Bullet Points
Dealing With Email

If there are any topics you would like to see discussed in the future or if you have any comments, please contact me at JoeT@HighCaliber.com

• Check for Browser Scumware

  Many popular software applications install scumware without your knowledge. This Web site: http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/ will automatically check your browser (MS Internet Explorer Ver. 5+) to see if some software vendor installed a browser parasite without your knowledge.

   

• Is a Router Enough Protection?

  How much protection is enough? How much is too much? Check out this article:

  http://www.informationweek.com/840/langa.htm

   

• Change the Number of Viewable Days in Outlook 2002 (Outlook XP)

  Here's a simple tip to change the number of days you can view at one time from the Outlook 2002 calendar:

  1. Open Outlook and go to the calendar.
  2. Press and hold down the ALT key.
  3. With the ALT key held down, press a number between 1 and 9 (inclusive) and let go of the ALT key and the number key.
  4. The number of days that appear in your calendar changes to the number you pressed on the keyboard.

  Tip: You have to use the numbers at the top of the keyboard to do this. You can't use the numbers in the number pad.

   

• Use VCF Files to Store Contact Information

  Have you ever received an email message that had an attachment with the .vcf file extension? These files are called "vCards". vCards store contact information and allow you to easily integrate this information into the address books of many email programs (such as Outlook and Outlook Express).

  Here's how you create a vCard in Outlook Express:

  1. Open Outlook Express
  2. Click the Tools menu
  3. Click Address Book.
  4. Click on one of the entries in your address book. You've probably already made an address book entry for yourself, so click on that one.
  5. Now click on the File menu, point to Export and click on Business card (vCard).
  6. In the Export as Business Card (vCard) dialog box, type in a name for the vCard (usually the person's name) and save it to your Desktop.
  7. Click Save. You can now attach this vCard to any email message you send.

  If you want to include your own vCard on all outgoing mail:

  1. Open Outlook Express
  2. Click the Tools menu
  3. Then click the Options command.
  4. In the Options dialog box, click the Compose tab.
  5. In the Business Cards frame, put a checkmark in the Mail checkbox.
  6. Click the down arrow in the drop down list box and select your name. You can change the information in your vCard by clicking on the Edit button.
  7. Click Apply and then click OK to finish.

   

• Google Viewer

  The Google Viewer displays the pages found as a result of your Google search as a continuous scrolling slide show. You can view your search results without using your keyboard or mouse and you can adjust the speed with which the images move across your screen. Each image of a page's contents is accompanied by a short "snippet" describing that page. No download required, just access it at http://labs.google.com/gviewer.html.

   

• Quickly Close Multiple Folders

  Hold down the Shift key and click on the close box (X) in the upper right corner of the folder window to close multiple folders at one time.

   

• Show/Unshow Folder List in Windows XP Explorer

  Screen "real estate" is always precious. You want as much room as possible for the stuff you're interested in. You can improve your file view in Windows XP Explorer and any folder that you're in by "toggling" the folder pane on and off:

  1. Open up any folder. For example, open the My Documents folder.
  2. By default, you probably see a list of tasks you can perform in that folder. Click the Folders button. Notice how the common tasks go away and how the folder list appears?
  3. Click the Folders button again. The folder list goes away and the common tasks come back.

   

• Securing your XP Laptop

  When you travel with your Windows XP laptop computer you need to take extra precautions:

  • Minimize the amount of sensitive information you keep on these traveling computers. Put only the information you must absolutely have on them.
  • Don't save your passwords for remote access or VPN connections. Enter the passwords each time.
  • Use a BIOS password that must be successfully entered before Windows will even get to the boot sequence (a savvy thief can unplug the BIOS battery and wipe out the password, but some won't know this).
  • Rename the built-in local Administrator account. (Note that you cannot actually delete this account.)
  • Assign very strong passwords to all accounts, especially the account being used for Local Administrative access.
  • Use the NTFS file system and use the Encrypting File System (EFS) to encrypt all data files (this option is available only with XP Pro, not Home Edition).

   

• WinZip Built in to XP

  Windows XP includes compression capabilities so you won't need a standalone utility such as WinZip to extract or compress (zip) files. In Windows Explorer:

  1. Browse to the folder in which you want to place the compressed archive.
  2. Right click on a blank space in the window
  3. Select New from the menu, then Compressed (zipped) folder.
  4. Drag any file into that folder and it will automatically compress as many files as you wish.

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I am sure that most of you are like me and get hundreds of emails each day. You can waste an enormous amount of time just getting through your Inbox each morning if you are not careful. Here are some suggestions on how to deal with your flow of email more effectively:

Filter Spam

Current estimates indicate that from 25% to 35% of the email we are getting is unsolicited junk email - SPAM. The best way to reduce this to a minimum is to implement a spam filtering solution. At no cost, you can use "Rules" in Outlook to route suspect emails (e.g. whenever the word "Viagra" appears in the Subject line) directly to your Deleted Items folder. The problem with this method is that it is hard to keep up with all the scams used to get junk mail through (e.g. "FREE Trial - V I A G R A!"). But it doesn't cost anything in hard cash, just your time in setting the Rules.

A better way to fight spam is to use a service that removes the spam before it ever reaches your mail server. These services have become quite sophisticated, and use combinations of "black lists" (block emails from known spammers), content filters (similar to Rules discussed above) and heuristic measures to decide if an email is, in fact, spam. High Caliber offers this service and I can tell you it has cut my email load dramatically.

Filter Non-Critical Messages

Another technique I use to help me deal with my email is to set Rules or filters to send cerain emails to special folders. For example, I subscribe to a number of email lists (listservs). Since these are not critical messages, I have set filters to route these emails into a special folder. This helps me to focus on critical messages arriving in my Inbox.

Avoid Reading Email Twice

I check email at home every night and on weekends. I have my email software at home set to leave my email on the server so when I get back to the office I can file it. Unfortunately, this leads to double work - when back at the office I wind up re-reading and filing email I already read the night before!

One way to avoid this problem is to make a significant investment in Microsoft Exchange Server. Exchange enables you to access your email from a central data store. This means that you have complete access to all of your email (including Sent box, Deleted Items, and other folders) from anywhere. The downside is that Exchange is somewhat expensive.

Another way to approach this problem is to use a web-based email client like http://www.mail2web.com to delete out all extraneous mail when you are done checking mail at home. This will enable you to reduce the load of email you will receive when you return to the office and thus cut down on the time you spend filing it. Not as effective as Microsoft Exchange but helpful.

I hope you find this tips helpful. I will try to pass on more in future newsletters.

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