Now that you are online, you are ready to write and receive e-mail and explore the Internet. There will be an option, generally called "write" or "compose", for you to click on to begin writing an e-mail message. You'll be asked to fill in the e-mail address of the person you are writing to, the subject of the message, and the message itself. When you are done, click your service's "send message" button and that's it. A single e-mail letter can be sent to numerous people at the same time by adding their addresses in the "to" area. You could, for example, write to your entire family or all the members of your local investment club. A convenient feature e-mail services provide is an e-mail "address book", which enables you to keep screen names and e-mail addresses on file, so you don't have to remember them. If you type in the wrong address, you will get a message that your e-mail could not be sent and it will be returned to you. Your service will let you know if you have incoming e-mail. Generally, your e-mail can be accessed by a button marked "open" or "read". You can read your e-mail on the screen or print it out to read later. You can also "reply" to the sender or "forward" the message to others. If you have hooked up speakers to your computer, you'll actually hear words letting you know e-mail has arrived. Sometimes people will send you an "attachment" to their e-mail message. If it's from someone you know, feel free to click the button marked "attachment" and an extra document, file, or picture will be transferred to a special file in your computer. This process is called "downloading". If you don't know who sent the attachment, it is wise not to open it because it may contain a virus, which, as you've probably heard, can be very harmful to your computer and files. If you have questions – how to access a downloaded file, for example – click the "help" option at the top of the screen. If that doesn't work, you can call your Internet service provider on the phone. But remember, if your phone and computer are on the same phone line, you'll have to sign off from the Internet first.   Welcome • Things To Do Online • Let's Get Started • Word Savvy Web sites of Interest • Feedback • Back to CyberSavvy.org • Privacy Statement