I view E-mail almost every single day, and have sent hundreds over my lifetime, but never gave much thought to how they function and travel. Module/Tutorial 2 in “The Internet” not only enlightened me as to how E-mail functions; it also showed me how I can improve the clarity of my online communications and the security of my device. Just like with sending physical mail, E-mail requires it’s own virtual post office (POP & the other network protocol) which is responsible for receiving, sorting, and routing messages. Also similar to real mail, responsibility falls on us as users to address messages properly. Making the distinction of who to put in the “To,” “Cc,” & “Bcc” boxes is necessary to ensure the E-mail arrives to the correct people, while also respecting their privacy. I admit that I have previously made such mistakes as writing ambiguous subject lines & using common abbreviations and slang in E-mail that called for a more serious tone. Studying netiquette has shown me that I need to improve in this area, which means respecting the recipients time by being clear & concise.

   What caught my attention most in this chapter was the dangers that can be found in spam E-mails. I’d recently read an article from the FTC about the warning signs surrounding internet & phone scams, and to think that almost 90 percent of E-mails are wasteful or downright malicious is quite astounding. Upon reading this module, I made sure to both update my antivirus software and add an additional filter to my private E-mail account to flag messages from any address I’ve not previously communicated with. Even something as simple as signing out of my E-mail account (or any other site that stores my private data for that matter) before closing my laptop is something I can start doing to improve my online safety.

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