Below is a copy of an email I created to send to a friend who had forwarded me an email that included the private email addresses of others that he had also sent the email to. My response addresses email security and the safety of private information that you don't want shared with others. ~BFM_Chaindog~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Howdy Scott! The both of us are big on security and information privacy, so I have some tech knowledge to pass on to you for your own usage. The following is how to hide the private email addresses of the people you send email to, so that when you send email to multiple contacts it does not show that information to everyone on that list that you've sent an email to. Also as a safety fall-back, it can be used to ensure that emails sent from you are actually from you and not a spambot or spybug on whatever computer you are using to login from while overseas (or anywhere) that can read your address book.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*** For efficiency, prior to starting an email to send, click on your Addresses and enter your own full email address, with the Nickname field entered as "me" (without the quotes or uppercase lettering). Save and exit, you don't require additional information on yourself, just the name fields with your name on it. This will be explained later. ***1.) When using Yahoo, Hotmail, or other online email provider to send emails, you have (depending on your layout) several contact options to choose from. When you are in the section to actually start an email to someone (or reply to one), it asks you near the top to enter an email address in the "To:" field. Instead of entering or clicking on the "To:" to select contacts, enter your nickname "me" (without the quotes or capitals).
2.) Next you will look carefully at the top of your email, and somewhere either above or just below the "To:" field is either a link or a text box (depending on your email layout) that says "BCC:" or "Add BCC". BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy or Blind Courtesy Copy, and is a throwback to the days when people used typewriters and had to use carbon paper to make copies for themselves of what they typed. Blind Carbon Copy allows you to enter the multiple or single contacts in this text box field. You can click on the BCC link to add multiple contacts on this text box line. Recipients do not see other recipient email addresses when you use this.
3.) DO NOT USE THE "CC:" or "Add CC" options for the purposes of privacy. The primary purpose of the regular CC fields is to send a duplicate of that email to one or more other email contacts (Carbon Copy), but to let them know that you've sent the email to other contact addresses, and to let whomever is in the "To:" field know that they are the primary recipient but that the email was also sent to other people so the email is not to be considered private. Technically speaking, for a normal or professional email you would put only one person's contact in the "To:" field, and all of the others in the "CC" field. Just like when typing a letter to a company or recruiter.
4.) Here is where it all comes together. When you put your nickname (me) in the "To:" field and send your message, it will automagically send the message to
you. When you open that message it will show as coming from you and only you
to you. When you put your contacts' information in the "BCC" field, it makes each contact invisible to
all of the other contacts when they receive your email. It
appears to them that you
only sent the email to them. NO ONE ELSE. The key here is that when each contact receives a message sent by you with your nickname in the "To:" field, the message appears to them to be sent
from you
TO you. And they received a copy for themselves.
5.) Referring back to the security fall-back mentioned in the first paragraph, a security advantage to doing things this way is that you can tell all of your contacts that if the email appears to be
from you but is
not addressed
to you then it is NOT something that you sent them and to NOT open it. Especially if it has an attachment!!! Also if you are logged into a bugged computer that has an email hijacker on it, it will automatically send innocent-appearing chain letters or 'videos' or 'pics' for everyone on your address book contact list to open. It then puts hijackers or spyware or viruses or trojan horses that download those things onto their computer. Who are they going to blame if not the sender? So as a fall-back, the brainless email hijacker will also send YOU a copy of one of those and you'll know A) Not to open it B) To warn your friends C) Not to use that computer ever again until the admin clean it. See? Security fun!
6.) Here is an example of what it looks like both with and without this method:
>>>WITHOUT WHERE RECEIVER SEES ALL INFO<<<From: "scott" <
sender@yahoo.com>
Subject: My Status
To: "Val" <
receiver1@yahoo.com>, "Micheal" <
receiver2@yahoo.com>, "M J" <
receiver3@yahoo.com>, "Dayne" <
receiver4@aol.com>,
receiver5@yahoo.com, "Christopher" <
SoldierReceiver@us.army.mil>
>>>WITH BCC + SENT TO YOURSELF<<<From: "scott" <
sender@yahoo.com>
Subject: My Status
To: "scott" <
sender@yahoo.com>
The biggest places that these techniques can come in handy is when sending forwards or chain letters to people (hopefully people who actually want them). Also comes in extremely handy to send legal copies of documents to an interested third-party as a 'witness' to your good and honest communications to rogue or harmful corporations/businesses/legal personnel. Now I want you to look at the top of this email and see who else I sent this to. G'luck! ~4EvR Me~
