus programs are cheap relative to the potential for the loss of time and effort to reconstruct your computer and your company's data. Remember, anti virus programs are only so good -- they are based on finding known viruses. This is like getting last year's flu shot for this year's flu. Always check a new disk, an email attachment, or a new ftp download (transfer of data or program off the Internet to your machine) with an anti virus program.
  3. A corollary to the above rule is that the anti virus program must be constantly updated to prevent the new viruses. Most vendors supply a timely update of their algorithms.
  4. Be suspicious of any one who asks you to set up your machine in an unusual or complicated manner that you are not familiar with.
  5. If in doubt, keep it out. While it defeats much of the benefit and excitement of  surfing the net, governments and businesses are not there to entertain you.
  6. Backup all important files and keep them in separate locations to prevent loss through fire, theft, etc. as well as computer virus.
  7. As a last resort shut down the connection to the Internet and cleanse the local system with a disinfectant program if one exists for the particular virus..

The Corporate Fortress Mentality:

From the early days of computing, large corporation have had a suspicion, dislike, even fear of computing and those who professed to be programmers. Even as they tried to press the advantages of their own automation and productivity advantages over weaker and smaller competition they never fully integrated the computer geek into the cooperate team. This went so far as to have unofficial policies like:
If you find the indispensable programmer, fire him or her and hire a hundred others who aren't.
Rumored business policy of computer companies in the 50's
This was only common sense, these executives said, because what if the indispensable programmer got hit by a bus. The real fear was that if  the programmer was so clever as to be indispensable then he feared not the executive or did not play nice in the corporate sandbox. There were corporate myths similar to the so called urban myths. How would you know if there were not little bits of code that were deleting fractions of a cent from one account and placing them in a secret account that only the programmer controlled? The facts. would only surface when the programmer retired to some nation with white sand beaches and no extradition. This is slowly changing as the twenty something programmers create Billion dollar corporations overnight in what is called the new economy.

Under the heading -- even paranoids can have real enemies, with the business and government phase of the Internet now comes the cyber terrorist, the anti-establishment hacker, the industrial espionage spy and international thief.. The cyber terrorist -- is the logical development of the world wide terrorism of the cold and post cold war. These terrorist know that modern society is vulnerable to attack through its networks that carry the information, energy, and communications. Most if not all are exposed at some point to attack through the Internet. The term hacker has evolved over time from the geek, typically middle schoolers or teenagers who spent too much time in front of a computer.  The hacker is now someone, who thinks breaking into computer systems is like climbing Mt. Everest, a challenge -- because it is there. The hacker treats finding a way into a network and looking around like an adventure or a twisted version of Dungeons and Dragons. Hacker's find the network's weakness and exploit it, the greater the secrecy and the risk, the greater the adrenaline rush and the higher the status points in the hacker peer group. Due the increasing damage from hackers, society has begun to develop a zero tolerance for even middle school hackers that seek to do no harm but to explore forbidden sites.
 

Cyber Blackmail and other industrial crime:

The 1930's banker robber, Willie Sutton, replied when asked why he robbed banks, "Because that's where they keep the money". Similarly, the industrial spy or international thief knows, that a modern corporation depends on its information system, and  attacks it because that is where they keep the information. Cyber terrorists have started looking for information such as credit card data stored at E-commerce sites and either blackmailing the E-commerce company to protect their customers or selling and/or using the credit card information. They also know that denial of service, interfering with customer transactions, and other operations is also a means of blackmail or protection.

Corporate intranets and firewalls:

Like the medieval world the Lords of the business world did not join the Internet until the entrepreneurs had begun to make money. Business made a head long rush into the Internet with what can only be called a strategy based on greed than careful plan. The promise of  fortunes to first successful applications and service providers led to the opening of the closed private communications networks to the Internet. During this period the mythical 2K disaster forced many corporations into throwing out many of their old systems and their proprietary OSs. The quantum growth in e-commerce also brought in a new generation of software engineers. These efforts caused the corporation Chief Information Officers, (CIO),  to realize the venerability of the marriage of the old private networks and the connection to the Internet. In fact, many writers and academics had been aware of these issues since the 1980s; but, no one pays attention to the forecast of disaster until the dam begins leaking.

In an almost predictable manner the corporation, like the feudal lords faced with the plague, retreat to the castle and pull up the draw bridge. In modern parlance, the corporation keeps the features of the TCP/IP networks, commonly and cheaply available software, and a large and trained workforce and creates an intranet (a private or corporate Internet) and hides behind a firewall. The intranet is a private version of the Internet that only is open to the corporation's computers. The firewall is a computer (router) that sits between the Internet and intranet and allows network traffic to be passed from one to the other. In general the firewall may:

before allowing information to flow in either direction.

Proxy Servers:

The proxy server is to act between the intranet and the Internet. The proxy server is designed to work at the application layer. It is designed to cache (store) frequently used pages for the servers various users. This saves the user from having to go to the Internet for the same information over and over again. The proxy server is normally used with other programs such as firewalls. Firewalls are designed to operate at the transport layer -- that is they work with the packets of information coming over the Internet and the private intranet.

V. Newsgroups:

Newsgroups started out as electronic bulletin boards where people posted questions and answers. There are now tens of thousands of newsgroups, which are set up to address the information and social needs of Internet users. Most newsgroups have a moderator, who decides if postings are appropriate and/or non offensive to the group and can delete offending material. The newsgroup is a server program, called a Listserv®, that records the posting and sends it out to registered members of the newsgroups. Students in the Cyber Ed section use a form of newsgroup called Web board that restricts admission to the group via class membership (user ID and password).

The original news concept goes back to the early Internet and the UNIX operating system. The early systems were difficult to set up, maintain, and use. Now, the major browsers all support a GUI that makes participating in newsgroups relatively simple and productive. The concept of a newsgroup thread is similar to that in email. A thread in a newsgroup allows the user to follow a conversation, i.e. a thread links the current posting to the next response and repeats the process going from the original posting to the most current. A backward thread leads back to the original posting. Some newsgroup search tools allow the user to see a diagram of the threads (in "tree" format) to assist the user.

Discussion Groups:

Discussion groups are similar to Newsgroups in the manner in which they work. However, there is one significant difference. In a discussion group the participants are normally restricted to a private entity like a corporation, a training or customer support group, or a special interest group or class. The Newsgroup is open to the Internet while a discussion group may have password protections, be part of a corporate intranet, or part of some Virtual Private Network (VPN) to limit its access to those who are registered to the discussion group.

VI. Internet Chat:

Chat rooms work with a variety of mechanisms. The most common is the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol which is one of the TCP/IP protocols. The chat defines a channel (Chat Room) that will send all the messages typed by one member of the channel  to all the other clients logged into that channel (chat room). Some chats require special browsers and charge fees on a monthly basis. Most are moderated (either an employee of the Chat or a volunteer to oversee that the language is not crude, harassing, or abusive) and have posted rules of conduct that allows them to deny service to anyone who does not conform to the rules.

Typing as a means of communication can lead to misunderstandings so chat and other forms of net based social discourse have developed:
 

Chat Tutorial

The future direction of chat:
 

 Trends in the evolution of the chat room:

  1. The voice chat room where up to a dozen people can carry on using the web telephony as if it were a conference call. The dozen people is the limits imposed by today's computer and communication technology but this limit will certainly grow until voice chat will take on the sounds of a cocktail party.
  2. The 2-D and 3-D virtual world chat rooms, here the chat user selects a persona -- in 2-d a picture or cartoon figure, in 3-d a creature that is called an avatar that  explores the virtual spaces. In one of these, that we will visit later, you can not only use a text chat but carry on a voice conversation.
  3. The business and/ or social meeting environments. Microsoft's Netmeeting and similar products allow for a full range of of sophisticated meeting tools including:
We shall explore all of these topics in more detail in later units.

Internet Social Behavior and Relationships:

At this point we are introducing the chat and will learn how to use the basic features necessary for beginning to explore the social and business communication potential of the Internet. We shall note that the new user, called newbies, should approach the chat room with some caution. People are come from all walks of life and backgrounds. The excitement of meeting new people from all over the world can be a very exciting and addictive experience. However, things are not always as they appear. Because of the lack of audio or visual cues in the text only chats , some people use chat to take on an artificial persona. This persona may take the form of role playing most commonly trans-gender, or being some person that they want to imitate.

In some cases this is just harmless games -- in others it is a dangerous predator seeking naive victims for fraud, sexual abuse, and/ or worse:

We discuss the social, business, and criminal  behavior on the Internet in later material.
 

Finding a Chat Room to fit your interests:

Yahoo's Chat Room Games
More Chat Rooms

VII. Instant Messaging:

While it is difficult to predict the direction of anything as volatile as the evolution of communications on the internet, one trend that is rapidly evolving and will more than likely become significant in the next few years. It is the so called "Instant Message" (IM) pioneered by AOL and more recently followed by MSmessenger. The IM in 2001 had some 50 million users and is growing at a rate of over 20 (twenty) per cent a year. These systems are rapidly gaining a following from middle schoolers to industry and government officials that use the feature that tells an individual when his/her buddies (friends or at least a registered list of associates) is on line. The notification means that the person can immediately discuss an item rather than wait until it is found in the email queue. The system acts like chat between the individuals that are connected.

The original concept:

The original Unix OS and the old Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX OS had a primitive form of this feature called Talk or Phone. The person desiring the conversation sent a message to the other party that asked to establish a connection. If the person was there and allowed the connection the screen on the terminal (display) was divided in two. Each party typed in one portion and saw the other party's remarks in the their partition.

Using a typical instant message application:

The typical instant message application will:
 
Basic AOL Instant Message Process
Steps to using AOL Example 
Step 1 Register as a member and develop a screen name or alias.
Step 2: Create a "buddy list" -- a list of people who have registered with the application. Once created the application will notify you when the person is online.
Step 3: Login and then will find your buddies and allow you to open a dialog.

Why is this an important step forward?

The concept is important in two ways. The first is that as a social communication tool it gives an immediate and personal feeling of walking around a city neighborhood. We see friends and can immediate wave and pass a pleasantry. Second, for business it opens a door for asking a quick question. Note that this option will quickly develop its own protocol. The corporate CEO does not want the inhabitants of the cubicles just popping in for a quick discussion of the latest rage in television shows. Hence, who is on whose buddy list in the business world will require a careful understanding of the office culture.

The Pro's and Con's of IM Technology:

Every communications technology advance brings both positives and negatives.
 
 
Pro's Con's
IM allows immediate responses, There is no waiting for the response as in email. IM because of its immediate response can lead to immoderate flames, misunderstandings, and interrupt our train of thought and work effort.
Family and business associates can locate when their friends are online. Buddies can want to talk while you want to work. Be sure to set your IM status to keep from being interrupted by bored buddies.
Easy and user friendly applications that allow us to communicate - text, voice, video. IM suppliers are tying many applications that only work with their IM solution. This limits the choices the consumers have for these applications.
Corporations can create there own IM system and limit it to their private intranets. This prevents or at least greatly limits its security risks. Security holes in the corporate network, and IM application could allow outsiders to record and monitor messages, etc.
IM can be incorporated into the enterprise level applications. Applications like airport security are using IM over wireless Internets to communicate with the Internet and intranet and for immediately finding staff and immediately  commentingalerts and other messages that need iinstantaneousresponse. IM products are being created to allow the corporation or government to own and operate their own IM systems. While Yahoo, AOL, and other portal are free, convenient, and available world wide they represent a major security hole for those who must deal with sensitive information.

Further Material:

A instant message tutorial via Real Audio.
 http://www.virtualdr.com/tutorials/frame.phtml?URL=http://www.service911.com/internet/play_video/0,,6+132,00.html?field=REAL_56_URL
Note this may require to install your first plugin to extend your browser. Real Audio is a program called a player that will allow you to get voice and music over the Internet like a radio. The latest versions also allow video. Try it out. Simply follow the directions on how to find and install the plugin.
 
 

Self Test of Lab Concepts:

 

 
 
 
 
 
Website Abstraction's Pop Quiz JS
CS 113 Quiz for Email, Newsgroups, Chat, Instant Messagenger
by P.D. & M.S. Krolak
Solution:
Your response:
Start Over Cheat Mode

 

Example:

Lab 1 Instructions: An Introduction to the Internet, the World Wide Web, and Email

Day Students -- 
Before starting this Lab exercise, introduce yourself to your right and left neighbors. If you are on the right end of the row your right neighbor is on the left end of the row behind you, if you are in the right  end of the last row your right neighbor is on the left end of the first row. Exchange your name and email addresses. Write them down!!
Online Students -- Click the class roster button on the left side, define the right neighbor as the name above yours and the left neighbor as the name below yours. The right neighbor of the first name on the list is the name of the last person on the list. The left neighbor of the last person on the list is the first person on the list. The email addresses are given in the roster. We will take this opportunity to practice our email skills and to introduce yourself to your classmates.

Exercise 1 -- Introduction to the U Mass Lowell Email System

 
The Day School Sections: The university has many different email systems. The most common one is the Mulberry email accounts that are given out by the Academic Computer Center to all incoming freshmen. The Computer Science CS department sets up an email account with the CS 91-113 course.
     
The Online Students Section: students should by now have acquired an email account and set a password and a user-id. The ISP should have an email address that looks like user-id@domain-name. The domain-name typically is something like:" ispcorp.com" . The student should have also acquired and installed Netscape Communicator 4.X or 7.X. We shall use Netscape's own Messenger tutorial Netscape Messenger    Note If the student is using a webmail, e.g. hotmail, Yahoo, etc. Netscape Messager will not work. The Webmail howevr, should have most if not all of the features necessary to do Exercise 2.  If you have an ISP email account then use the Netscape Messager:
  • Read and follow the directions to set up the preferences to support using the Messenger Email account. 
  • Logging In

  •  Use your  user id and password to log in.
  • The student should find at least one email from the instructor in his/her email account.

Exercise 2 -- Using the Email Program