Introduction to email

Learn what email is and how it works, and get some tips on other uses for your email address.

Email is a messaging service on the internet that's like a mix of sending a telegram and posting a letter:

Email is free to send
You need an existing internet connection
Email consumes very little data
You need available data allowance on a home or mobile internet plan to use email
Email is accessed via an email address and a strong password
You can use an email address to sign in to things online and as your main online identity.

An email can be faked to look real by scammers. Only open emails from people you trust, and delete emails that look suspicious. Your bank, and the Australian government, will never ask you for your password or personal details via email.

Email is sent and received via a service

To use email, you need to choose an email service. These can be free, or have subscription options with more features. Some popular free services include Gmail (from Google), Outlook (from Microsoft), and Yahoo Mail.

What is an email address?

An email address consists of your username, a special @ (pronounced at) symbol, and an email service name, such as gmail.com or yahoo.com. For example: james@tada.com.au

An email address is not case sensitive, but must be spelled exactly right:

JAMES@tada.com.au and james@tada.com.au are treated as the same address, but jame@tada.com.au is not.
When you click Send in your email service, the email will be sent to the address via the internet.

When you send an email, it is transmitted to the recipient's email address permanently. It's not possible to retrieve a delivered email.

Some important email terms and functions

All email services use the following terms, with only slight variations and differences:

Mailbox: where all your email is stored, and which you access with your email address and password
Folder: sometimes called a Label, a part of your Mailbox you can organise email into
Inbox: a special folder that shows new and unread emails
Sent Folder: when you send an email, a copy is placed in this folder for your reference
Deleted Items: sometimes called Trash or Bin, and where deleted emails go
From: appears at the top of an email to show who has sent it to you
To: shows the recipient of an email you have sent
Compose: sometimes called New Email, this is a button in your email service you can click to start writing a new email
Reply: click this to reply to an email
Forward: sometimes written as Fwd, this allows you to send an email on to someone else
CC: short for Carbon Copy, this is when you put multiple addresses in the To field to send an email to many people at once
BCC: short for Blind Carbon Copy, which hides the email addresses so people can't see who you've sent the email to
Spam: sometimes called Junk email, this is unwanted email, usually advertising. Your email service will sort spam into a spam folder you can ignore. It's safest to never open spam, and never forward it to anyone.

How to check your emails on a computer

To catch up with your emails or send a new email:

Sign in to your desktop or laptop computer, and open your web browser.
Navigate to your email's web page (for example, https://mail.google.com).
Sign in with your email address and password.
Your Inbox will appear, and new or unread emails will be shown in bold.
Use this page to read, write, forward, or reply to email.

A browser is a safe way to read email, because viruses are contained by your browser's security features, and your computer's antivirus (if you have one). Email attachments are also pre-screened for nasties by your email service, but you should also scan them with your computer's antivirus before opening.

Staying safe when using email

There are some precautions to take when using email that will keep your computer, and you, safe:

Delete unexpected or suspicious mail. Scammers target email addresses at random because emails are free to send.
Never give passwords or personal details over email. Legitimate companies and organisations will never ask for these details via email.
Use a unique strong password. Don't use your email password for any other service.
Use a second email. This can help reduce the amount of spam or unwanted email you receive at your main email address.
Unsubscribe from newsletters. Some businesses will send email newsletters, which can be annoying. If you are unable to unsubscribe, you can forward a copy of the spam to report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au.