Email
What is email?
● Email is a method of exchanging messages and files over the internet
● The main uses of email are:
○ Personal communication
○ Professional correspondence
○ Marketing
● Companies provide guidelines about acceptable use of emails
● Guidelines about emails from a company include:
○ Purpose of the email
○ Using acceptable language
○ Email security, including anti-virus software
Email Guidelines & Constraints
Acceptable Language Guidelines
● Acceptable and appropriate language must be used depending on the recipient
and purpose of the email
● An example of this includes using a professional tone when sending a
work-related email
● No offensive or obscene language or images should be used
● No racism or violent content should be in email messages
● No illegal material should be sent
● The laws within a country can see that emails are monitored and people can be
punished for what they write
● Some additional rules to follow regarding email language include:
○ Include a clear subject line
○ Use a professional email address
○ Use professional salutations
○ Do not use all capitals as it implies shouting
Need for Security
● Email security is crucial to protect sensitive information from being accessed or
altered
● Email inboxes should be protected by strong passwords which are frequently
changed
● Spam filters and antivirus software should be in place at all times to protect
users' inboxes from both passive attacks and active attacks
Netiquette
● Netiquette (Internet etiquette) is the need to respect others online
● It is an agreement to respect the opinion of others in online forums, internet
messages and emails
● Some common examples to remember are:
○ Most posts are public and can potentially be read by anyone
○ A clear, inoffensive and succinct language will be used
○ Give a good impression of yourself, considering, the tone of writing,
spelling, punctuation and grammar
Sending Emails
Email Groups
● Email groups allow for mass communication with a defined set of recipients
● It is easier to send out multiple emails if the addresses are grouped together
● The benefit of doing this is that it ensures no one misses out on an email
containing key information
● A drawback of email groups is that spammers can utilise them to target a large
group of people with ease
Email Operations
● There are three key email operations to be aware of:
○ Carbon Copy (CC) - this is used when you want to include additional
recipients to view the email
○ Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) - this is used when you want additional
recipients to view the email without other recipients knowing
○ Forward - This allows you to send an existing email to a new recipient
○ Attachments - These allow files to be sent along with the email message
Spam
What is spam?
● Spam is unwanted/unsolicited junk mail which is sent in large numbers to
inboxes
● Spam fills the users' inboxes, often with advertising content or for
phishing/spreading malware
● Phishing emails will be used to act as a reputable company or organisation in the
aim of getting your personal details such as usernames and passwords
How can spam emails be detected?
● Spam emails often has multiple spelling or grammatical errors
● They often use broken English, though this is now improving with the use of AI
● Spam emails will not address you by name
● Often spam emails will ask you to enter your details by clicking a link
○ Reputable companies have now stopped doing this to make identifying
spam a lot easier
How can spam emails be prevented?
● Preventing spam emails is becoming easier as email providers' anti-spam filters
become stronger and more efficient
● Users can ensure they do not agree to marketing emails from companies they
register with
● Users can also ensure they do not reply to emails with sensitive data or complete
online forms for websites by clicking links in an email
○ Instead, they should visit the website of their own accord and then log in
as usual
Worked Example
Describe the ways that a user can recognise spam and methods to help prevent it. [6]
How to answer this question:
Give a maximum of 4 bullet points on how users can recognise spam content and then
a maximum of 4 points on how they can prevent spam content.
Answers:
Recognising spam (max 4):
● Multiple spelling/grammatical errors
● Asked to carry out tasks immediately such as click on a link
● Does not ask for you by name
● Stored in a SPAM folder
● Email asks for personal information
● Large amount of repeated emails from the same user
● Lots of other similar email addresses in the send-to-box
Prevention methods (max 4):
● Use a spam filter
● Not filling in your details on the online form
● Not replying to spam emails
● Not having an auto-reply set
● Not consenting to marketing when providing details to a company
The Internet
What is the Internet?
● The Internet is a network of networks which allows users to
○ Share and distribute information outside of an organisation
○ Send and receive emails
● The internet has many features to it which users can use to communicate and
share information with others
Blogs, Forums & Wikis
What is a blog?
● Web logs (blogs) are journals shared on the internet by a writer (blogger)
● They are regularly updated and often written in an informal or conversational
style like a journal, managed by individuals or small groups
● People can share their views and opinions on a variety of topics including
○ Movies
○ Food and restaurants
○ Game releases
● Blogs are usually presented in reverse chronological order
● They allow for reader comments, facilitating some level of discussion
● Other internet users can’t change the content of the blogs, they can only read
them
What is a forum?
● A forum is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the
form of posted messages
● They are often organised around specific topics or interests, and divided into
categories known as threads
● Unlike blogs, forums are primarily focused on peer-to-peer interaction
● They may require users to create an account before posting
● Forums can be moderated or unmoderated
○ A moderated forum is under the control of an administrator who
determines what can and can't be posted, preventing inappropriate or
hurtful content from being published
○ An unmoderated forum means that no one is in charge and the
moderation of the forum relies upon voluntary action between the users of
the site
What is a wiki?
● A wiki is a website or web application that allows users to add or edit content
● It is designed to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing from many people
● It holds information on many topics which can be searched
● Posts are not in chronological order
● The structure is determined by the content or its users
● Changes can be tracked and reverted if necessary
Social Networks
What is a social network?
● A social network website is a platform where users can connect with others and
share content
● They include platforms such as
○ Facebook
○ TikTok
○ X (Twitter)
○ Instagram
○ LinkedIn
● Social networking platforms usually require users to create a profile and allow
them to share text, images, videos, and links
● They facilitate interaction, collaboration, and information sharing on a large scale
● Privacy settings allow users to control who can see their content
Internet Service Providers (ISP), URLs & Web
Browsers
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
● An Internet Service Providers (ISP) is a company that provides access to the
Internet to users and businesses
● The ISP provides internet access by leasing equipment and telecommunication
lines to users that are required to access the internet
Web browsers
● A web browser is a software application used to locate, retrieve, and display
content on the WWW
● Web browsers are used to display web pages which include images, videos and
other files
● A hyperlink is a word/phrase/image which references data that the reader can
follow by clicking or tapping, usually taking you to another web page
● Most web browsers have the following features:
○ Home page
○ Ability to bookmark favourites
○ Keep a history of visited websites
○ Hyperlinks which allow users to navigate between pages
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
● Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are the web address a user types into a web
browser
● Websites are stored in the form of an IP address however, these are not user
friendly
● Instead, an alphanumeric format is used for the benefit of humans
○ An example is www.savemyexams.com
Search Engines, Evaluating Information and Risks of
the Internet
What are search engines?
● Search engines are tools that locate and display web pages related to the search
terms entered by the user
● They are essential for navigating the vast amount of information on the internet
● They index millions of web pages and use algorithms to rank the relevance of
each page to the search terms
How do search engines work?
● Search engines work in three stages:
○ Crawling
○ Indexing
○ Ranking
● Crawling is when web crawlers scour the internet daily to retrieve new websites
● Indexing is how websites are categorised based on the content of their web
pages, keywords and metadata
● Ranking is how websites are ranked and listed on search engine pages - this
depends on many factors to display the most relevant results
Amount of information
● Search engines can provide an overwhelming amount of information, making it
crucial to use specific and relevant search terms
● Using quotation marks for exact phrases, plus signs for mandatory terms, or
minus signs for excluding terms can help refine the search
Finding relevant and reliable information
● The relevance of information is determined by the search engine’s algorithm,
which considers factors such as keyword frequency, page quality and EEAT
● Reliable information typically comes from reputable sources such as educational
establishments, governments, or well-established industry websites
Evaluating information found on the internet
● The internet offers a wealth of information, but not all of it is accurate or reliable
● Assess the reliability of information by considering the reputation and credibility
of the source
● Determine the validity of information by checking it against other reputable
sources
● Consider whether the information is biased, looking for perspectives that may be
promoting a particular viewpoint
● Check how up-to-date the information is, as outdated information can be
misleading
Risks of the internet
● There are a variety of arguments for policing the internet
Arguments for policing the internet Arguments against policing the internet
● ●
The internet contains a large amount of Data restriction: Parental, educational, and ISP
inappropriate and criminal material controls could limit access to certain information
or websites
● ●
The internet can expose users to harmful or It can be argued that it would go against
illegal content freedom of speech
● ●
More control would prevent younger users and It is not up to one person to define what people
vulnerable groups from being exposed to find offensive
undesirable content
Protocols
What is a protocol?
● A protocol is a set of rules that govern communication on a network
● There are protocols for different purposes, some of them include:
○ HTTP & HTTPS
○ FTP
○ SSL & TLS
○ VoIP
○ SMTP
HTTP & HTTPS
What is HTTP & HTTPS?
● Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) allows communication between clients and
servers for website viewing
● HTTP allows clients to receive data from the sever (fetching a webpage) and
send data to the server (submitting a form, uploading a file)
● HTTPS works in the same way as HTTP but with an added layer of security. All
data sent and received using HTTPS is encrypted
● HTTPS is used to protect sensitive information such as passwords, financial
information and personal data
FTP
What is FTP?
● File Transfer Protocol (FTP) allows sending and receiving files between
computers
● Uploading and downloading files to/from a web server is often completed using
FTP
● FTP offers greater efficiency and support for bulk transfers and large files such
as resuming interrupted transfers
● FTP clients are software applications that use the FTP protocol to make the
process easier for users
SSL & TLS
What is SSL & TLS?
● Secure socket layer (SSL) is a security protocol developed to provide secure
communication over the internet
● TLS is a successor to SSL and is also a security protocol used to provide secure
communication over the internet
● They both use a combination of symmetric and asymmetric encryption to secure
data and ensure data integrity
● SSL operates by encrypting a user's data using a public key
○ This is done by sending a digital certificate to the user’s browser
○ This contains the public key which can be used for authentication
Where is SSL used?
● SSL is used in a variety of situations where a secure connection is required,
some examples of this include:
○ Online banking
○ Online shopping
○ Using cloud storage
○ Messaging
○ Social networking websites
○ Intranets/extranets
Worked Example
Protocols are associated with the internet and an intranet.
Identify three protocols and for each one, identify a use. [6]
Answers
Matched pairs:
HTTP/HyperText Transfer Protocol
Transfer data between a webserver and the browser//display/loads pages//connect to a
webpage [1]
HTTPS/ HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure variant
One from:
Transfer data between a webserver and the browser securely [1]
Display/loads secure pages [1]
Connect to a secure webpage [1]
Secure variant of HTTP [1]
FTP/File Transfer Protocol
Transfers files between computers/website [1]
SSL/TLS
Determines variables of the encryption for both the link and the data being transmitted
[1]
