I can answer most questions on a wide variety of computer topics. For email topics I can help with the following:
explaining how email works, how to get started, and what to watch out for
selecting an email service provider
selecting, configuring, and using email software (my personal choice is Outlook and Outlook Express)
using web-based email
reducing or eliminating spam
troubleshooting problems with sending and receiving email
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Expert: Bob H Date: 7/19/2008 Subject: desired e-mail features
Question Hi there.
Using email, there are two features that I would find really useful, but aren't provided by my email provider (Gmail) and was wondering whether there is any out there who do.
i.) the ability to know whether the email you have sent someone has been opened (i.e. read). This would be very useful, but is not available as far as I know. On social networking sites, you can see whether messages you have sent to others have been opened or not, so how come this feature isn't included in popular email providers. (or if it is, how do I enable it?)
ii.) to eliminate spam completely, how come you can't set up an email account that will only admit into your inbox e-mails from specified addresses, and nobody else. I realize that it is useful for others who you don't know yet to be able to send you mail, but I would like to set up another address where only those addresses I know can send me mail. This would mean no spam and reduce the likelihood of viruses/malware getting onto my system from emails of dubious origin. I asked on the Gmail help forums but it seems you can't set up a Gmail account with this feature. Is there another provider that does?
Any help would be much appreciated.
-Cheers, Tony.
Answer Hi Tony.
Many email packages will allow you to send a message with a "read receipt" or "delivery receipt" requested, however you may or may not receive any confirmation depending on several factors which vary with each recipient: their email service provider, account configuration, email software, and personal preferences. Even if you do get a reply to a read receipt or delivery receipt, this doesn't necessarily confirm that they have read the message. Their email server or software might have sent the reply, or they might have only downloaded or previewed it without reading the whole message. Social networking sites use different technology where the sender and recipient are required to use the same system to access the data, so the system can easily track the message status.
Regarding anti-spam: most email software packages like Outlook and Outlook Express allow you to create lists of "approved senders" and "blocked senders". Some of these programs will allow you to add a setting or rule to only allow email from your approved senders, however this is dangerous because you might get valid email from other addresses which are not on your list. For example: a friend temporarily uses another account to email you, a family member emails you from their work account, someone else switches to a new email provider, etc. So the ideal anti-spam solution will only let messages which are known to be good through, but will also give the senders of suspected spam a chance to validate that their messages are legitimate.
Fortunately I have tried a number of such anti-spam services and I have been using one for over 2 years now which works perfectly 100% of the time. I don't have to worry about missing valid messages or sorting through hundreds of spam messages every day. I detailed how this works for another user. You can find the full report at the following link:
