Safe and Secure Netiquitte Internet + Etiquitte = Netiquitte

Netiquitte is the etiquitte and social rules for the Internet, especially e-mail.
Many of the most common netiquette standards include:

1. Do not use "reply all" to send a reply that should go to only one person. This creates many e-mails, lots of traffic, and at best wasted time for everyone.
2. Don't send too many attachments or very large attachments unless necessary; it can take up memory and bandwidth. Where possible, send links to the documents or videos instead.
3. Do not send links to downloads or free software. If possible, include the top level of the website and say "view this / search for this". That way, if the download location moves, those you send the information to will not have trouble finding it.

Internet + free for all = freefall of computer safety

Here are a few areas where netiquette could actually help keep your computer safe.

1. Messages that appear to be a general reply to everyone can be a virus software or a Trojan Horse program that has sent itself to everyone in one member's address book. If the user has made a practice NOT to broadcast to everyone, then those receiving the infected message are tipped off that something is wrong.

2. Users may accidentally send large infected files or trojans. If you don't send large attachments, then this problem does not occur.

3. If you receive a link saying "read this / download this / view this", be very careful of the source. If in doubt, don’t click it.

Internet + Etiquitte + Safe Practices = Safe sharing What are some of the Netiquitte rules that can actually make your internet usage safer?

1. If a message has "FW: FW: FW: FW", it is probably a chain mail and should be deleted. If it is worth forwarding on, edit out all the "forwards" first, including all header information. And be sure to delete any attachments that may be included in the message so that you don't inadvertently forward in infected file in the process.

2. If you are sending large files like video or sound files, do a virus scan of the attachment before sending it on. If it wasn't infected when it was received, it may still pick up something from your computer and forward it on.

3. If you do not send direct links to downloads and software, then your friends will not click on links to downloads that may tap into hijacked websites and include spyware or freeware. If you don't send the link, users can't accidentally get infected with spyware trying to view it.

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