E-mail spam and privacy problems can be reduced if we become more informed e-mail senders and protect the privacy of our recipients. Granted, most of your family, friends, and business associates appreciate your e-mails containing amusing or important information. However, your e-mail recipients will appreciate you even more if you use the blind carbon copy (BCC:) feature when sending e-mails.

When you send an e-mail, any e-mail address in the To: or CC: field can be seen by all recipients. And if someone forwards your message to their list of contacts, all of those e-mail addresses can be seen by many more people. If you use the BCC: field for e-mail addresses, the addresses are hidden and cannot be seen by spammers or others with unscrupulous motives. Think of it this way — treat the e-mail addresses of your family, friends, and business associates in the same way you would handle an unlisted telephone number. Only those with a valid need-to-know should have the information.